I've been waiting for this film to come out, especially after reading THE AGE OF LIGHT by Whitney Scharer. It's a beautifl and captivating novel about Miller after the war and her relationship to Man Ray.
It is a truly great movie and so special to watch it with you. I was as moved as you were and Kate deserves the Oscar for her realistic and powerful portrayal of this genius woman. I was so inspired by Lee Miller’s courage and selflessness — I wish I’d known her and I wish she’d seen Kate’s portrayal of her.
I feel your heart on this page, within this post. Thank you, thank you, thank you!l for this comprehensive piece. You have a true gift for capsulizing and conveying complicated, layered subjects, and Lee Miller is no exception. Her story is bold, brave and heartbreaking, as most ground breakers are. She was exceptional.
I did not know about the rape as a child or her father’s nude photographing of her as a teen. I don’t think there is any greater violation or betrayal by someone who is suppose to love and protect you…
I am so proud of Kate Winslet, extraordinary in her own right, for bringing Miller’s story to light. Bravo Kate! Reece Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, along with many other actresses, have used their platform and money to form their own production companies, and are scooping up important stories and bringing them to the forefront. So proud of them all.
And you Natasha, for continuing to find and go into deeply disturbing, unthinkable territory. You push through the nightmare material and bring us not just awareness, but moving, heart wrenching stories in complete raw truth; a deft and gentle, hand. You are a true artist and weaver of words. Sheer magic. Again, thank you 💖
This is such a lovely comment, Sue—thank you. I feel quite overwhelmed.
And yes, Lee Miller somehow managed to do incredible things despite the terrible things that life threw at her. I really wish her story had had a happier ending, but I'm very glad she didn't languish in obscurity and that with the movie, her story will reach even more people and hopefully inspire them too.
Wow Natasha thanks so much for sharing this as I’d not yet heard about the film & absolutely now must go to see it asap! I adore Kate Winslet & can imagine what a fantastic job she will have done on this for all the reasons you share here. What a story! And how incredible - but sadly, why am I not surprised - that she fought such battles of her own to bring it to screen.
I was inspired to follow the history path througb university & then teaching by reading & being read historical fiction as a child & think I’ve always been living a second life through having at least one historical novel on the go! I love any opportunity to see them brought to life on screen. It’s really interesting - as you point out - to see the differing interpretations & what might have been left out or nuanced in different ways to meet particular needs (the constraints of a 2 hour film!), perspectives or aims. I expect you too feel these constraints when editing your own work?
Your books are so powerful due to that special lens you shine on the often forgotten heroines of our past & as you say, how their stories resonate so powerfully with our present day. Your French Photographer is one of my all time favourite novels for its sheer power & the beauty you infuse into your prose. I’m always inspired (or obsessed!) to keep the story going long after the books are sadly finished by researching as much as I can around the characters, places etc, such as Lee & her amazing photos, which really are stunning. The image of her in Hitler’s bathtub with those boots nearby also really does exist - I couldn’t believe it! it’s a wonderfully life-enriching, though often heartbreaking, experience to immerse ourselves in the worlds of these past women which I’d never be without & so thank you hugely for this Natasha - & also others like Kate who are doing the same job for a wider audience.
Spookily (appropriate given the date!) I must add as an aside that I find so many serendipitous aspects in your books & things going on in my life which only adds to the magical effect you have on this reader! I’m so eagerly awaiting your Mademoiselle Allaince/Paris Secret… my daughter has lived in Lyon & is now in Marseille & we’ve come across & been fascinated (indeed, haunted) by stories of Marie-Madeleine in WW2 as well as of course, St Exupery & Le Petit Prince, including walking the Petit Prince trail in Cassis… which I hope you also had chance to do while you were there researching?
Totally echo your & Kate’s call that as wide a modern audience as possible should be exposed to these stories & the hope that through this the lives of the incredible women such as Lee Miller will continue to have influence on today’s crazy world - perhaps even more now than they had opportunity to at the time . Thank you again Natasha - & Kate - for enabling this legacy.
Hi Andrea and thank you for this really lovely comment. I'm so glad you took the time to look at Lee's photos after you read The French Photographer—that is the best compliment in the world. She was such a gifted photographer and her images are extraordinary. When I was in Paris in 2022, there was an exhibition of her photographs and I was lucky enough to see the real images, which was a very moving experience.
