The Glimmer Palace (The Luminous Life of Lilly Aphrodite)

A big, intelligent, rich, and beautifully written literary historical novel: a story of identity, friendship, drama and love, and an illuminating account of a period in modern history that foreshadowed so much of the coming century. As the clock chimed the turn of the twentieth century, Lilly Nelly Aphrodite took her first breath. Born to a cabaret dancer and soon orphaned in a scandalous murder-suicide, Lilly finds refuge at a Catholic orphanage, coming under the wing of the, at times, severe Sister August, the first in a string of lost loves. There she meets Hanne Schmidt, a teen prostitute, and forms a bond that will last them through tumultuous love affairs, disastrous marriages, and destitution during the First World War and the subsequent economic collapse. As the century progresses, Lilly and Hanne move from the tawdry glamour of the tingle-tangle nightclubs to the shadow world of health films before Lilly finds success and stardom in the new medium of motion pictures and ultimately falls in love with a man whose fate could cost her everything she has worked for or help her discover her true self. Gripping and darkly seductive, The Glimmer Palace showcases all the glitter and splendor of the brief heyday of the Weimar Republic, while telling the story of that other great twentieth-century illusioncinema. As it foreshadows the horrors of the Second World War, The Glimmer Palace asks what price is paid when identity becomes unfixed and the social order is upended. In the tradition of Michel Faber and Sarah Waters, a literary historical novel about an orphan girl's journey from poverty to film stardom, set against the grand backdrop of World War I Berlin, the cabaret era, the run-up to World War II, and the innovations in art and industry that accompanied it all. Big, rich, intelligent, and masterfully written, here is a page-turning story of glitter and splendor, drama and love, friendship and identity, and an illuminating account of a period of history that foreshadowed much of the twentieth century. As the clock chimes the turn of the twentieth century, Lilly Nelly Aphrodite takes her first breath. The illegitimate, orphaned daughter of a cabaret performer, she finds early refuge at a Berlin Catholic orphanage. From there follows a lifetime of reinventions, from orphan to maid, war bride, tingle-tangle nightclub girl, and script typist. Her eventual transformation into one of Germany's leading silent-film stars, and a partner in a remarkable romance that crosses decades and continents, could ultimately cost her everything she has worked for. Gripping and seductive like few other literary novels, The Glimmer Palace showcases the glamour, spectacle, and theatrical energy of the brief heyday of the Weimar Republic, while at the same time telling the story of that other great twentieth-century illusion--cinema. A celebration of cabaret in Berlin and the birth of cinema, set against the rise and fall of Germany between World War I and World War IIAs the clock chimed the turn of the twentieth century, Lilly Nelly Aphrodite took her first breath. The illegitimate, soon orphaned daughter of a cabaret performer, she lands at a Catholic orphanage where she finds refuge and the first in a string of friendships that will change the direction of her life. When fellow orphan Hanne takes Lilly beyond their stone confines, introducing her to the seedy glamour of Berlin's notorious nightlife, it begins for Lillly a trajectory of reinvention. From urchin to maid, teenage war bride, tingle-tangle bargirl, model, and script typist, Lilly is eventually transformed into one of Germany's leading film stars and a partner in a remarkable love story that will span decades and continents—and be inextricable from the history unfolding around it.Gripping, seductive, and masterfully written, The Glimmer Palace is a page-turning story of glitter and splendor, drama and love, friendship and identity. The story of an extraordinary heroine living in an extraordinary time, it is vivid and surprising in its telling, intelligent and ambitious in its scope, sad and beautiful and unforgettable.

a Celebration Of The Cabaret Era And The Magical Ascent Of Cinema, Set Against The Rise And Fall Of Berlin- A Dazzling Epic [novel] Of Survival. (emma Donoghue, Author Of slammerkin)

the Orphaned Daughter Of A Cabaret Performer, Lilly Aphrodite Finds Refuge At A Catholic Orphanage-and A Trajectory Of Reinvention, Seduction, And Danger Begins. From Urchin To Maid, War Bride To Model, Lilly Eventually Finds Her Destiny As A Famous Silent-film Star, And Enters Into A Sweeping Romance That, Crossing Decades And Continents, Becomes Inextricable From The Astonishing Historical Events Unfolding Around It.

the New York Times - Mike Peed

the Glimmer Palace Opens At The Turn Of The 20th Century And Closes As Hitler Prepares To Start World War Ii. Colin, The British Author Of Two Previous Novels, Frames Lilly's Story With Scenes From The Larger History Of The German Film Industry, At Its Height In The 1920s. She Wedges Self-contained, Fictionalized Vignettes Between Chapters, Deftly Capturing The Era's Sense Of Frenzied Invention And Seductive Promise.