In this riveting and richly drawn novel from "one of the master storytellers of historical fiction" (New York Times bestseller Beatriz Williams), a talented young artist flees New York for Paris after one of her scandalous drawings reveals a dark secret-and triggers a terrible tragedy.
In the wake of a dark and brutal World War, the glitz and glamour of 1925 Manhattan shine like a beacon for the high society set, which is desperate to keep their gaze firmly fixed to the future. But Delphine Duplessi sees more than most. At a time in her career when she could easily be unknown and penniless, like so many of her classmates from L'Ecole de Beaux Arts, in America she has gained notoriety for her stunning "shadow portraits" that frequently expose her subjects' most scandalous secrets-for better or for worse. Most nights Delphine doesn't mind that her gift has become mere entertainment-a party trick-for the fashionable crowd. Though her ancestor La Lune, the legendary sixteenth-century courtesan and-like Delphine-a witch, might have thought differently.
Then, on a snowy night in February, in a penthouse high above Fifth Avenue, Delphine's mystical talent leads to a tragedy between two brothers. Horrified, she renounces her gift.
Devastated and disconsolate, Delphine returns to her old life in the south of France where Picasso, Matisse, and the Fitzgeralds are summering. There, Delphine is thrust into recapturing the past. First by her charismatic twin brother and business manager Sebastian in his attempts to cajole her back to work and into co-dependence, then by the world famous opera singer Emma Calve, who is obsessed with the centuries-old Book of Abraham, written by the fourteenth-century alchemist Nicolas Flamel. And finally by her ex-lover Mathieu, who is determined to lure her back into his arms, unaware of the danger that had led Delphine to flee Paris for New York five years before.
Trapped in an ancient chateau where hidden knowledge lurks in the shadows, Delphine questions and in many ways rejects what and who she loves the most-her art, her magick, her family, her brother, and Mathieu-as she tries to finally accept them as the gifts they are and to shed her fear of loving and living with her eyes wide open.
Industry Reviews
Rose transports the reader 100 years into the past into a city known for romance but torn apart by war Rose's best novel to date. --Jeff Ayers "Associated Press "" A haunting story of love and espionage in World War I Paris that both surprises and delights. --Lauren Willig, New York Times-bestselling author of The Other Daughter" A spellbinding ghost story that communicates the power of love and redemption through Rose's extraordinary, magical lens. --Alyson Richman, internationally bestselling author of The Lost Wife" "Rose transports the reader 100 years into the past into a city known for romance but torn apart by war...Rose's best novel to date."--Jeff Ayers "Associated Press " "A haunting story of love and espionage in World War I Paris that both surprises and delights."--Lauren Willig, New York Times-bestselling author of The Other Daughter "A spellbinding ghost story that communicates the power of love and redemption through Rose's extraordinary, magical lens."--Alyson Richman, internationally bestselling author of The Lost Wife -Rose transports the reader 100 years into the past into a city known for romance but torn apart by war...Rose's best novel to date.---Jeff Ayers -Associated Press - -A haunting story of love and espionage in World War I Paris that both surprises and delights.---Lauren Willig, New York Times-bestselling author of The Other Daughter -A spellbinding ghost story that communicates the power of love and redemption through Rose's extraordinary, magical lens.---Alyson Richman, internationally bestselling author of The Lost Wife -M.J. Rose is simply one of the master storytellers of historical fiction; in The Secret Language of Stones, she serves up yet another feast of history and enchantment, as a jewelry maker creates a passionate, otherworldly connection to a soldier lost on the battlefields of the First World War.---Beatriz Williams, New York Times-bestselling author of A Certain Age -M.J. Rose's bewitching novel The Secret Language of Stones explores the devastation of war upon the hearts of those who remain. In this tale set in World War I Paris, a young female jeweler with magical gifts learns to listen to the stones she works with, providing comfort to bereaved women by sharing their loved ones' messages. In doing so, she learns to listen to her own heart, as well, when one of the stones speaks directly to her. Can Opaline possibly be in love with a dead soldier? A fantastic historical tale of war, love, loss, and intrigue, enhanced by vivid period detail.---Melanie Benjamin, New York Times-Bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue and The Aviator's Wife "M.J. Rose is simply one of the master storytellers of historical fiction; in The Secret Language of Stones, she serves up yet another feast of history and enchantment, as a jewelry maker creates a passionate, otherworldly connection to a soldier lost on the battlefields of the First World War."--Beatriz Williams, New York Times-bestselling author of A Certain Age "M.J. Rose's bewitching novel The Secret Language of Stones explores the devastation of war upon the hearts of those who remain. In this tale set in World War I Paris, a young female jeweler with magical gifts learns to listen to the stones she works with, providing comfort to bereaved women by sharing their loved ones' messages. In doing so, she learns to listen to her own heart, as well, when one of the stones speaks directly to her. Can Opaline possibly be in love with a dead soldier? A fantastic historical tale of war, love, loss, and intrigue, enhanced by vivid period detail."--Melanie Benjamin, New York Times-Bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue and The Aviator's Wife M.J. Rose is simply one of the master storytellers of historical fiction; in The Secret Language of Stones, she serves up yet another feast of history and enchantment, as a jewelry maker creates a passionate, otherworldly connection to a soldier lost on the battlefields of the First World War. --Beatriz Williams, New York Times-bestselling author of A Certain Age" "M.J. Rose s bewitching novel The Secret Language of Stones explores the devastation of war upon the hearts of those who remain. In this tale set in World War I Paris, a young female jeweler with magical gifts learns to listen to the stones she works with, providing comfort to bereaved women by sharing their loved ones messages. In doing so, she learns to listen to her own heart, as well, when one of the stones speaks directly to her. Can Opaline possibly be in love with a dead soldier? A fantastic historical tale of war, love, loss, and intrigue, enhanced by vivid period detail. --Melanie Benjamin, New York Times-Bestselling author of The Swans of Fifth Avenue and The Aviator s Wife"
