Fata Morgana: A Romance of Art Student Life in Paris

Phil Longwill came to Paris to paint. What he found was loneliness, ambition, and the ghost of a girl he'd loved as a boy. Helia was an acrobat in a traveling circus then, flying through the air while young Phil watched from below. Now she's a memory he carries through the ateliers and cafés of Montparnasse, a mirage that won't quite dissolve into the present. This is the Paris of 1900, where art students freeze in unheated garrets and argue about beauty until dawn. Where a painting matters more than a meal and every stranger at a party might become either a rival or a patron. Castaigne knew this world intimately. His novel pulses with the particular hunger of young artists who believe they're destined for something extraordinary, even as reality keeps pulling them back. The title promises a mirage, and the novel delivers one. But the true illusion isn't Helia. It's the belief that art and love, properly pursued, will ever be enough to sustain a life.