Lawrence Clavering

In a quiet lodging near Avignon’s ancient Porte de la Ligne, the narrator lives under the watchful gaze of a striking portrait that seems to capture more than his likeness. The painting, rendered with meticulous detail by Anthony Herbert, shows a young man in a rose‑pink coat, his lips a haunting purple and his eyes glassy with a mixture of fear and suffering. Its vivid realism draws the narrator into a reverie, recalling the scent of the Rhone’s waters and the distant shadows of Notre Dame des Doms.

Beyond the canvas lies a tangled past of English estates, youthful folly, and the lingering shame of a turbulent apprenticeship at Blackladies. Hints of his involvement in the tumultuous events of the mid‑eighteenth century surface, suggesting a life marked by both honor and misadventure. As he unravels the story behind the portrait, listeners are invited to follow his reflective journey through memory, art, and the lingering echo of a bygone era.