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A Novel
by Megan Chance
When the great Seattle fire of 1889 leaves them with nothing to lose, two very different women discover a mutual passion for revenge.
Chicago socialite and art patron Geneva Langley has brought scandal to her family for the last time. Her latest and boldest act of immodesty is too much for her father to bear, and he banishes her to Seattle, along with her scheming, ambitious husband, Nathan. Seattle is a far cry from Chicago—the streets are muddy, the society backward, and Ginny feels stifled and alone.
Despite her considerable talent, Beatrice Wilkes is an actress whose dream of being a leading lady is fading rapidly. She can't believe her luck when a new production gives her a chance at stardom, but Geneva Langley seizes the opportunity for her own and unwittingly crushes Bea's last dream.
The two women engage in a fierce battle for center stage, but the great Seattle fire, which ravages the city, changes their fates and plans. In its aftermath, Ginny and Bea see an opportunity to change their lives: but it would mean banding together to enact a truly wicked plan. Their dark and perilous alliance will set them on the path to either redemption or damnation.
"Leave it to Chance (Prima Donna) to pen a fine historical that's both a gripping novel and a study of the constraints placed on 19th-century women. Stellar characterization, terrific dialogue, and a twisty plot make this story of old-time Seattle pop." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Evocative of Seattle's rough history and early society…as fun to read as Jane Adams' Seattle Green (1987), which is set around the same time." —Booklist
"Chance's sharp writing, believable and detailed historical setting, and strong female characters keep her latest from descending into melodrama." —Library Journal
This information about City of Ash 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.
Megan Chance is the author of Prima Donna, The Spiritualist, An Inconvenient Wife, and Susannah Morrow. A former television news photographer, she lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two daughters.
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