E-audiobook
The Phoenix crown : a novel / Kate Quinn and Janie Chang.
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.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780063304871
- ISBN: 0063304872
- Physical Description: 1 online resource
- Edition: Unabridged.
- Publisher: [S.I.] : HarperAudio, 2024.
Content descriptions
- General Note:
- Unabridged.
- Participant or Performer Note:
- Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld, Katherine Chin
Search for related items by subject
- Subject:
- Fiction.
Historical Fiction.
Literature.
Earthquakes > California > San Francisco.
Antiques > Fiction.
Women > Fiction.
Missing persons > Fiction.
Women singers > Fiction.
Chinese Americans > Fiction.
Fiction.
Literature.
Historical Fiction.
Tremblements de terre > Californie > San Francisco.
Antiquités (Objets anciens) > Romans, nouvelles, etc.
Femmes > Romans, nouvelles, etc.
Personnes disparues > Romans, nouvelles, etc.
Chanteuses > Romans, nouvelles, etc.
Américains d'origine chinoise > Romans, nouvelles, etc. - Genre:
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Electronic resources
- AudioFile Reviews : AudioFile Reviews 2024 April
Two accomplished narrators, Saskia Maarleveld and Katharine Chin, set forth this story of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and the people caught up in its devastation. Both narrators are skilled at portraying emotions, revving up suspense, and mastering many varieties of accents and dialects. Maarleveld 's urbane and sonorous voice brings to life the ambitious opera ingenue, Gemma, and Chin's pert narration animates Suling, the hardworking, artistic Chinese American embroideress. Two other brave and gifted women make up the quartet of heroines who struggle to survive and to bring justice to a murderer. This is gripping historical fiction, and listeners will also learn about the trauma faced by the residents of Chinatown during that time period. D.L.G. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine - Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2024 April #1
The Phoenix Crown is filled with parallels: two established authors, two readers, and two very different protagonists. In 1906 San Francisco, Suling, a Chinese American seamstress, and Gemma, an opera singer beset by migraines, begin worlds apart in Chinatown and Nob Hill but soon come to overlapping purposes. The two story lines are distinguished well by Chin, who reads Suling's chapters, and Maarleveld, reading Gemma's. Even when their arcs weave together their voices remain distinct. The plot unfolds with gradual realizations of increasing danger to the characters: first a disappearance, then the city's devastating earthquake, and finally murder. Both narrators use pacing effectively, drawing out suspenseful scenes and demonstrating panic or distress with urgency. Both use regional accents selectively (Brooklynite and Parisian, for example, and more noticeably in Maarleveld's chapters) to identify specific characters. A nice touch is the authors' note at the end, in which the two share historical background and process. Fans of strong female characters and historical fiction will enjoy this production. Copyright 2024 Booklist Reviews.