The Queen of the Night — Alexander Chee

Lilliet Berne is a sensation of the Paris Opera with every accolade except one: she has never created an original role, every singer's chance at immortality. When she is approached with an offer to do just that, it comes with a caveat -- the opera must be based on a secret from her past that she has thought long buried. Who has exposed her? In pursuit of answers she's drawn back into her past. An orphan who left the American frontier in search of her mother's family in Europe, Lilliet was swept up in the glitzy, gritty world of Paris at the height of Napoleon III's rule. There she transformed herself from hippodrome rider to courtesan, from maid to Empress Eugenie to debut singer, weaving a complicated web of romance, obligation, and political intrigue. With endless twists, a cast of characters drawn from history, and a captivating, resourceful heroine, The Queen of the Night tells its story through the transformations of Lilliet as she sheds role after role, moving with every step closer to the spotlight of the Parisian stage -- a spotlight that may reveal the secrets she has fought to keep.