Venus, Vanishing: A Novel
Oct 2026 · Sold by Henry Holt and Company
Ebook
320
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
infoThis book will become available on October 27, 2026. You will not be charged until it is released.
About this ebook
Portrait of a Lady on Fire meets The Safekeep in this “gripping, gorgeously written debut” (Joanna Quinn, The Whalebone Theatre)
"A tour de force that will captivate and haunt readers, wrestling with questions of the role of art in times of oppression and the relationship of an artist to their finished work, with a pulsing thread of desire thrumming throughout. A taut, mesmerizing story.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
In raucous 1928 Berlin, Hannah Sherman has deviated from the traditional arc of a woman’s life. An artist and a runaway, she revels in the city’s underground art scene and her newfound freedom. Working as a tailor while studying art in every spare moment, Hannah comes to know women and their bodies, first with measuring tape and silk, and later through sensuous layers of paint.
Hannah feels like she can finally call herself an artist when an intoxicating, wealthy female collector commissions an elaborate series of nude portraits. But after Hannah finishes the acclaimed Venus paintings, she discovers that her work has been tampered with and exhibited under a man’s name. When lines between artist and muse are crossed in a heady but perilous affair, Hannah transforms her work into an act of revenge, finding herself caught up in a devastating game of betrayal.
Laced with queer desire and life-threatening secrets, Venus, Vanishing pulses with the hedonism and danger of 1930s Berlin as history comes to Hannah’s door, offering a heart-pounding story of Jewish survival, creativity, and resistance.
"A tour de force that will captivate and haunt readers, wrestling with questions of the role of art in times of oppression and the relationship of an artist to their finished work, with a pulsing thread of desire thrumming throughout. A taut, mesmerizing story.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
In raucous 1928 Berlin, Hannah Sherman has deviated from the traditional arc of a woman’s life. An artist and a runaway, she revels in the city’s underground art scene and her newfound freedom. Working as a tailor while studying art in every spare moment, Hannah comes to know women and their bodies, first with measuring tape and silk, and later through sensuous layers of paint.
Hannah feels like she can finally call herself an artist when an intoxicating, wealthy female collector commissions an elaborate series of nude portraits. But after Hannah finishes the acclaimed Venus paintings, she discovers that her work has been tampered with and exhibited under a man’s name. When lines between artist and muse are crossed in a heady but perilous affair, Hannah transforms her work into an act of revenge, finding herself caught up in a devastating game of betrayal.
Laced with queer desire and life-threatening secrets, Venus, Vanishing pulses with the hedonism and danger of 1930s Berlin as history comes to Hannah’s door, offering a heart-pounding story of Jewish survival, creativity, and resistance.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire meets The Safekeep in this “gripping, gorgeously written debut” (Joanna Quinn, The Whalebone Theatre)
"A tour de force that will captivate and haunt readers, wrestling with questions of the role of art in times of oppression and the relationship of an artist to their ...
Discover more
About the author
Rebecca Birrell is an art historian and a Bye-Fellow in the History of Art at Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge. She was formerly the curator of nineteenth and twentieth century paintings and drawings at the Fitzwilliam Museum and has occupied curatorial positions at the Jewish Museum London, the Department of Prints and Drawing at the British Museum, and at the Charleston Trust. She studied English literature at University College London, followed by a master's in women’s studies at the University of Oxford and a PhD from the Edinburgh College of Art. Venus, Vanishing is her debut novel.
Rebecca Birrell is an art historian and a Bye-Fellow in the History of Art at Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge. She was formerly the curator of nineteenth and twentieth century paintings and drawings at the Fitzwilliam Museum and has occupied curatorial positions at the Jewish Muse...
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
