Daughter of the House

Book excerpt: A woman faces life-changing decisions in post–World War I London from the “master storyteller” and bestselling author of The Illusionists (Cosmopolitan). In Daughter of the House, Rosie Thomas returns to the marvelous Wix family. Nancy Wix, daughter of the stage impresarios Eliza and Devil, must find a way to keep London’s Palmyra theatre afloat, and to entertain audiences who have lost husbands and sons in the First World War. Nancy is a born performer, but she is set apart—even from her beloved brothers—by her psychic gifts. She must harness her troubling powers to keep her family and the theatre intact. It is a dangerous path and a lonely one, but Nancy’s bold choices lead her to love, and to the recognition of what it takes to become a modern woman. As another war begins to threaten the world, she is forced into a final, fateful confrontation with her demons, and must marshal both her ingenuity and her mysterious talents to fight for the survival of friendship, independence, and family. “Brilliantly bring[s] to life the end of the music hall era and the rise of spiritualism in the 1920s. I highly recommend this smart, gothic, and romantic page-turner.” —Historical Novel Society “[Thomas] creates a dynamic protagonist involved in an uncertain romance, and her other principal characters are equally well-rounded.” —Kirkus Reviews “A long, appealing yarn of a story, Daughter of the House is a sequel to the author’s earlier The Illusionists but is eminently readable as a stand-alone novel.” —Booklist