The Phoenix Crown
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- €4.49
Publisher Description
An unforgettable story about the intertwined lives of two wronged women, spanning from the chaos of the San Francisco earthquake to the glittering palaces of Versailles…
San Francisco, 1906. In a city bustling with newly minted millionaires and scheming upstarts, two very different women hope to change their fortunes: Gemma, a golden-haired, silver-voiced soprano whose career desperately needs rekindling, and Suling, a petite and resolute Chinatown embroideress who is determined to escape an arranged marriage.
Their paths cross when they are drawn into the orbit of Henry Thornton, a charming railroad magnate whose extraordinary collection of Chinese antiques includes the fabled Phoenix Crown, a legendary relic of Beijing’s fallen Summer Palace.
His patronage offers Gemma and Suling the chance of a lifetime, but their lives are thrown into turmoil when a devastating earthquake rips San Francisco apart and Thornton disappears, leaving behind a mystery reaching further than anyone could have imagined . . .
Until the Phoenix Crown reappears five years later at a sumptuous Paris costume ball, drawing Gemma and Suling together in one last desperate quest for justice . . .
Praise for The Phoenix Crown:
‘Impeccably researched, magnificently rendered, and breathlessly paced’ JAMIE FORD
‘Seamless, page-turning masterpiece of history and suspense – shot through with women rising up from the margins of society to claim their own singular futures, I could not put this triumphant novel down’ MARIE BENEDICT
‘Heart-pounding, gasp-out-loud storytelling – The Phoenix Crown is the best book I’ve read all year’ VICTORIA CHRISTOPHER MURRAY
'Lushly detailed, richly imagined, and utterly satisfying, The Phoenix Crown will entrance readers' BOOKLIST
'Action-packed … Readers won't want to put this one down' HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY
'[A] seamless collaboration of two terrific novelists' THE WASHINGTON POST
Reviews
Praise for Kate Quinn:
‘Recommend it to all lovers of smart historical fiction’ Booklist
‘Exciting . . . historical fiction fans will be riveted’ Publishers Weekly
‘Readers looking for a new and unique viewpoint of World War II with a mystery to solve and a light touch of romance will dive deep into this story’ Library Journal
‘A fascinating read . . . if you’re a fan of 20th-century history then look no further’ Altrincham Today
‘A remarkable story filled with heart, intrigue [and] breathtaking drama’ Allison Pataki
‘Quinn weaves humanity and emotional depth through the narrative’ Sarah Penner
‘Beautifully rendered . . . utterly absorbing’ Natasha Lester
‘Kate Quinn takes expert aim at one of history’s forgotten heroines to bring us a story that will pull you in from the very first sentence’ Alix Rickloff
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Quinn (The Diamond Eye) and Chang (The Porcelain Moon) team up for a stirring story involving opera, prized antiquities, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Gemma Garland, a soprano in New York's Metropolitan Opera, is hoping to revive her lagging career. Shortly after her arrival with the Met's traveling company in San Francisco, where she's slated to perform with Enrico Caruso, Gemma meets and falls for charming railroad magnate Henry Thornton. Soon, she's singing at his house for members of high society. Her affection for Henry curdles, however, after she learns about his dark side from Chinese embroiderer Suling Feng, whom Henry has hired to mend a damaged robe from a Beijing palace. Among his other collectibles is an ornate crown, also taken from the palace. It turns out Suling's lover Reggie has disappeared, and she tells Gemma that Henry is to blame. The women confront him just as the earthquake hits, after which Henry and the crown disappear. The authors ably develop the two main characters as they discover a shared sense of independence and join in common cause while reckoning with the mixed blessings of a powerful man's patronage. Readers of historicals with strong female leads will savor this.
