Description

For fans of Mrs Hemingway and The Paris Wife, Whitney Scharer’s The Age of Light is the riveting, vivid and powerful story of the photographer Lee Miller and her lover, Man Ray.

Model. Muse. Lover. Artist.

Paris, 1929. Lee Miller has abandoned her life in New York and a modelling career at Vogue to pursue her dream of becoming a photographer. When she catches the eye of artist Man Ray she convinces him to hire her as his assistant. Man is an egotistical, charismatic force and they soon embark upon a passionate affair.

Lee and Man spend their days working closely in the studio and their nights at smoky cabarets and wild parties. But as Lee begins to assert herself, and to create pioneering work of her own, Man’s jealousy spirals out of control and leads to a betrayal that threatens to destroy them both . . .

‘Powerful, sensual and gripping’ – Madeleine Miller, author of Circe
‘Fans of Mrs Hemingway and The Paris Wife will love this one’ – Elle

Publisher Review

Glittering * TLS * Scharer's wonderful novel is a sensory, sensual feast: a passionate love story, a clear-eyed examination of an artist's life, and an evocation of the ways people can make and break each other -- Kiran Millwood Hargrave Intoxicating . . . Scharer is always alert to the interplay of passion, intelligence, exhilaration, bitterness, and melancholy that fueled this unique woman to create a life of her own. The object of an intense bidding war that resulted in a million-dollar deal, Scharer's first novel more than lives up to its prepublication hype. * Booklist * A masterpiece, The Age of Light is a searing, evocative novel of love and war, and a woman's fierce determination to transcend her role as muse and remake the world through her own art -- Dawn Tripp, author of Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keefe An uplifting, heartbreaking and altogether immersive read -- Helen Simonson, New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Before The War and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand A bold, intimate and gorgeous novel - at once a vivid romp through the salons and parties of the Paris art world in the 1930s and a breathtaking close up of a woman battling to be both muse and artist, lover and collaborator, and above all, herself -- Jessica Shattuck, author of The Woman in the Castle and The Hazards of Good Breeding Scharer's stellar debut chronicles the tumultuous working and romantic relationships of photographer Man Ray and model-turned-photographer Lee Miller in early 1930s Paris. Scharer's brilliant portrayal of the complicated couple features a page-turning story and thrillingly depicts the artistic process. * Publishers Weekly * Scharer sets her viewfinder selectively, focusing on her heroine's insecurities as much as her accomplishments as an artist; her hunger to be more than "a neck to hold pearls, a slim waist to show off a belt" is contrasted with her habit of solving problems by simply leaving. The price for Lee is steep, but it makes for irresistible reading. Sexy and moving. * Kirkus * A gorgeous evocation of the life of Lee Miller. The prose is stunning, the settings perfect - this is the woman that the work only hinted at. Absolutely breathtaking -- Emma Flint, author of Little Deaths A collision of creativity, ambition, passion, jealousy and possessiveness . . . played out amid the giddy excesses of the surrealist crowd. Scharer captures the thrill of artistic creation and the swirling hedonism of Paris's beautiful people * Times * This gorgeously written novel uses the relationship between Lee Miller and Man Ray to ask pertinent questions about the relationship between love, ambition and art * i-news * In this sumptuous novel, Whitney Scharer shines a well-deserved light on a fascinating figure * Emerald Street * A dazzling novel of decadence, passion, art and betrayal . . . I adored it -- Lucy Diamond This magnetic, addictive novel will beguile every reader. Read it, read it! -- Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us and The Lost Family Captivating * Good Housekeeping * Spectacular and riveting . . . The prose is sleek and stylish and purrs along * Daily Express * The Age of Light is mesmerising, beautifully written and deeply convincing. I loved it -- Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory Based on the real-life relationship between iconic model-turned-photographer Lee Miller and surrealist artist Man Ray, this is a deliciously chic feminist take on a legend * Grazia * Sumptuous and enveloping and beautifully told. I was utterly absorbed in Lee Miller's life and work, and in the heady atmosphere of 1930s Paris . . . Stunning -- Laura Barnett, author of The Versions of Us I adored The Age of Light by Whitney Scharer, which was every bit as wonderful as I'd hoped it would be. A stunning debut - fascinating, evocative and beautifully written. I loved it -- Jill Mansell Utterly immersive . . . this is a powerful, sensual and gripping portrait of the forging of an artist's soul -- Madeline Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Circe Fascinating * Red Magazine * Fans of Mrs Hemingway and The Paris Wife will love this one * Elle * Rapturous and razor sharp all at once . . . Whitney Scharer is a stunning new discovery. This novel sparks on every page -- Paula McLain, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife This intoxicating debut based on real-life model-turned-photographer Lee Miller is hard to put down * Woman's Weekly * A multifaceted portrait of a 20th-century icon . . . seductively drawn . . . the tale on one woman's determination to set her own course * Sunday Times * Captivating * Sunday Express * A startlingly modern love story and a mesmerizing portrait of a woman's self-transformation from muse into artist -- Celeste Ng, New York Times bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere Scharer simultaneously conjures Paris of the Thirties - whether artists' studios, seedy dives or glamorous parties - with the deftest of brush strokes * Daily Mail *