Scharer captures the thrill of artistic creation and the swirling hedonism of Paris’s beautiful people.

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.

I adored this novel. It’s sumptuous and enveloping and beautifully told . . . I can’t believe this is a debut novel – it is so wonderfully assured. Stunning.

Transporting you into Lee Miller’s life, and her struggles to be taken seriously in a man’s world. This is a powerful, sensual and gripping portrait of the forging of an artist’s soul.

Rapturous and razor sharp all at once, The Age of Light fearlessly unzips anything we might know of Lee Miller as model and muse and recasts her as artist, free thinker and architect of a singular and unapologetic life. Whitney Scharer is a stunning new discovery. This novel sparks on every page.

This novel shows how [Lee Miller] transcended the male-accessory role and casts her in a new light as the protagonist of her own independent, ambitious life. Fans of Mrs Hemingway and The Paris Wife will love this one.

This 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

A dazzling novel of decadence, passion, art and betrayal . . . I adored it.

Scharer . . . conjures Paris of the Thirties — whether artists’ studios, seedy dives or glamorous parties — with the deftest of brush strokes.

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

It’s a deliciously chic feminist take on a legend

From the opium dens of Paris to Man Ray’s darkroom The Age of Light is drawn with the exactness of a photograph. I was awed by the skill with which Scharer portrayed Lee’s defiance and ambition. The Age of Light is mesmerising, beautifully written and deeply convincing. I loved it.

I adored The Age of Light. A stunning debut – fascinating, evocative and beautifully written. I loved it.

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.

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.

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.