This is a book about a great, albeit undiscovered, American artist, Hodé Frankl (née Adelaide Frankel, 1923-1989). She was the beloved wife of fellow artist Joseph Deley (1924-2007) and the much-missed mother of Jacqueline Deley-the author of this book. For Hodé, art was a driving force, a passion. While her style is reminiscent of the Impressionists, it is necessary to stress that she was not a naturalist and did not seek to capture real life on her canvas. She was an idealistic painter, taking inspiration from real-life scenes but then re-arranging and re-constructing them to her own taste. She painted what she saw in her mind's eye, and worked on the basis of pure inspiration. The artwork in this book is divided into nine thematic categories: Townscapes, Landscapes with Houses, Landscapes, Waterscapes, Tree and Gardenscapes, Interiors, Still Lifes, Portraits, and Forays into Other Media (including her Pen & Inks, Woodcuts, Artistic Needlepoint, and Decorative Arts).