The Phoenix Crown

 

The Phoenix Crown

Kate Quinn and Janie Chang

Pub. date: Feb. 13, 2024 by William Morrow Paperbacks

Historical Fiction

4 👢👢👢👢

Summary: From bestselling authors Janie Chang and Kate Quinn, a thrilling and unforgettable narrative 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.

My thoughts: Quinn has catapulted to the top of the biographical fiction author list. Chang has carved a niche for herself by infusing her historical fiction with the mystical elements of Chinese folklore. This collaboration draws from each authors' strengths. There are historical nuggets such as the 1899 NY Windsor Hotel fire, the sponsoring of art and culture by the wealthy, the richness and cultural significance of Chinatown, and of course the San Francisco earthquake. Readers get a fast paced historical mystery with this book. The characters are complex and offer plenty of insight into each of the segments of the population that they represent. Perhaps we can look forward to a standalone highlighting Alice Eastwood one day.   

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me early access to this book.