Venus, Vanishing by Rebecca Birrell

Blisteringly passionate this is a  debut novel of desire, art, and the stories lost to the darkness of history.

Berlin, 1928. Hannah is new to the pleasures and freedoms of the city.

She is a fledgling artist, a runaway, building a new life for herself in its galleries and clubs, and, at last, loving without boundaries. But soon the party will be coming to an end. A consuming affair with her patron, Elke – the imperious wife of a powerful man – is reckless, yet life-changing, and it threatens to do more than ruin both of their reputations.

Around them, people are disappearing. The shadows of something unspeakable are growing darker in the city. Hannah’s art could be the thing that secures her survival – or denies her any chance of escape.

'A radiant vision of art against evil . . .a bold, moving novel' - Megan Hunter, author of Days of Light'Wonderful. Alive with a deep, resonant tenderness' - Elizabeth O'Connor, author of Whale Fall'Extraordinary. I didn't want it to end' - Doireann Ní Ghríofa, author of A Ghost in the Throat. 'Gripping, gorgeously written . .. I couldn't put it down' - Joanna Quinn, author of The Whalebone Theatre'This vivid novel of 1930s Berlin asks what it means to make art in an emergency' - Eleanor Catton, author of Birnam Wood

Format:Hardback 384 pages
Publisher:Pan Macmillan
Imprint:Picador
ISBN:9781035085767
Published:16 Jul 2026
Classifications:Of specific Lesbian interest, Historical romance, Historical fiction, Fiction: special features, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, The Holocaust
Weight:490g