Overview

On the eve of World War I, twenty-one-year-old Georgie Hyde-Lees meets the acclaimed poet W. B. Yeats at a soirée in London. Although Yeats is famously eccentric and many years her senior, Georgie is drawn to him, and when he extends a cryptic invitation to a secret society, her life is forever changed. As zeppelins stalk overhead and bombs bloom against the skyline, Georgie finds purpose tending to injured soldiers in a makeshift hospital. She befriends the wounded and heartbroken Lieutenant Pike, who might need more from her than she is able to give. At night, she escapes with Yeats into a darker world, becoming immersed in the Order, a clandestine society of ritual and magic. As forces--both of this world and the next--pull Yeats and Georgie closer together and then apart, Georgie uncovers a secret that threatens to undo it all. In bright, commanding prose, author Alice Miller illuminates the fascinating and unforgettable courtship of Georgie Hyde-Lees and W. B. Yeats. A sweeping tale of faith and love, lost and found and fought for, More Miracle than Bird ingeniously captures the moments--both large and small--on which the fates of whole lives and countries hinge.

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9781951142513

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Reviews

A terrific tale. . . . Written with superb emotional rightness.--Joan Silber, author of Secrets of Happiness Alice Miller proves herself to be a superb medium. . . . A vivid portrait of mercurial artists in a tumultuous time.--Christopher Castellani, author of Leading Men Engrossing and impressive.--Lisa Gornick, author of The Peacock Feast Historical fiction devotees will appreciate this sensitive character study wrapped in an atmospheric, moody rendering of WWI London.-- Publishers Weekly Miller probingly explores the sacrifices that accompany loving a great artist, as well as 'Willy' and Georgie's fascination with the occult.--Keija Parssinen, author of The Unraveling of Mercy Louis Riveting. . . . Brilliantly animates a pivotal period of literary history.--Joanna Scott, author of Careers for Women Subtle and low-key, Miller's debut coolly appraises the poet while fully inhabiting the woman in his shadow.-- Kirkus Reviews Sweeping . . . A pristine, thoughtful re-imagining of the personal lives of true literary greats.-- Shelf Awareness, Starred Review The lens through which a story is told makes all the difference. . . . Miller deftly presents a portrait of Georgie, a young woman calibrating her place in the world, and her shifting relationship with the man she adores.-- Booklist More Miracle than Bird will ring in my mind's ear for a long time, and I will return to its pages. A wonderful book!--Jay Parini, author of Borges and Me A shimmering novel about our yearnings for forever, and the greatest mystery of life, which is, of course, love. It must be said: More Miracle than Bird is a bit of a miracle in itself.--Caroline Leavitt, author of With or Without You Miller has written a luminous novel about the women involved with the early 20th century's most notable men poets, offering a fresh portrayal of the women's brilliant complexity. Ambition, artifice, and adventure draw them through a contingent world unsettled by spirits, mediums, the war dead, and soon-to-be dead. But Miller is up to more than telling a story of these fascinating lives: More Miracle Than Bird makes a sly and disturbing inquiry into how art truly gets made and to whom it belongs.--Katherine Dion, author of The Dependents

Author Information

Alice Miller is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and the International Institute of Modern Letters. She is on the faculty of the MFA program at Cedar Crest College.

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