The Last Diva

From the author of worldwide phenomenon THE VANISHING HALF, an epic story of two women who defined an era – and the feud that defined them

The world wasn’t big enough for both of them.

Cleo is beautiful and talented, born for the stage but haunted by a tragic past. While Roz is an equally gifted singer but tortured by her friend’s magnetism – even her mother seems to admire Cleo more.

It isn’t long before Cleo betrays Roz to go solo: a betrayal that will see her become a superstar. But Roz is also destined for greatness, setting the scene for the biggest music rivalry the world has ever seen. As the decades pass, the two women’s stars will rise and fall until one of them pays the ultimate price; and the world will ask, who was really to blame?

Told with dazzling prose and devastating tenderness, The Last Diva is a glittering portrait of two women bound together by music and fame, love and rivalry – and the ache of wanting more than the world was ever willing to give them.

Reviews

Praise for THE VANISHING HALF:

'An utterly mesmerising novel. It seduces with its literary flair, surprises with its breath-taking plot twists, delights with its psychological insights, and challenges us to consider the corrupting consequences of racism on different communities and individual lives. I absolutely loved this book' Bernardine Evaristo

'Epic' Kiley Reid

'Favourite book [of the] year' Issa Rae

'Bennett balances the literary demands of dynamic characterization with the historical and social realities of her subject matter . . there is such depth, possibility and dramatic propulsion . . a brave foray into vast and difficult terrain' New York Times

'A novel of immense, shining, powerful intelligence' Deborah Levy

'The Vanishing Half should mark the induction of Brit Bennett into the small group of likely successors to Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston and Nella Larsen… Compelling, compassionate and astonishingly good' Sara Collins

'A potent, generous, and masterful novel. Bennett is a humane and supple story-teller we are lucky to have' Olivia Sudjic

About the author

Brit Bennett is the author of two bestselling novels. Her debut, The Mothers, was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for both the NBCC John Leonard First Novel Prize and the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction. The Vanishing Half was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller, longlisted for the National Book Award, a finalist for the Women’s Prize, and named one of the ten best books of the year by The New York Times. Bennett has been named a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, a NAACP Image Award Finalist, and one of Time’s Next 100 Influential People. She lives in New York.