I was eager to read this book because of the subject - it focuses on Leonora Carrington, a surrealist artist and writer who spent many formative years with the Surrealists in France before spending most of her adult life in Mexico. The heart of the book is Leonora's relationship with Max Ernst, a fellow artist several decades her senior. Alternating between Leonora and Max, and the beginning and end of their relationship (respectively), Carter shows how the two fell into each other and influenced one another's work.

The book opens with Leonora in the near-present, as an older woman at a show of her work. She is interviewed by a young reporter and asked about her relationship with Max Ernst. While Leonora has been reluctant to discuss the meanings behind her artwork, she is willing to go in-depth on her relationship with Max. Her narrative starts in the early days of WWII, before the war has reached France and continues through the war, drawing in a colorful cast of real-life people as secondary characters.

The book assumes a lot of knowledge of the Surrealist art movement, particularly the people and artworks involved. This was fine for me, someone who is familiar with its history, but it may be more difficult for those who are less familiar. Carter also sticks very closely to the known timeline of Max and Leonora's involvement and does a good job characterizing them. In particular, I appreciated the way that she handles Leonora's mental breakdown; it was done tastefully, without cliche, and in a way that connects to many of the wild images present in Leonora's actual writing and art.

Personally, I wish that Carter had focused a bit more on Leonora's work and less on her relationship with Max. While of course that is the conceit of the book, it felt as though some of the most interesting parts of Leonora were ignored in favor of her fawning over this older man. Leonora is such an interesting artist that is not as widely known as many of the other surrealists and it's a bit of a shame that a book aimed at a general audience takes that angle. Either way, I hope this book makes others look more into her art.

Leonora in the Morning Light is all about the very interesting and complex art world around the time of WWII. I learned so much about a lot of real artists that I knew very little about and the extremes they went through to survive during a war that took so much from so many people. Highly recommend!

Historical fiction set against the background of Hitler's Germany and the Paris art community. These two individuals will merge their talents to become recognized as the outstanding talents they are until they are driven underground by the war.

Leonora In The Morning Light is the debut novel of poet Michaela Carter. It is a fictionalized account of the real-life love affair between British debutant turned artist, Leonora Carrington, and German surrealist painter Max Ernst. Max was 27 years older than the 20-year-old Leonora and is still married to his second wife when they began seeing each other. The story is told in alternate narratives focusing mainly on Leonora beginning when they met in June 1937 and on Max beginning in June 1940 when Max is on a train trying to head west out of France. Ernst, a Jew who had lived in France for 20 years, had just left Camp des Milles in Southern France where he was interned after he had been declared an “undesirable foreigner”. He is desperate to get back to his beloved Leonora. By the middle of the novel, the two timelines converge as both Leonora and Max try to escape Europe during the war. There is a tremendous amount of research that went into this novel and it is reflected well in the writing and the scene development. This story is very ambitious, dealing with a complex artistic movement, complex characters, and complex historical setting of WWII, where some of those artists were Jews. It encompasses a lot and at some moments slows the pace in the second half. Overall, I did enjoy this story and getting to know Surrealism better and its artists. The writing is certainly of a talented writer.

Thank you to Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC.

Books like Leonora in the Morning Light are the exact reason I read historical fiction. While I have a passing knowledge Max Ernst, I had never heard of Leonora Carrington before reading this book, and her story is fascinating, beyond her relationship to Ernst. I especially loved that she was an accomplished artist in her own right. Feel free to take a moment now to google her. The Paris utopia the lovers create is exactly what you would expect when artists are trying desperately to escape a war and find refuge in each other, but possibly with fewer clothes than you might have imagined. They do, as others have mentioned, a lot of mundane chores naked. When reality intrudes on their utopia, we are introduced to a host of other recognizable friends, and this intersection makes for some compelling reading. I loved this book too, for all of the bunny trails I followed down wikipedia and google while reading.

There are a lot of characters which makes it a bit confusing. A few different timelines add to this confusion. The story does start to piece together as the story does unfold though. Interesting plot.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

To be completely honest I’m not sure how I felt about this book. It not what I would have normally read. I know that I liked it and I think people should read it. I just don’t have much to say about it. I do appreciate Netgalley and the publisher giving me the opportunity to read it.

This book was about a female painter. I was very intrigued because I didn’t know who she was. However, I found the plot to be very confusing. I also did not like the surrealism in the novel. Thus, it had great potential but was not executed well.

I ended up researching Leonora more in-depth and WOW was she as interesting as the book made her out to be. You need to be open-minded when reading this because they are surrealists. Enjoy!

