A gorgeous, lyrical and haunting fantasy novel set in Depression-era Chicago and starring a young ballerina, perfect for fans of Beauty and the Beast and Phantom of the Opera
A gorgeous, lyrical and haunting fantasy novel set in Depression-era Chicago and starring a young ballerina, perfect for fans of Beauty and the Beast and Phantom of the Opera
Grace has always wanted to be a ballerina - ever since she first looked through the windows of the Near North ballet company. The elegance and beauty of the dance seemed almost transcendent to a child of the working poor. So when Grace is orphaned, it is to the ballet that she flees. To the ballet mistress, Grace is her little bird - a wounded creature flown in through her window, one that she can heal and make fly. And indeed, years later, Grace is ready to spread her wings as the new Prima ballerina of the Near North company. But it is a position that comes with a price.
For every struggling company - especially at the tail end of the Great Depression - needs a rich patron, and Grace is merely the bait in an elaborate trap. So when she attracts the attention of the enigmatic Master La Rosa, she realizes that her new position is just another sort of cage - albeit a brighter and more gilded one. But in Master La Rosa's mysterious, decaying mansion, she begins to sense what it would truly mean to break her bars and fly free at last.
