His Lovely Wife - by Elizabeth Dewberry (Paperback)

About the Book

Dewberry's complex, surprising novel uses string theory to weave together two women's lives and explore a culture that celebrates women for their beauty-then exacts a terrible toll.

Book Synopsis

When tall, blond, and beautiful Ellen Baxter enters the Paris Ritz the day before Princess Diana dies, she's mistaken for Diana by the paparazzi. The next morning, as Ellen's older, Nobel-laureate husband attends a physics conference, she goes to the site of the fatal crash and finds an uncharacteristic photograph of Diana. Surprised by how deeply the death has affected her, Ellen pockets the photo. As she hears Diana's voice in her head and begins to understand the parallels between their lives, she tracks down the person who took the photograph, hoping that this man who deals in surfaces can penetrate her beauty, as he did Diana's, and help her love the woman inside.

Elizabeth Dewberry's complex, surprising novel uses string theory to weave together two women's lives and explore a culture that celebrates women for their beauty--then exacts a terrible toll.

From the Back Cover

"His Lovely Wife is told in understated yet succinctly lovely language. By delving deeply into Ellen's life, Dewberry reveals the challenges many women face as they look for a meaningful place in their relationships and the world."--USA Today
When tall, blond, and beautiful Ellen Baxter enters the Paris Ritz the day before Princess Diana dies, she s mistaken for Diana by the paparazzi. The next morning, as Ellen s older, Nobel-laureate husband attends a physics conference, she goes to the site of the fatal crash and finds an uncharacteristic photograph of Diana. Surprised by how deeply the death has affected her, Ellen pockets the photo. As she hears Diana s voice in her head, she begins to understand the parallels between their lives and she fervently wants to find the man who took the photograph.
His Lovely Wife is a complex, surprising novel that explores a culture that celebrates women for their beauty then exacts a terrible toll.
Whatever [Ellen's] fate, she's a character who readers will remember and sympathize with." The Washington Post Book World
"[Ellen] is unaffectedly charming, insightful and hilarious. Her retorts and observations, which she mostly keeps to herself, can be laugh-out-loud funny or like a punch in the gut . . . Dewberry raises provocative questions about the utility of fantasy and why people obsess over celebrities."--Chicago Tribune
ELIZABETH DEWBERRY has written three previous novels, including Sacrament of Lies. Her plays have been produced in a variety of venues. She lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with her husband, Robert Olen Butler."

Review Quotes

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR HIS LOVELY WIFE

"Dewberry . . . departs from the expected and ordinary as she gives achingly eloquent voice to a world of women whose stories often go untold: those who feel inevitably defined by the powerful men in their lives and recognize this with growing despair. With the beauty of language and nuance of gestures, she captures the unspoken yet profoundest truths between husband and wife. I predict His Lovely Wife will find a huge audience and grab those lucky readers by the heart."--Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club