An Artificial Light

A defiant woman in pre–World War I Germany carves out her own unconventional destiny as the enthralling Photographer’s Saga continues.

Germany, 1911. Certain things are expected of a woman. Defiant Mimi Reventlow has chosen to be the woman she wants to be. For now, that’s the resident, if temporary, photographer in Laichingen. Here, against the odds, in a vocation uncommon for her gender, she maintains a struggling studio. She cares for her aging uncle and mentor. She’s captured the affections of a roguish young local. And she dares to engage in a secret affair with Johann, the village’s prodigal son.

But when tragedy strikes, Mimi’s world is thrown into a state of flux. Remain in a place she calls home? Stay loyal to the man she loves? Or follow her true calling, on the road, as a photographer of roving independence?

Through dizzying betrayals, breathtaking new passions—both personal and professional—and the rumors of war, Mimi’s next choice could change her life once again. So could the risks. But as Mimi knows, taking risks is at the heart of all women who dream of a future.

Petra Durst-Benning was born in Baden-Württemberg in 1965. For more than twenty years, she has been writing historical and contemporary novels. Almost all of her books have been Spiegel Publishing bestsellers and have been translated into several languages. Petra Durst-Benning’s novels also have been celebrated in the United States. She lives with her husband and two dogs in the countryside south of Stuttgart.

Born in Australia, Edwin Miles has been working as a translator, primarily in film and television, for more than fifteen years. After undergraduate studies in his hometown of Perth, he received an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Oregon in 1995. While there, he spent a year working as fiction editor on the literary magazine Northwest Review. In 1996, he was short-listed for the prestigious Australian/Vogel’s Literary Award for young writers for a collection of short stories. After many years living and working in Australia, Japan, and the United States, he currently resides in his “second home” in Cologne, Germany, with his wife, Dagmar, and two very clever children.