Overview

Ghostlight The Forgotten Story of Marina Delaine This novel based on a real person is a haunting, luminous novel that weaves together the glamour and shadows of 1920s Los Angeles with the fragile persistence of memory and art. At its heart is Marina Delaine, an usherette at the Majestic Theater, whose longing to be seen and remembered propels her from the velvet aisles of a movie palace into the flickering, uncertain light of the silver screen. Marina's world is one of ritual and reverence: the hush before the overture, the secret corridors behind the scenes, the delicate choreography of audience and staff. Her life changes when she befriends Rafael Ortega, the theatre's enigmatic projectionist, who teaches her the sacred mechanics of film and the invisible art of making light out of darkness. Under Rafael's mentorship, Marina learns that the true magic of cinema lies not in the images themselves, but in the ""darkness between frames"" but the spaces where memory and longing reside. When a chance encounter with Julian Hart, a visionary cinematographer, offers Marina the opportunity to step in front of the camera, she is thrust into a world of ambition, rivalry, and invention. Julian is searching for a new kind of star, someone who can ""transmit"" rather than perform, who can haunt the margins of a story and linger in the mind long after the credits roll. Marina's screen test is a revelation: her presence is spectral, her voice a whisper that the new technology of talking pictures struggles to capture. Yet it is precisely this quality, her refusal to compete, her ability to simply exist, that makes her unforgettable. As Hollywood hurtles towards the era of sound, Marina's journey becomes a battle against erasure. She faces the skepticism of studio executives, the jealousy of established stars, and the relentless pressure to conform. Her closest friend, Lena, warns her of the dangers of wanting to be remembered in a city that devours its dreamers. But with the support of Rafael, Julian, and a small circle of believers, Marina becomes the subject of an experimental film, Ghostlight, that seeks to capture not just her image, but her very soul. Ghostlight is a novel about the persistence of art and the hunger to leave a mark on the world. It is a love letter to the lost rituals of cinema, the unsung labour of projectionists and extras, and the women who haunted the edges of fame. Through Marina's eyes, we witness the birth of a new kind of immortality, one that exists not in the spotlight, but in the afterimage, the echo, the memory that refuses to fade. For readers of literary historical fiction, film noir, and stories of women who defy the odds, Ghostlight is a mesmerising meditation on light, longing, and the ghosts we leave behind.

Full Product Details

9798233347092

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Maeve Campbell is an American author born to Irish immigrants and raised in the Bronx during the gritty, electric pulse of the 1980s. Her childhood was steeped in storytelling, from the lyrical tales her parents brought from County Clare to the streetwise narratives unfolding on every corner of her neighborhood. That blend of heritage and hustle shaped Maeve into a woman who sees the poetry in chaos and the romance in resilience. After a marriage unraveled under the weight of betrayal, Maeve turned inward, channeling her energy into her career as a personal assistant to a high-powered CBS executive. Behind the scenes of network television, she mastered the art of discretion, diplomacy, and knowing exactly when to speak and when to listen, skills that would later serve her well as a writer. A proud graduate of Fordham University, Maeve now lives on Roosevelt Island in a sunlit apartment overlooking Manhattan, where she shares her space with two cats, a dog named Finnegan, and the occasional friend who knows not to overstay. Her social life is vibrant, peppered with wine-soaked dinners, rooftop conversations, and the kind of friendships that survive both silence and scandal. Maeve began writing in the wake of 9/11, when grief cracked something open inside her. What started as a private act of healing became a public voice for love, loss, and longing. Her romance novels are unapologetically raw, exploring the messy, magnetic pull between people who are broken but brave enough to try again. Whether she's writing about forbidden desire, second chances, or the quiet ache of solitude, Maeve's stories pulse with emotional truth and a distinctly New York rhythm. She writes not just to entertain, but to remind readers that vulnerability is a strength - and that love, in all its forms, is worth the risk.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available