Venus, Vanishing

'A richly textured, gorgeously written debut that I couldn't put down' - Joanna Quinn, author of The Whalebone Theatre

Venus, Vanishing is the blisteringly passionate and page-turning debut novel from Rebecca Birrell, of desire, art, and the stories lost to the darkness of history – for readers of Sarah Waters, Yael van der Wouden, and Alice Winn.

Berlin, 1928. Hannah is new to the pleasures and freedoms of the city. An artist, a runaway, she is building a new life, loving without boundaries and sketching with a cutting edge.

But the party is ending. Hannah begins a recklessly consuming affair with a powerful man’s wife and it soon threatens to do more than ruin both of their reputations. People are disappearing. The shadows of something unspeakable are growing darker. Her art could be the thing that secures her survival – or will deny her any chance of escape.

'This book offers us a vision of art against evil, of the endurance of love, ambition and vitality amidst the worst of atrocities and betrayal. This is a radiant, bold, exquisite novel — inspiring, moving and ultimately consoling' - Megan Hunter, author of Days of Light