Desideria (Paperback)

by Nicole Kornher-Stace (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
Kornher-Stace’s exceptionally well-crafted debut plays out in a byzantine milieu of madhouses and melodramatic theater in an unnamed seventeenth-century European metropolis. When a woman is found lying outside a burning building, her memory mislaid, and her lips sewn shut, her only recourse for shelter is the church-run Amaranth asylum. Protected from abusive wardens by a resourceful fellow inmate, she slowly recaptures her identity as Ange St. Loup, a rising actress in one of the city’s less-reputable theaters. As her life in the colorful Lady Minerva troupe comes back to her, however, Ange must grapple with the accusation that she is both insane and a murderess. Yet her greatest challenge awaits her in the person of Lady Minerva’s unseen puppet master, a shadowy criminal mastermind known only as the Specialist, who subtly manipulates Ange’s environment in a scheme bent on molding her into the city’s greatest actress. In richly textured, atmospheric prose, Kornher-Stace delivers a spellbinding tale of deception, betrayal, and the darker possibilities of playacting. --Carl Hays

Review
Kornher-Stace's exceptionally well-crafted debut plays out in a byzantine milieu of madhouses and melodramatic theater in an unnamed seventeenth-century European metropolis. When a woman is found lying outside a burning building, her memory mislaid, and her lips sewn shut, her only recourse for shelter is the church-run Amaranth asylum. Protected from abusive wardens by a resourceful fellow inmate, she slowly recaptures her identity as Ange St. Loup, a rising actress in one of the city's less-reputable theaters. As her life in the colorful Lady Minerva troupe comes back to her, however, Ange must grapple with the accusation that she is both insane and a murderess. Yet her greatest challenge awaits her in the person of Lady Minerva's unseen puppet master, a shadowy criminal mastermind known only as the Specialist, who subtly manipulates Ange's environment in a scheme bent on molding her into the city's greatest actress. In richly textured, atmospheric prose, Kornher-Stace delivers a spellbinding tale of deception, betrayal, and the darker possibilities of playacting. --Booklist, December 1, 2008

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Product Details

• Paperback: 364 pages
• Publisher: Prime (December 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809573377
• ISBN-13: 978-0809573370
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #316,805 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why it's worth buying, December 1, 2008

By	Autumn Canter (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the book to read if you are looking for something unique. Too often fantasy novels fall into the same pattern of a chosen child, who grows up to fulfill an established, prophesied destiny. I hesitate to even label this novel as fantasy. It's a little bit horror. A little bit mystery. And being so, I can't compare it to anything else I've read.

Built as a story within a story, the writer weaves the tale of the girl, Ange, in a madhouse and her questionable madness, with the story of Ange's past before her captivity when she was an actress of mysterious talent. Embedded throughout the story is the play, Desideria, that acts as both Ange's damnation and salvation and the hinge on which the story comes together.

It is certainly worth reading- especially for anyone that craves rich literary talent with the fantastic elements of speculative fiction. You'll find yourself hooked on each section of the story-immersed in the voice of the writer, her unique turns of phrase and the language of the characters.