The Phoenix Crown

A Novel

De: Kate Quinn, Janie Chang

Narrado por: Saskia Maarleveld, Katharine Chin

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

Pretty good

Seemed a little slow moving and I wasn’t super hooked on it but it was worth the listen

Kate Quinn and new to me author did a great job

While the story was a little thin, I thought— compared to other Kate Quinn books, it was still an enrapturing story about a time period that I knew not much about —the San Francisco earthquake & the early part of the 1900s. I love the four strong women in the story, and wish there was a little more development of each of them.

Interesting story about the San Francisco earthquake

A very good story with historical details I didn’t know. Very engaging. I have read other books by the same author and I like her style and narrative.

I loved it all!

I loved every moment in this book . Great character who will stay with me for a long time. I didn’t want it to end. Brava ladies!!

Historical events

I like the weaving of history & fiction for an intriguing story and the sorting out at the end.

Amazing!

Would not have expected less from Kate Quinn! Any history buff would love it and don’t forget the authors’ notes!

Fun Ride

Kate Quinn is an auto-buy author for me and I loved that she worked with Janie Chang to bring this book together. A lot of research went into this book and I loved how easy it was to picture everything they described. This story was from a time I haven’t explored much so it was fun to learn more as I read.

Not typical Kate Quinn, but so good.

This was quite different from the previous Kate Quinn books that I’ve read. It was slow to start, but I did end up really enjoying it.
The voiceover narration was suburb as always. Well worth the listen.

Famtastic

Collaboration of authors Kate Quinn and Janie Chang and narrators Saskia Maarleveld and Katherine Chin is perfection. Thank all of you for this historical novel at its finest!

Intriguing story

The history was very interesting and the separate voices made it more enjoyable to listen to.