The greatest flaw in Lucy Merello Peterson's book, The Women Who Inspired London Art, is its lack of art.

Given the subject matter, I expected the volume to be packed with photos and artistic reproductions from the early 20th century. But it's actually pretty skimpily illustrated -- Pen & Sword, the publisher, says the book has 40 illustrations within its 180 pages. While reading the book, I wanted to see more of the models and the artworks that were mentioned, but Peterson presumably assumes readers will use Google to fill the gap.

Otherwise, the text is very interesting, delving deeply into the London art scene at a time when basic artistic conventions were evolving. Subtitled "The Avico Sisters & Other Models of the Early 20th Century," the book really brings to life the personalities -- some famous, some obscure -- who sat on either side of the canvas.

In fact, the title itself might be a little limiting. Much of Peterson's narrative is devoted to the artists, rather than the models, as well as the cultural environment in which they and other creative forces in their orbit moved.

Peterson describes the work, lives and lifestyles of people such as Dora Carrington, Augustus John, Walter Sickert, Nina Hamnet, Lady Dorothie Feilding, Virginia Woolf, Marguerite Kelsey, Nancy Cunard, Jacob Epstein, Amina Peerbhoy, Iris Tree, Lilian Shelley, Augustine Villain, Lady Ottoline Morrell and many more. Also included, of course, are famed models Leopoldine, Gilda and Marietta Avico, to whom Peterson devotes an entire chapter because of insights provided to her by Gilda's daughter, Christine Bassett.

It's a fascinating examination of the era, including the influences (from cafes and salons to the Great War) that influenced the artists of the day, as well as the circumstances -- some fortunate, some not -- that placed the models into the public eye. Some, of course, remain iconic even today, while others have faded into anonymity and obscurity. Peterson lifts them up and tells their stories, and anyone interested in the arts or British culture should enjoy the read.