Le Livre vert is typical of the ‘portrait of an interior’ genre that was fashionable at this time, evoking an atmosphere of feminine domesticity and private reverie. Davidson used decorative elements to convey a certain sense of mystery and to hint at double entendre. The young woman may well be close friend Rose McPherson (Margaret Preston) who, with Gladys Reynell, stayed in an apartment in Paris formerly occupied by Bessie Davidson.