Siri Hustvedt talks to Stephanie Merritt

Artist Harriet Burden, consumed by fury at the lack of recognition she has received from the New York art establishment, embarks on an experiment: she hides her identity behind three male fronts, who exhibit her work as their own. And yet, even after she has unmasked herself, there are those who refuse to believe she is the woman behind the men. The author of What I Loved introduces her new novel – an intricately conceived, diabolical puzzle that explores the way prejudice, fame, money and desire influence our perceptions of one another.