The Age of Light: A Novel - Softcover

Scharer, Whitney

Softcover

ISBN 10: 031652414X ISBN 13: 9780316524148

Publisher: Back Bay Books, 2019

Synopsis

Told in the alternating timelines of 1930s Paris and the battlefields of WWII, this "rapturous and razor sharp" debut novel brings to light the life of Lee Miller, a little known but fearlessly original artist whose legacy remains largely unexplored (Paula McClain, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife).

"I'd rather take a photograph than be one," Lee Miller declares after she arrives in Paris in 1929, where she soon catches the eye of the famous Surrealist Man Ray. Though he wants to use her only as a model, Lee convinces him to take her on as his assistant and teach her everything he knows. As they work together in the darkroom, their personal and professional lives become intimately entwined, changing the course of Lee's life forever.

Lee's journey of self-discovery takes took her from the cabarets of bohemian Paris to the battlefields of war-torn Europe during WWII, from inventing radical new photography techniques to documenting the liberation of the concentration camps as one of the first female war correspondents. Through it all, Lee must grapple with the question of whether it's possible to stay true to herself while also fulfilling her artistic ambition--and what she will have to sacrifice to do so.

About this title

About the Author

Whitney Scharer earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Washington, and her short fiction has appeared in the Bellevue Literary Review, Cimarron Review, and other journals. She's received an Emerging Artist Award in Literature from the St. Botolph Club Foundation, a Somerville Arts Council Artists grant, and been awarded a residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. The Age of Light is her first novel.

Review

"Scharer's debut is a rivetingly sexy snapshot of the duo's real-life relationship as it morphs from apprenticeship to partnership to tumultuous love affair."―Kim Hubbard, People

"The glittering bohemia of 1930s Paris, the pastoral boredom of mid-'60s Sussex, the hollowed-out carnage of postwar Europe; all come equally alive on the page, as do iconic figures like Ray and Cocteau and Kiki de Montparnasse. But none breathe more vividly than Miller herself: Fiercely independent but racked by self-doubt, desperate for affection and approval even as she chafed at sentiment, she spent decades fighting to find her voice. It was worth the wait."

―Entertainment Weekly

"Like Paris in the 1930s, Sharer's first novel is a radiant clash of romance and reality"―O, the Oprah Magazine

"She joins such novelists as Paula McLain ("The Paris Wife") and Rupert Thomson ("Never Anyone but You") in a most worthy enterprise: repopulating male-dominated accounts of the past with the many noteworthy women who deserve the same limelight."―Donna Rikfind, Washington Post

"Scharer...skillfully renders an electric version of the city, pulling the reader into the opulence and mystery of the era."―Annabel Gutterman, Time

"An absolutely gorgeous and feminist novel about art, love, and ownership, The Age of Light is truly a work of art in itself, both deeply moving and thrilling. Want to know what it's like to be an artist? Read this astonishing novel and then, like Lee Miller, take time to consider the extraordinary cost she paid to be herself."―Caroline Leavitt, Boston Globe

"Is "woman behaves dangerously, lives wildly" a genre? If so, The Age of Light is its latest poster child. The novel is work of historical fiction about Lee Miller, a Vogue model who became one of the first female war correspondents. In Scharer's plot, Miller travels to Paris where she meets photographer Man Ray, who becomes her collaborator and lover. While most stories about Miller paint her as Ray's muse, this one portrays her as the independent and daring artist she truly was."―Glamour

Scharer's debut is both engrossing and cinematic, a must for readers who enjoy a fictional peek into the lives of real-life artists.―Library Journal

"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, starred review

"Scharer's intoxicating first novel...bring[s] a stunning chiaroscuro effect to the saga of a woman transforming herself into an artist."―Booklist, starred review

About this edition

• Publisher: Back Bay Books
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 031652414X
• ISBN 13: 9780316524148
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400