CLARE CLARK
IN THE FULL LIGHT OF THE SUN
In the turbulent years between the wars, nothing in Berlin is quite what it seems. Not for Emmeline, a wayward young artist freewheeling wildly through the city in search of meaning. Not for Julius, an eminent art connoisseur who finds it easier to love paintings than people. And most definitely not for Frank, a Jewish lawyer who must find a way to protect his family and his principles as the Nazis begin their rise to power.
But the greatest enigma of all is Matthias, the mercurial art dealer who connects them. Charming and ambitious, he will provoke a scandal that turns all of their lives upside down.
Inspired by true events, this brilliant, humane novel peels back the cherished illusions that sustain us to reveal the truths beneath. A book about beauty and justice, vanity and self-delusion, it asks: Do we see only what we choose to see, even in the full light of the sun?
A completely fascinating novel... Expertly researched, compellingly narrated and full of potent resonance today
William Boyd
A wonderful novel: passionate, intelligent, humane, it held me from the first page to the last.
Rachel Seiffert
I loved In the Full Light Of The Sun, a novel about deception, self-deception, truth, love and lies that will enthral anyone fascinated by Van Gogh, the art world and Berlin in the 1920s. Written with verve and assurance it is both engaging and humane
Amanda Craig
A stunning novel, beautifully written, that makes us feel as though we’re back in the inter-war period, living through these events alongside fascinating characters
Jane Harris
Unputdownable. Very clever plot … a completely fascinating story
Rosie Boycott
AND IN THE PRESS
A fascinating tale … the art world is richly drawn
Times
An irresistible story … as compelling as it is expansive
Guardian
Clark excels … a gripping and ultimately moving story about art, artifice and authenticity
Mail on Sunday
With great skill and sympathy, Clark evokes a febrile society in which politics, love and art offer no certainties, and the ground always threatens to open beneath her characters’ feet
Sunday Times
Literary Review
A compelling picture of a society in flux … perhaps her most ambitious yet. Clark’s portrait of a world adrift is moving and starkly real.