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A Novel
New York Times bestselling author Daisy Goodwin returns with a story of the scandalous love affair between the most celebrated opera singer of all time and one of the richest men in the world.
In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas was known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic and striking beauty, she was the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. But her fame was hard won: raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her golden voice, she learned early in life to protect herself from those who would use her for their own ends.
When she met the fabulously rich Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, for the first time in her life, she believed she'd found someone who saw the woman within the legendary soprano. She fell desperately in love. He introduced her to a life of unbelievable luxury, showering her with jewels and sojourns in the most fashionable international watering holes with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
And then suddenly, it was over. The international press announced that Aristotle Onassis would marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.
In this remarkable novel, Diva, Daisy Goodwin brings to life a woman whose extraordinary talent, unremitting drive and natural chic made her a legend. But it was only in confronting the heartbreak of losing the man she loved that Maria Callas found her true voice and went on to triumph.
"Brava! Historical-fiction enthusiasts, fans of La Callas, and others will relish this view into the tumultuous love affair of a power couple; they'll offer a standing ovation when, in the novel's 'Final Curtain,' the opera singer discovers her true voice." ―Library Journal (starred review)
"Dazzling...Diva sparkles with glamour, glimmers with hope, and is emblazoned with female empowerment." ―Shelf Awareness
"When Ms. Goodwin conjures the craft and grace of the hardworking singer who traced each bel canto phrase like a sinuous, unbroken 'line of ink' she does it well... Diva paints in bold, primary colors... [while exhibiting] subtler touches as Callas squanders the irreplaceable 'gold coin' of her unique talent." ―Wall Street Journal
"Daisy Goodwin is a genius storyteller, fashioning the most delicious, insider gossip into a tale full of heartbreak, love, ambition, and brutal disappointment." ―Nina de Gramont, bestselling author of The Christie Affair
"Daisy Goodwin's immersion in the life of Maria Callas has yielded a jewel of a novel, as tormentingly seductive as any diamond necklace given to her by her faithless lover, Onassis." ―Rose Tremain, award-winning author of Restoration and Lily: A Tale of Revenge
This information about Diva was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Mike Hogan
Daisy Goodwin is the author of the New York Times bestselling novels The Fortune Hunter The American Heiress. She is a Harkness scholar who attended Columbia University's film school after earning a degree in history at Cambridge University and was Chair of the judging panel of the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction. She is the screenwriter and executive producer of the PBS/Masterpiece drama Victoria. She lives in London.
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