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, this novel skillfully uses its strong female leads to examine racism, sexism, and classism. Readers won't want to put this one down' HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY
'[A] seamless collaboration of two terrific novelists' THE WASHINGTON POST
