title: A Flickering Light (Portraits of the Heart, Book 1)
author:  Jane Kirkpatrick 
description: Starred Review. Historical novelist Kirkpatrick (<i>A Tendering in the Storm</i>) is exceptionally authentic in her use of early 20th-century history. Virtually all the characters are real figures; protagonist Jessie Ann Gaebele is inspired in this biographical fiction by the writer's own grandmother. Jessie Ann loves photography, and when she is hired as an assistant to photographer F.J. Bauer, she learns about the field of her dreams and also about herself, as she finds herself attracted to her married boss, who battles his own feelings in return. Kirkpatrick renders the war among desire, duty and restraint with exquisite nuance. There are no unsympathetic characters in this tangle of relationships. Bauer's wifealso named Jessiemay be difficult to live with, but she has her reasons. The period detaildangerous chemicals used in photography, debilitating and frequent illnesses, the routine constraints on women's choicesoffers a compelling portrait of the time. Kirkpatrick deserves a wide audience for this coming-of-age tale that is aching and hopeful. <i>(Apr.)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
zlib_text: > > Praise for  
  > A Flickering Light  
  >  
  >
  
  > > > > “Jane Kirkpatrick has done it again. A Flickering Light is as
  > engaging, well researched, and finely written as her other best-selling
  > historical novels. Her characters are real people with real temptations, and
  > at the end of the novel, this reader wants to know what happens next.”
  
  > > > > —LAURAINE SNELLING, author of One Perfect Day  
  > and the Blessing books
  
  > > > > “Jane Kirkpatrick’s brilliance as a storyteller and her elegant
  > artistry with the written word shine like a beacon in A Flickering Light. A
  > master at weaving historical accounts with threads of story, Jane has that
  > rare ability to take her reader on a journey through time. You nearly feel
  > the ground move beneath your feet.”
  
  > > > > —SUSAN MEISSNER, author of The Shape of Mercy
  
  > > > > “Jane Kirkpatrick handles some very difficult issues and situations in
  > A Flickering Light. Her attention to historical detail is greatly
  > appreciated and defines her