White Magic: A Novel

Roger Wade is a young painter whose reputation has blossomed in the cafés of Paris, yet his life is uncomplicated—he prefers his canvases to crowds and his modest earnings to extravagance. When his reclusive aunt, a wealthy landowner in northern New Jersey, dies, she bequeaths him a sizeable fortune and a sprawling, untamed estate that stretches from Deer Spring village to the shores of Lake Wauchong. The unexpected inheritance forces Roger back to the countryside he left fourteen years ago, confronting a world of family histories, old grudges, and the quiet rhythms of rural life.

Back in his hometown, Roger finds the land both beautiful and bewildering, a place where the natural world seems to hold secrets of its own. As he begins to settle in, he encounters a cast of locals—some eager to claim a share of his new wealth, others drawn to his artistic spirit. Their differing motives set the stage for a series of gentle clashes and unexpected alliances, hinting at the challenges and opportunities that await the artist turned heir.