Light and Shadow

In 1874, the acclaimed photographer Eadweard Muybridge—famed for capturing the first motion image of a galloping horse—shot and killed his wife’s lover, Major Harry Larkyns. In what became known as the trial of the century, Muybridge was acquitted on the grounds of justifiable homicide. His much younger wife, Flora, died less than a year later, leaving behind a son, Florado—whose paternity was in question and whose future would be shaped by silence, shame, and abandonment. In Light and Shadow, Candida Baker weaves fact and fiction into a moving, multilayered novel that explores the emotional legacy of this infamous Victorian scandal. Narrated by Rosa Maria de Martinez—Florado’s imagined daughter—the story unfolds as Rosa embarks on a lifelong search to piece together her hidden family history. Her journey takes her from Mexico to the United States, and finally to Australia’s Snowy Mountains, where her love of horses and connection to the land offer a chance at healing. Told as a letter to a younger friend, Light and Shadow is a meditation on love, loss, betrayal and resilience. As Rosa brings to life the imagined voices of Eadweard, Flora and Harry, she also confronts her own wounds—of abandonment, shame, and unspoken grief. Alongside Muybridge’s groundbreaking photography, which serves as a visual metaphor for the novel’s emotional terrain, Baker offers a profound reflection on how women survive the shadows of their past—and where they find the light.