The Age Of Light

Whitney Scharer Picador €15 Historical fiction’s infatuation with reallife female artists shows no signs of cooling, and this shrewd, sensuous debut novel does plenty to explain why. It centres on Lee Miller, the Vogue cover girl turned war reporter who’s best remembered for her relationship with surrealist Man Ray. She features in some of his most iconic images yet she was also a photographer in her own right. Unfurling against a bohemian backdrop of Thirties Paris, their love affair shines a spotlight on passion, ambition and the challenges of making art – especially as a woman. Hephzibah Anderson