New York: Dutton, (2021) dj. Hardcover first edition - Set in the then Bohemian Carmel-by-the-Sea in the years just before and after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, this chronicles both the early years of the development of the town as a center of the arts (a real estate driven image to encourage sales), gives glimpses into the lives of many of the prominent writers of the time, including Jack London and Mary Austin, but focuses on the affair between the talented poet Nora May French and the charismatic but philandering George Sterling, much to the distress of his wife, Carrie. This scandalous romance unravels amidst artistic ambition and societal constraints, ending in the suicides of all three figures. As Prendergast pieces together fragmented records, revealing how women's lives were deliberately obscured in archives, the research itself becomes a compelling part of the story - and it reveals the harsh realities faced by women seeking independence. Illustrated with photographs. Bibliography, notes, index. vii, 340 pp. ISBN: 978-0593182925.