Lee Miller

A Life

By: Carolyn Burke

Narrated by: Ann Richardson

A trenchant yet sympathetic portrait of Lee Miller, one of the iconic faces and careers of the twentieth century.

Carolyn Burke reveals Miller as a multifaceted woman: both model and photographer, muse and reporter, sexual adventurer and mother, and, in later years, gourmet cook—the last of the many dramatic transformations she underwent during her lifetime. A sleek blond bombshell, Miller was part of a glamorous circle in New York and Paris in the 1920s and 1930s as a leading Vogue model, close to Edward Steichen, Charlie Chaplin, Jean Cocteau, and Pablo Picasso. Then, during World War II, she became a war correspondent—one of the first women to do so—shooting harrowing images of a devastated Europe, entering Dachau with the Allied troops, posing in Hitler’s bathtub.

Burke examines Miller’s troubled personal life, from the unsettling photo sessions during which Miller, both as a child and as a young woman, posed nude for her father, to her crucial affair with artist-photographer Man Ray, to her unconventional marriages. And through Miller’s body of work, Burke explores the photographer’s journey from object to subject; her eye for form, pattern, and light; and the powerful emotion behind each of her images.

A lush story of art and beauty, sex and power, Modernism and Surrealism, independence and collaboration, Lee Miller: A Life is an astute study of a fascinating, yet enigmatic, cultural figure.

This program includes a downloadable PDF that contains Lee Miller’s recipes for a dinner party, as assembled by Carolyn Burke.

A Unique and Beautiful Person

Carolyn Burke’s writing - evocative, comprehensive, generous - captured and held my attention.
I heard Burke speak about Miller in Paris years ago, just after the publication of her book. I immediately purchased and read the book. Listening to it read by Ann Richardson, however, was an even more engaging experience of Miller’s life.
My only qualm about recommending Richardson’s performance is her cringeworthy mangling of many French words and titles. But if the listener can overlook this flaw - or is completely ignorant of proper French pronunciation - I cannot withhold my enthusiastic recommendation.
Enjoy!

Lee Miller

Chock full of history and art and travel and culture. Well researched and written, engaging and detailed, rich in relational details. Highly recommended!

Couldn’t finish

I really wanted to like this book. I struggled to listen to it and finally gave up. The reading feels like some is being forced to read a text book and the story is a minute by minute description of someone’s life.