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a wonderful read - the story of surrealist artist Leonora Carrington and her large group of colorful friends, lovers, and associates, including Max Ernst and Peggy Guggenheim. She escaped her restrictive home in England to a more flamboyant lifestyle in France. Her life in Europe was greatly impacted by the impending war. Her lover at the time, Ernst, spent time imprisoned by the Nazis for his degenerate art. Europe was in an uproar, and eventually she was able to escape to the USA and eventually settled in Mexico. This book is interesting in so many levels: the artists, the art, their lifestyle, the fear of the Nazis in Europe, immigration. I highly recommend this book which was provided to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This was a heavy, heavy read, but I consider it one of the greatest books I've ever read.

If you read historical fiction in any capacity, I urge you to read this. It'll make your heart feel things you never knew it was capable of feeling. Don't even look at the summary of Leonora in the Morning Light, just take the plunge.

What are you waiting for?

I loved how the author brought us through different timelines and different character experiences. I felt that was very well done and unique. This book wasn’t quite my style and so I feel for the right audience, it would be great. Just not quite for me.

Michaela Carter’s novel Leonora in the Morning Light will delight art history and historical fiction fans, it is truly a wonderful book.
Leonora in the Morning Light traces Leonora and Max Ernst's stories through the tumultuous Second World War, showing how art and love change our lives.


Before reading this book, I had never heard of Leonora Carrington. I should not be surprised since Art history is extremely male-dominated; I am always very happy when writers focus on women's stories in art. Carter added in her author's note “Leonora is not the great man's woman in this story - she is the great woman.”

Thank you #netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

While this book sounded fantastic and unique compared to the other WW2 novels out there, I found it really hard to keep pace with the characters and the times and locations changing. It may have been my brain power as I tried to read it that just wasn't functioning but I found myself personally bored and lost for a good chunk.
In general though, the actual plot and characters were well developed and intriguing. It was just the format that didn't quite jive with me at the time of reading.

I loved learning about these historical characters and this period of time. I appreciate the research that went into the writing of this story. It wasn’t a page turner for me but it did keep me engaged.
Many thanks to Avid Reader Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is a WWII historic fiction that deals with the journey of artists who are trying to protect their art and their talents through the new confines of war and Nazi art requirements. The book circles around the main characters, Leonora and Max, two artists who fell in love and how war tore them apart and you follow the journey of the characters trying to get back to each other.
This book was slow for me. It kept cutting from one character to the next and I kept waiting rather impatiently for the end. Somewhere, each character's own journey became dragged out and at some point as much as I could feel the angst of the ravages of war and the emotional tolls, I just wanted to know the end. I felt the book was too long, but I can see people loving the book.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I love historical fiction and I am an art teacher, a different perspective being a woman was interesting.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I am sorry to say I have tried several times to get into Leonora in the morning light and just could not connect with the story. There were two many characters and I became bogged down and having to go back to reread. This just wasn't for me.

I have read many historical fiction novels set during the Second World War, but only a few that are focused around artists during the Nazi regime. In the acknowledgments, Michaela Carter mentions that she is more experienced with writing poetry, and this is a first dive into historical fiction. I hope she continues, because this was a beautifully written story of art, love and determination to stay true to yourself and find out who you really are.

"This is not the story of the Great Man's Woman. This is a story of the Great Woman."

The European art scene is a male-dominated world. The involvement of women (in the public eye) is solely to inspire these men. Leonora Carrington is one of the many female artists out to change this perspective. Growing up in the British socialite scene, Leonora quickly realized that this rigid, structured, lifeless existence wasn't for her. Deciding to pursue art, she ends up estranged from her family. Luckily, the Paris art scene is an open, wild, loving community, and allows 20-year old Leonora to grow into the artist she dreams of being. Meeting German artist Max Ernst, a man over twice her age, Leonora enters into a relationship that is intense, passionate, and toxic. When Max is found to be an enemy of the state because of his German heritage, they are ripped from their home and sent on different paths. While Max tries to maintain his devotion to France and stay out of German hands, Leonora slips into madness, unsure of who she is without Max by her side. Will the two of them eventually find their way to freedom, and each other?

I loved reading about the prominent artists that arose from Europe in the 1930's and 1940's. While I didn't know much about surrealist art and paintings, Carter wove the history of this style into the story so seamlessly that I was learning while devouring this love story. With many of the characters being actual people throughout history, it made the story all the more intriguing by being able to research these characters, as well as their art. I highly recommend looking up the art of Max Ernst and Leonora Carrington, as it really helps add some definition to these characters. Overall, the writing of this story, the characters, and the dangers of the ongoing war made this story equal parts beautiful, intense, and twisted. I truly hope Carter continues to write historical fiction.

All I knew of Leonora Carrington was what I saw in the Emma Thompson movie which chronicles the painter's relationship with Lytton Strachey. This book delves into her relationship with Max Ernst and other famous painters of the time. It was well-written, but slow-paced. The latter did not hinder my appreciation for the book, but it might be be a reason for some readers to bail.