The Phoenix Crown Audiobook By Kate Quinn, Janie Chang cover art

The Phoenix Crown

A Novel

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The Phoenix Crown

By: Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld, Katharine Chin
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About this listen

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
Editor's Select Fiction Women's Fiction World War I Inspiring San Francisco Natural Disaster
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Editorial Review

Two historical-fiction queens join forces
Ever since her 2017 novel The Alice Network, Kate Quinn has been an automatic download for me (with The Rose Code being a particular favorite). Her stories are based on real people, are super well-researched, always have heroines that I’m rooting for within the first 10 minutes of listening, and are masterfully structured to maximize suspense. I was intrigued to see that for her latest she has a co-author for the first time, Janie Chang, a fellow bestselling historical fiction writer. This listen was my first by Chang, but after this one—about the colliding lives of several fascinating women amid the 1906 San Francisco earthquake—I’ll be digging more into her catalog for sure. This story didn’t miss a step of what I’ve come to expect from Quinn, and these two minds working together only made the work richer. — Audible Editor, Phoebe N.

What listeners say about The Phoenix Crown

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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, 👏).

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5 people found this helpful

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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.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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I Wanted To Love This Book

I am big Kate Quinn fan. I have read all her books and love the great details, character development and twists and turns along the way. The time period and setting of a countdown to the SF earthquake is exciting and I so wanted to love this book. I didn't care about any of the characters as I normally do in her books. The storyline didn't have its usual twists and turns. I liked the book but didn't love it.

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1 person found this helpful

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Interesting novel

I enjoyed the characters lives and the historical events depicted - San Fran earthquake - the story was a bit over the top but it was fun nevertheless!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Kate Quinn— the queen!

Another great one by Kate and my first exposure to Janie Chang. A beautiful story with complex characters woven together in phenomenal fashion.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic and engaging

Wonderful story and character development while teaching fascinating history, just as I’ve come to expect from Quinn and Chang!!!

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Excellent story!

The characters were captivating and the setting came to life. This was a fascinating story with very believable events.

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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!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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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.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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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.

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