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Leonora in the Morning Light
Leonora in the Morning Light | Michaela Carter
3 posts | 5 read | 1 reading | 7 to read
One of O, The Oprah Magazine’s “Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Novels That Will Sweep You Away” and LitHub’s “Most Anticipated Books of 2021.” For fans of Amy Bloom’s White Houses and Colm Tóibín’s The Master, a page-turning novel about Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington and the art, drama, and romance that defined her coming-of-age during World War II. 1940. A train carrying exiled German prisoners from a labor camp arrives in southern France. Within moments, word spreads that Nazi capture is imminent, and the men flee for the woods, desperate to disappear across the Spanish border. One stays behind, determined to ride the train until he reaches home, to find a woman he refers to simply as “her.” 1937. Leonora Carrington is a twenty-year-old British socialite and painter dreaming of independence when she meets Max Ernst, an older, married artist whose work has captivated Europe. She follows him to Paris, into the vibrant revolutionary world of studios and cafes where rising visionaries of the Surrealist movement like Andre Breton, Pablo Picasso, Lee Miller, Man Ray, and Salvador Dali are challenging conventional approaches to art and life. Inspired by their freedom, Leonora begins to experiment with her own work, translating vivid stories of her youth onto canvas and gaining recognition under her own name. It is a bright and glorious age of enlightenment—until the shadow of war looms over Europe and headlines emerge denouncing Max and his circle as “degenerates,” leading to his arrest and imprisonment. Left along as occupation spreads throughout the countryside, Leonora battles terrifying circumstances to survive, reawakening past demons that threaten to consume her. As Leonora and Max embark on remarkable journeys together and apart, the full story of their tumultuous and passionate love affair unfolds, spanning time and borders as they seek to reunite and reclaim their creative power in a world shattered by war. When their paths cross with Peggy Guggenheim, an art collector and socialite working to help artists escape to America, nothing will be the same. Based on true events and historical figures, Leonora in the Morning Light is an unforgettable story of love, art, and destiny that restores a twentieth-century heroine to her rightful place in our collective imagination.
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JamieArc
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Does anyone else follow the American Library in Paris‘ book award? Last year, all the titles fascinated me and I immediately purchased them all (but have yet to read them 😂). This year‘s nominees are intriguing, and only one of these books were on my radar. Love being exposed to new books!

Erinreadsthebooks I loved Perestroika! 3y
JamieArc @Erinreadsthebooks I saw your review and it made me really want to read it! 3y
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HillsAndHamletsBookshop
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Pickpick

Michaela Carter‘s spellbinding work of historical fiction about the Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington had me spending hours scouring the internet looking at the artist‘s paintings. A perfect book for anyone interested in the 20th century‘s modernist avant-garde art movements (the book also features POV chapters from Max Ernst and Peggy Guggenheim), the book tells a compelling story while also elevating the profile of lesser known women artists.

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LeafingThroughLife
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Mo the Surviving Succulent and I are very excited to have received a paper ARC for the first time in a long time. Even better, it‘s World War II era historical fiction, one of my very favorite genres.