Thomson, R: Never Anyone But You

Based on actual events, NEVER ANYONE BUT YOU is the gripping, beautifully written story of a love affair between two revolutionary female artists who challenged the conventions of art and gender during the long twentieth century. 'Rupert Thomson reveals in fiction what inevitably remains hidden in nonfiction - lived experience . . . After I finished this acute and tender book, I felt that two fascinating ghosts had become real' Siri Hustvedt A small city in western France, the early twentieth century. Suzanne Malherbe, a shy 17-year-old with a rare talent for drawing, is entranced by the brilliant but troubled Lucie Schwob, the daughter of a Jewish newspaper magnate, and the two young women embark on a clandestine love affair. Stifled by provincial convention and a society that is overtly patriarchal, they reinvent themselves as Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore and move to Paris, where they are swept up in the most glamorous social circles, meeting everyone from Hemingway and Dalí to Andre Breton. While there, they produce a series of provocative photographs that still seem avant-garde today. As World War Two looms, they leave for Jersey, and it is on this idyllic island that they confront their destiny, dreaming up a campaign of propaganda against Hitler's occupying forces that will put their very lives in jeopardy. From one of our most celebrated writers, Never Anyone but You explores the gripping true story of two extraordinary women who challenged gender boundaries, redefining what it means to be a woman, and ultimately risked their lives in the fight against oppression. Theirs is a story that has been hidden in the margins of history - until now... 'Rupert Thomson is one of the most interesting, adventurous writers working in fiction today' Anne Enright A small city in western France,. The early twentieth century. Suzanne Malherbe, a shy 17-year-old with a rare talent for drawing, is entranced by the brilliant but troubled Lucie Schwob, the daughter of a Jewish newspaper magnate, and the two young women embark on a clandestine love affair. Stifled by provincial convention and a society that is overtly patriarchal, they reinvent themselves as Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore and move to Paris, where they are swept up in the most glamorous social circles, meeting everyone from Hemingway and Dalí to André Breton, and produce photographic work of great originality and strangeness. As World War Two looms, they leave for Jersey, and it is here that they confront their destiny, dreaming up a campaign of propaganda against Hitler's occupying forces. From one of our most celebrated writers, Never Anyone But You explores the gripping true story of two extraordinary women who challenged gender boundaries, and ultimately risked their lives in the fight against oppression. Theirs is a story that has been hidden in the margins of history - until now...