"Meek never fails to stun and impress with his evocation of scenes and events, of sights and dialogue, and of peoples' reactions to them." - HFC Reviews
The Dream Collector immerses the reader into the exciting milieu of late 19th Century Paris when art and medicine were in the throes of revolution, art turning to Impressionism, medicine turning to psychology. In 1885, Julie Forette, a self-educated woman from Marseilles, finds employment at the infamous Salptrire, hospital and asylum to over five thousand disabled, demented and abandoned women, a walled city ruled by the famed neurologist and arrogant director, Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot.
Julie Forette forms a friendship with the young, visiting intern Sigmund Freud who introduces her to the altering-conscious power of cocaine. Together they pursue the hidden potential of hypnotism and dream interpretation. After Freud receives the baffling case of the star hysteric, Sabrine Weiss, he is encouraged by Julie to experiment with different modes of treatment, including "talking sessions." Their urgent quest is to find a cure for Sabrine, Princess of the Hysterics, before Dr. Charcot resorts to the radical removal of her ovaries.
In Paris, Julie finds a passion for the new art emerging, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, and forms friendships with the major artists of the period, including Pissarro, Monet, and Degas. Julie becomes intimately involved with the reclusive Cezanne only to be seduced by the "Peruvian Savage" Paul Gauguin. Julie is the eponymous 'Dream Collector' collecting the one unforgettable, soul-defining dream of the major historical figures of the period.
"When R.w. Meek submitted his manuscript THE DREAM COLLECTOR for our contest I thought it was some sort of a joke. Not because it was badly written but because it was so well written - along the lines of George Saunders and Tolstoy!! I was certain it was a literary friend posing as a contestant. Our judges too said this was hands down the best submission we ever received in ten years of the Palm Beach Book Festival. A masterpiece in every sense of the word." - Lois Cahall, Founder Palm Beach Book Festival
"Tribute must be paid to the obvious and clear literary skills of the author R.w. Meek and to his ability to invoke historic personages and the Belle poque he so evidently adores." - Julian de la Motte, award winning author of Senlac