Afterimage

by Helen Humphreys

Book Overview

Inspired by the life of Julia Margaret Cameron, Afterimage is the bold and provocative story of Annie Phelan, a maid in the home of Isabel and Eldon Dashell. Isabel is experimenting with the new medium of photography, and is inspired by Annie, who becomes her muse. The two form a close relationship, but when Eldon devises his own plans for the young maid, Annie nearly loses herself, until disaster reveals her power over the Dashells' work and hearts...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805066667
• ISBN13: 9780805066661
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Metropolitan Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Beautiful

Helen Humphreys' Afterimage is a beautiful, lyrical novel that tells the story of Annie Phelan a young Irish woman who takes a job as a maid in 1865 for an eccentric pair in England. Isabelle is a photographer who desperately desires to be taken seriously as an artist and her husband Eldon is a cartographer who faces similar dilemmas. Annie's intelligence and beauty endear her to the couple, for varying reasons. She ultimately becomes a subject for Isabelle's photos and almost a friend to Isabelle. The conflict between what role Annie plays in the household and with her employers is a source of confusion for young Annie. The story is interesting, mesmerizing and well written. Enjoy.

Love through a lens

In 1865, Annie Phelan leaves London to become housemaid for the Dashells, an artistic couple who've grown distant from each other after a succession of stillbirths. Eldon Dashell dreams of becoming a great cartographer and explorer, and Isabelle Dashell is determined to create her art through photography, in spite of the ridicule she receives from her peers. Isabelle uses Annie as a model, and the young woman quickly becomes her muse, inspiring her to greater heights with her portraits of Guinevere, Ophelia, Sappho, the Madonna, and other iconic images. Annie also connects with Eldon and his fascination with Sir John Franklin's disastrous Arctic exploration, and she becomes a catalyst for transformation for everyone in the house, including herself. Annie has awoken the passions of Isabelle, and the sudden flames burst through their love triangle and prove the undoing of all. "Afterimage" is a luxurious novel about awakening, love, art, and freedom in a time when nothing seemed possible. It's as if Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" were mixed with Sylvia Brownrigg's "Pages for You" to create a unique, moving story.

A Victorian Mirror

This is one of the best recent novels I have read this year, and one of the most successful attempts ever to imagine the Victorians from a contemporary point of view. Hughes introduces us to the inner lives of an Irish servant who has lost her family; a rebellious upper-class woman struggling to realize her artistic vision and ambitions;and a weak husband who has relinquished his dreams of mapping the world. The language is beautiful, dense, revelatory, and Hughes shows us the Victorians as they could not show themselves.

A wonderful piece of art!

I finally got this book (It's a pain to live in Finland where no GOOD foreign books are available!) and from the minute I laid my hands on it, it was almost impossible to put it down. It is a powerful book, its power lies in the wonderful poetic language and in the atmosphere that makes you want to hold your breath in order to avoid disturbing it. It is a very reader-friendly book, it in many ways lets the reader decide what exactly happens in the end. In that way it's much like a poem. And I love it.Humphreys has a wonderful way of describing emotional worlds. I think that some may be put off by the so called lack of plot, because on the outside, many things don't happen. However, what I think Afterimage clearly points out, is that usually the inner self and psychological maturing are much more... Dare I say, valuable things to describe in prose. TV and movies present action, let literature give insight!And even though nothing "really" happens between Annie and Isabelle, I think the intimacy of their relationship might even exceed the intimacy of a normal, sexual relationship. I think, as a reader, what they had was something more than that. (Moving on to speculation at this point, I guess) One can't always act out emotion, but it doesn't make it any less valuable.It's one of the best books I've read. Please, give me more!

Afterimages leaves long-lasting impression!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to read. I found this book difficult to put down, it was like reading a long poem. Not only was the plot intriguing and the characters interesting, but the syle and language employed by the author was nothing less than beautiful. She is able to evoke complex images with a minimum of words. The book tells the story of Annie Phelan, a destitute young woman who works as a maid for the well-off couple, Isabelle and Eldon Dashell. She becomes a muse to both of them, and profoundly changes by this process. The themes throughout the book are familiar ones. Love, greed, ambition, etc., all played out against a backround of class difference. There are no startling revelations, but still you find yourself holding your breath until the last page, when you let it out with a sigh, wanting more.