The Phoenix Crown

A Novel

By: Kate Quinn, Janie Chang

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld, Katharine Chin

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's 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.

©2023 Kate Quinn and Janie Chang (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

I love Kate Quinn and Saskia Maarleveld

I love Kate Quinn and Saskia Maarleveld. Quinn’s WWII historical fiction books are my absolute favorite! Maybe because my expectation for anything written by Quinn is exceptionally high, but the shared writing did not live up to her solo novels. The sections of the novel narrated by Saskia Maarleveld are superb, I would give the performance by Saskia five out of five.

Kate Quinn never dissapoints

I love anything by Kate Quinn, and the narrator Saskia Maarleveld - and this did not disappoint. I wondered if I would be ok with the 2 authors and 2 narrators, but I definitely enjoyed Janie Chang and Katherine Chin as well. It had my attention from the start, a few twists and turns, and I loved anticipating how the earthquake was going to affect the story. Maybe not as intense as some of the other Kate Quinn books, but that is ok - it was very good, and I would highly recommend it.

Excellent

These two authors are a match made in heaven. Do hope they collaborate again in a near future

Loved the story 🥰

Enjoy the characters. I thought they were well developed. Love the historical background was extremely informative.

A treat!!

Oh my goodness!! I absolutely loved this book and the performance!! Literally felt like I was swept up into the world of the characters. The story is amazing and I cannot believe many of the characters were real people. The story is so well written. Thank you all for the treat to escape into another time and space!!

Fascinating history & setting. Slow start.

Big fan of Kate Quinn. However, this was not my favorite. Very slow start for me. Glad I did not give up. Was not sucked into the story or characters like I have been in her other novels. Really enjoyed the setting of San Francisco and gaining a better understanding of the quake of 1906 and the subsequent destruction of the city by fire. Appreciated learning about the Chinese who lived in the city at that time. Ending was rather anticlimactic for me. Overall a 3.5

Entertaining History

Excellent novel. Compelling story really held my attention. The idea of this diverse group of characters becoming intertwined through happenstance in the lead-up to and aftermath of a major American tragedy is quite brilliant. I’ve visited and worked in San Francisco many times over the years but I learned a lot of things I didn’t know about it from this book. My wife, who doesn’t read a lot of fiction, listened to the audiobook with me and she loved it as much as I did.

Great story

This story lacked the suspense that some of her other books have, but it was still a good story. It took me a little bit to get into it, but after the first few chapters it was a pleasant read.

A Queen of the Night

There’s a lot to love about this jewel of a book, showing a more full picture of the San Francisco earthquake than I’ve read to date. I loved everything about it, from the pitch perfect narrations, to China Town and all its accoutrements and personalities, to the Opera, to the wickedness of mankind and loveliness of friends and strangers. The authors’ notes really surprised me, too—I didn’t expect so much to be based on truth! (And it helped me understand why the technical parts of the opera portrayal were so accurate, 👏).

It was Ok.

I didn't like the narration of Reggie's character highly accented to the point of distraction and I didnt like her characterat all. Saskia's narration was great, even though I didn't like the characters or their personal stories. They seemed a bit sappy wavering back and forth. Alice and George were the best. The story itself was ok. I didn't like that it had a part 2 for 5 years later. As much as I love Kate Quinn books I was a little disappointed.