"Scharer captures the thrill of artistic creation and the swirling hedonism of Paris's beautiful people." The Times
Model. Muse. Lover. Artist.
One cool day in 1929, Lee Miller arrives in bohemian Paris to pursue her dream of being an artist, having left behind a successful modelling career at Vogue. Gorgeous and talented, she catches the eye of renowned Surrealist artist Man Ray and convinces him to hire her as his assistant. Man is an egotistical, charismatic force, and soon their personal and professional lives become intimately entwined.
As Lee begins to assert herself, and moves from being a muse to an artist, Man's jealousy spirals out of control, and their mutual betrayals threaten to destroy them both . . .
The Age of Light is a powerfully sensuous tale of ambition, love, and the personal price of making art. In this immersive debut novel, Whitney Scharer has brought a brilliant and pioneering artist out of the shadow of a man's story and into the light.
PRAISE FOR THE AGE OF LIGHT
"In incandescent prose, Whitney Scharer has created an unforgettable heroine discovering her passion, her independence, and her art-and what she must sacrifice to have them. Sweeping from the glamour of 1920s Paris through the battlefields of World War II and into the war's long shadow, The Age Of Light is 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
"Whitney Scharer's storytelling is utterly immersive and gorgeous in its details . . . This is a powerful, sensual and gripping portrait of the forging of an artist's soul." Madeleine Miller, author of Circe
"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. Whitney Scharer is a remarkably gifted storyteller - a major new voice in historical fiction. Dawn Tripp, author of Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O'Keefe
"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
"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
Author Biography:
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.