And thank you also for your comments about The Mademoiselle Alliance. I'm also looking forward to getting Marie-Madeleine's story out into the world, which is just as remarkable as Lee Miller's.
Firstly thank you Natasha for bringing Lee’s story to us through your novel The French photographer. It was one of my favourite novels and I had to see this story brought to life.
To say I was totally immersed in the movie and Kate’s performance would be an understatement. She was honest, raw and deeply moving.
It is because of women like you and Kate that we can appreciate and honour these strong fierce women in our history.
I hope this movie receives the recognition it so rightly deserves.
Thankyou to you and Kate for your passion, dedication and storytelling.
Thank you so much for your kind and very generous comment. I hope the movie finds a wide audience too, not only so more people know about Lee Miller, but also to demonstrate how interested people are in these kinds of stories, where pyrotechnics and superheroes aren't required, just the honest and complicated story of what it's like to be a remarkable woman who challenged the world.
Thank you for sharing this Natasha. I know you are such a fan but it is so much more than that. I am inspired how you continue to promote and praise the efforts of so many women from the past who may otherwise have been forgotten. That you address and are not afraid to confront the major discrepancies on how some matters are dealt with. You and your books bring this alive to so many of your readers.
I have been waiting to see LEE for months... and also waiting to read what you thought about it. I didn't know anything about Lee Miller until I read The French Photographer. Thank you for bringing the unseen, incredible work of women to life in your novels. I'm off to see LEE this weekend xo
I agree, have seen the movie and it is engrossing. Kate Winslett's performance is brilliant, a career high for her. So mature ( after the squirm-inducing Titanic! Well that's my opinion!)
If you watch the original b& w " A Night to Remember", it tells it like it really was. No Hollywood embroidery, e.g poor boy meets rich girl. Titanic was so OTT in parts we found it hard not to laugh.
I've been waiting for this film to come out, especially after reading THE AGE OF LIGHT by Whitney Scharer. It's a beautifl and captivating novel about Miller after the war and her relationship to Man Ray.
Yes, I remember reading that one when it came out. I enjoyed it too.
It is a truly great movie and so special to watch it with you. I was as moved as you were and Kate deserves the Oscar for her realistic and powerful portrayal of this genius woman. I was so inspired by Lee Miller’s courage and selflessness — I wish I’d known her and I wish she’d seen Kate’s portrayal of her.
Yes, thank you for being my movie buddy! I'm so glad we are able to go and see it just after it was released—a very special night.
I feel your heart on this page, within this post. Thank you, thank you, thank you!l for this comprehensive piece. You have a true gift for capsulizing and conveying complicated, layered subjects, and Lee Miller is no exception. Her story is bold, brave and heartbreaking, as most ground breakers are. She was exceptional.
I did not know about the rape as a child or her father’s nude photographing of her as a teen. I don’t think there is any greater violation or betrayal by someone who is suppose to love and protect you…
I am so proud of Kate Winslet, extraordinary in her own right, for bringing Miller’s story to light. Bravo Kate! Reece Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, along with many other actresses, have used their platform and money to form their own production companies, and are scooping up important stories and bringing them to the forefront. So proud of them all.
And you Natasha, for continuing to find and go into deeply disturbing, unthinkable territory. You push through the nightmare material and bring us not just awareness, but moving, heart wrenching stories in complete raw truth; a deft and gentle, hand. You are a true artist and weaver of words. Sheer magic. Again, thank you 💖
This is such a lovely comment, Sue—thank you. I feel quite overwhelmed.
And yes, Lee Miller somehow managed to do incredible things despite the terrible things that life threw at her. I really wish her story had had a happier ending, but I'm very glad she didn't languish in obscurity and that with the movie, her story will reach even more people and hopefully inspire them too.
Wow Natasha thanks so much for sharing this as I’d not yet heard about the film & absolutely now must go to see it asap! I adore Kate Winslet & can imagine what a fantastic job she will have done on this for all the reasons you share here. What a story! And how incredible - but sadly, why am I not surprised - that she fought such battles of her own to bring it to screen.
I was inspired to follow the history path througb university & then teaching by reading & being read historical fiction as a child & think I’ve always been living a second life through having at least one historical novel on the go! I love any opportunity to see them brought to life on screen. It’s really interesting - as you point out - to see the differing interpretations & what might have been left out or nuanced in different ways to meet particular needs (the constraints of a 2 hour film!), perspectives or aims. I expect you too feel these constraints when editing your own work?
