Megan Hunter Reads from 'Days of Light'

At 4pm Friday, January 24 as part of MK GALLERY’s Conference on Vanessa Bell

Megan Hunter will read from her forthcoming, Charleston-inspired novel, Days of Light (Picador, April 2025) and will be in conversation with Rebecca Birrell

"Days of Light evolved over many years and took many forms — it was originally inspired by the people, relationships and artworks at the heart of Charleston, and particularly by the relationship between Vanessa Bell and her daughter, Angelica Garnett," says author Megan Hunter. 

"I read Garnett's memoir, Deceived by Kindness, and was fascinated by both the intense closeness and feelings of estrangement that defined the relationship at different times. It was fascinating to me to research both Vanessa Bell's life as an artist and mother — painting her children, painting around her children — and Angelica Garnett's life as the child of famous artists, and her struggle to define her own identity in the face of this."

"The complexities of the mother-daughter relationship — and the question of how to be both an artist and mother — still fascinate us today," says Hunter. "The fictional nature of the novel also gave me a freedom to explore other aspects of an imagined life, such as the relationship between faith and art, and different forms of desire and commitment. Ultimately I was, and remain, fascinated by the way that life and art intersect, overlap and influence one another, and by the way that Charleston remains such a burning example of the desire to live a life shaped by artistic creation." 

Event supported by Calliope Arts Foundation

For full details on event and partners: Vanessa Bell Conference