Queen of the Night

From a writer praised by Junot Diaz as `the fire, in my opinion, and the light`, Alexander Chee`s astounding epic The Queen of the Night follows one woman`s rise from circus rider to courtesan to world-renowned star. For readers who loved Sarah Perry`s The Essex Serpent.Paris, 1882.Lilliet Berne is a sensation, a legendary soprano with every accolade except an original role. When one is finally offered to her, she realizes with alarm that the libretto is based on a hidden piece of her past. Only four could have betrayed her: one is dead, one loves her still, one wants only to own her. And one, she hopes, never thinks of her at all. As Lilliet mines her memories for clues, she recalls her life as an orphan who left the American frontier for Europe and was swept up into the glitzy, gritty world of Second Empire Paris. In order to survive, she transformed herself from circus rider to courtesan, from empress`s maid to stage ingenue,all the while weaving a web of passion and intrigue. Will the truth secure Lillet`s fate - or destroy her with the secrets it reveals?