Introduction

In this re-imagining of Phantom of the Opera, meet a Christine Daaé you’ve never seen before…

Christine faces an impossible choice: be a star at the Paris opera as Papa always wanted, or follow her dream—to become a master of illusions. First, she must steal the secrets of the enigmatic master who haunts her, survive a world of treachery and murder, and embrace the uncertain promise of love. To succeed, she will risk her life in the grandest illusion of all.

Editorial Review

No editorial review at this time.

Excerpt

OVERTURE

New York City 1891

I was not the innocent girl they thought me to be. Though many never witnessed it, my honeyed warmth disguised a spine of steel. It took time to find my strength, but it had been there all along. Didn’t everyone hide behind a mask at one time or another? In my experience, yes, very often, yes. Yet I longed to be free of my own.

I walked backstage and collapsed into a chair before the vanity mirror. My wine-colored gown blended with the shadows, leaving only the whites of my eyes and pale skin visible in the gloom. Shivering, I turned the knob of the lamp and a flame flickered to life. My knees still trembled from the mysterious vision I’d seen in the west balcony.

“You’re imagining things,” I whispered.

With a shaking hand, I grasped a pot of cream to remove the many layers of rouge and powders. The familiar clamor of stagehands and props, and the din of a dissipating crowd floated through the hall, but did little to calm my nerves. I must have been seeing things. I had to be. Yet terror licked up my spine.

My eyes shifted focus to a reflection in the mirror behind me. The glass tub slipped from my fingers and clattered to the floor.

There, on the table beside the sofa, lay a single red rose tied with a black ribbon. view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

1. Have you seen the musical The Phantom of the Opera, either the stage version or the film? Read the original novel? What lasting imprint of the story has stayed with you?

2. When you think of illusionists/magicians, what comes to mind? How do magicians from today differ from those from over one hundred years ago? Why do you think that is?

3. Spiritualism was a popular movement during the Belle Époque. Turning tables were some of the first Ouija boards, in essence, and those who had lost loved ones used them to connect with their spirits beyond the grave. Do you believe this is possible—contacting a spirit in some way? Has there been a time you’ve felt an otherworldly presence around you?

4. One of the themes in the novel is about working through grief so that one can move forward and come into a newly realized sense of self. Which characters had to work through a sense of loss? How did they all approach their “healing” differently? Would you say they were successful?

5. What purpose did opera serve in centuries past? Do you feel opera is still a legitimate and influential art form today?

Weblinks

»	Author's web site
»	Follow the author on Facebook
»	Follow the author on Twitter
»	Follow the author on Instagram

Book Club Recommendations

Recommended to book clubs by 0 of 0 members.

Member Reviews

There are no user reviews at this time.
Rate this book