Venus, Vanishing cover art

Venus, Vanishing

a gripping story of resistance and forbidden passion in 1930s Berlin

Pre-order: Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can-listen catalogue of 15K+ audiobooks and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Venus, Vanishing

By: Rebecca Birrell
Narrated by: Lydia Wilson
Pre-order: Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Pre-order Now for £10.76

Pre-order Now for £10.76

About this listen

Venus, Vanishing is a blisteringly passionate and page-turning debut novel of desire, art, and the stories lost to the darkness of history.

'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


Berlin, 1928. Hannah is new to the pleasures and freedoms of the city. An artist, a runaway, she is building a new life, loving without boundaries and sketching with a cutting edge.

But soon the party is coming to an end. A consuming affair with her patron, Elke - the imperious wife of a powerful man - is reckless, yet life changing, and threatens to do more than ruin both of their reputations.

Her work appears around the city, tampered with, and under another's name. People are disappearing. The shadows of something unspeakable are growing darker. Her art could be the thing that secures her survival – or will deny 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

20th Century Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Romance

Critic reviews

'A gripping, gorgeously written debut that I couldn't put down' (Joanna Quinn, author of The Whalebone Theatre)
This vivid novel of 1930s Berlin asks what it means to make art in an emergency. A skilful and loving restoration of Jewish art and women’s lives (Eleanor Catton, Booker Prize winning author of Birnam Wood)
'A rare and precious combination of emotional warmth and cleverness' (Sarah Moss, author of Ripeness)
'This book offers us a radiant vision of art against evil, of the endurance of love, ambition and vitality amidst the worst of atrocities and betrayal. A bold, moving novel' (Megan Hunter, author of Days of Light)
Venus, Vanishing floored me. It is utterly captivating, from first to last (Lauren Elkin, author or Scaffolding)
Wonderful. Sharp and deft, yet alive with a deep, resonant tenderness. I absolutely LOVED Venus, Vanishing (Elizabeth O'Connor, author of Whale Fall)
'Extraordinary. Venus, Vanishing moved me deeply; I didn't want it to end. The rare sort of book that brings the past back to trembling life' (Doireann Ní Ghríofa, author of Said the Dead and A Ghost in the Throat)
'A page-turner that crackles with menace and humanity . . . A deeply satisfying novel' (Bea Setton, author of Berlin)
No reviews yet