The Last Summer of the World

In the summer of 1918, with the Germans threatening Paris, Edward Steichen arrives in France to photograph the war for the American army. There he finds a country filled with poignant memories for him: early artistic success, marriage, the birth of two daughters, and a love affair that divided his family. Told with elegance and transporting historical sensitivity, Emily Mitchell's first novel captures the life of a great American artist caught in the reckoning of a painful past in a world beset by war. Reading group guide included.