His Lovely Wife - Paperback

by Elizabeth Dewberry (Author)

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.

Front Jacket

"Elizabeth Dewberry gives eloquent voice to a world of women whose stories often go untold: those who feel defined by the more 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

In August 1997, accompanying her Nobel laureate husband to a physics conference in Paris, tall, blond, and beautiful Ellen Baxter is momentarily mistaken for Princess Diana when she arrives at the Paris Ritz hotel. One photographer realizes she is not Diana and helps her escape the paparazzi swarming around her, but photographs her anyway.
The next day Ellen runs into the photographer again at the site of Diana s death and finds a photo he has left there a fierce, very uncharacteristic photo of Diana. Ellen pockets the photo. She is shocked by how deeply moved and shaken she is by Diana s death. As she gazes at that photo, she begins hearing Diana s voice in her head and realizes how much her own life parallels Diana s. And she fervently wants to find that photographer.
Suddenly Ellen is forced to come to grips with all she has compromised by being a lovely wife. Is she falling in love with the photographer or does she simply want him to provide her with a new image of herself?
This complex, surprising novel uses string theory to weave together two women s lives and to explore a culture that celebrates women for their beauty then exacts a terrible toll.
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Back Jacket

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."