Synopsis
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.
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.