Hallandale Book Discussion

The Phoenix Crown Book by 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.

"An irresistible proposition for a gifted operatic soprano. The double lives of a talented young Chinese woman and her artist lover. A tenacious, globe-trotting female botanist. The legendary crown of an Empress. The devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and the ensuing rampant, deadly fire. Brilliant authors Kate Quinn and Janie Chang weave these threads together into 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, New York Times bestselling author

"Oh my goodness, I couldn’t put this book down! Heart-pounding, gasp-out-loud storytelling—THE PHOENIX CROWN is the best book I've read all year." — Victoria Christopher Murray, New York Times bestselling author

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.

About the Author

Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of Southern California, she attended Boston University, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in classical voice. A lifelong history buff, she has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga and two books set in the Italian Renaissance before turning to the 20th century with The Alice Network, The Huntress, The Rose Code, and The Diamond Eye. All have been translated into multiple languages. She and her husband now live in California with three black rescue dogs.

Born in Taiwan, Janie Chang has lived in the Philippines, Iran, Thailand, New Zealand, and Canada. She writes historical fiction, often drawing from family history and ancestral stories. She has a degree in computer science and is a graduate of the Writer’s Studio Program at Simon Fraser University. She is the author of Three Souls, Dragon Springs Road, and The Library of Legends.

Explore "The Phoenix Crown" in the Broward County Library catalog. 

Refreshments provided by the Friends of the Hallandale Beach Library. 

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