Brilliance

After a shattering betrayal, a Frenchwoman finds a new role during the birth of the film industry, in a “truly interesting” historical novel (Booklist).

When Lisette Decourt discovers her fiancé in the arms of her newly widowed stepmother, she flees her Paris home in shock and sorrow. Her wanderings bring her in contact with Daniel Shaw—a traveling “lanternist” who tells stories through a strange new art known as slide projection.

Learning more about moving pictures, Lisette finds her passion for film growing—along with her passion for the Englishman Daniel. But their love will be tested as fate threatens to pull them away from each other, and as Lisette follows her path to becoming one of the first movie stars of the twentieth century.

“The birth of the film industry is just as much a character in Laker's tale as Lisette, who overcomes personal tragedies to triumph in a truly interesting and wonderfully informative story.” —Booklist