Your books are so powerful due to that special lens you shine on the often forgotten heroines of our past & as you say, how their stories resonate so powerfully with our present day. Your French Photographer is one of my all time favourite novels for its sheer power & the beauty you infuse into your prose. I’m always inspired (or obsessed!) to keep the story going long after the books are sadly finished by researching as much as I can around the characters, places etc, such as Lee & her amazing photos, which really are stunning. The image of her in Hitler’s bathtub with those boots nearby also really does exist - I couldn’t believe it! it’s a wonderfully life-enriching, though often heartbreaking, experience to immerse ourselves in the worlds of these past women which I’d never be without & so thank you hugely for this Natasha - & also others like Kate who are doing the same job for a wider audience.
Spookily (appropriate given the date!) I must add as an aside that I find so many serendipitous aspects in your books & things going on in my life which only adds to the magical effect you have on this reader! I’m so eagerly awaiting your Mademoiselle Allaince/Paris Secret… my daughter has lived in Lyon & is now in Marseille & we’ve come across & been fascinated (indeed, haunted) by stories of Marie-Madeleine in WW2 as well as of course, St Exupery & Le Petit Prince, including walking the Petit Prince trail in Cassis… which I hope you also had chance to do while you were there researching?
Totally echo your & Kate’s call that as wide a modern audience as possible should be exposed to these stories & the hope that through this the lives of the incredible women such as Lee Miller will continue to have influence on today’s crazy world - perhaps even more now than they had opportunity to at the time . Thank you again Natasha - & Kate - for enabling this legacy.
Hi Andrea and thank you for this really lovely comment. I'm so glad you took the time to look at Lee's photos after you read The French Photographer—that is the best compliment in the world. She was such a gifted photographer and her images are extraordinary. When I was in Paris in 2022, there was an exhibition of her photographs and I was lucky enough to see the real images, which was a very moving experience.
And thank you also for your comments about The Mademoiselle Alliance. I'm also looking forward to getting Marie-Madeleine's story out into the world, which is just as remarkable as Lee Miller's.
Firstly thank you Natasha for bringing Lee’s story to us through your novel The French photographer. It was one of my favourite novels and I had to see this story brought to life.
To say I was totally immersed in the movie and Kate’s performance would be an understatement. She was honest, raw and deeply moving.
It is because of women like you and Kate that we can appreciate and honour these strong fierce women in our history.
I hope this movie receives the recognition it so rightly deserves.
Thankyou to you and Kate for your passion, dedication and storytelling.
Thank you so much for your kind and very generous comment. I hope the movie finds a wide audience too, not only so more people know about Lee Miller, but also to demonstrate how interested people are in these kinds of stories, where pyrotechnics and superheroes aren't required, just the honest and complicated story of what it's like to be a remarkable woman who challenged the world.
Thank you for sharing this Natasha. I know you are such a fan but it is so much more than that. I am inspired how you continue to promote and praise the efforts of so many women from the past who may otherwise have been forgotten. That you address and are not afraid to confront the major discrepancies on how some matters are dealt with. You and your books bring this alive to so many of your readers.
Thank you, Helen. This is such a lovely comment to read. I'm very glad to have such generous and supportive readers like you in my community.
As.soon as I saw the trailer I thought of you and your novel.
Can't wait to see this. Hopefully next couple of days . Thanks for the timely info and review.
I hope you enjoy it too. Make sure you pop back and let me know what you thought of it.
I have been waiting to see LEE for months... and also waiting to read what you thought about it. I didn't know anything about Lee Miller until I read The French Photographer. Thank you for bringing the unseen, incredible work of women to life in your novels. I'm off to see LEE this weekend xo
I hope you're as moved by the movie as I was. I'd love to hear what you think once you've seen it so make sure you come back and let me know.
I agree, have seen the movie and it is engrossing. Kate Winslett's performance is brilliant, a career high for her. So mature ( after the squirm-inducing Titanic! Well that's my opinion!)
Definitely a career high for her. I'm so grateful that she worked so tirelessly to get this movie made and never gave up.
Titanic didn't make me squirm
If you watch the original b& w " A Night to Remember", it tells it like it really was. No Hollywood embroidery, e.g poor boy meets rich girl. Titanic was so OTT in parts we found it hard not to laugh.
I know, my opinion only, many will disagree .