The Glimmer Palace is an absolutely enthralling tale of Lilly Nelly Aphrodite's rise from young orphan to silent film star and everything in between. Lilly's journey is rife with War, Hunger, and disappointment, yet through the darkest of times her stoic nature allows her to endure. Detached and yet utterly endearing, Lilly entrances all who encounter her. Intelligent without being pretentious, Colin's striking portrait of WWI Berlin Flows seamlessly into the upheaval surrounding the Weimar Republic.

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.

“As spellbinding as the era in which its set, Beatrice Colin’s The Glimmer Palace is a rare marriage of muscular scholarship and high romance.  In the chiaroscuro of Lilly’s coming of age—from orphan to struggling war bride to triumphant and ultimately vulnerable film star—we’re given all the flashes of brilliance and deep shadow that defined the birth of an industry and a troubled century.”
—Sheri Holman, author of The Dress Lodger and The Mammoth Cheese

“Written with intelligence and shimmer, The Glimmer Palace transports the reader to Berlin in the first part of the twentieth century. Colin’s heroine, Lilly Aphrodite, is as rich, alive, and dangerous as the city she inhabits; and as the novel progresses, Berlin’s history becomes her own.”
—David Ebershoff, author of The Danish Girl and The 19th Wife

“There are few characters as beguiling as the incomparable Tiny Lil. And Colin tells her riveting story—and the enthralling story of prewar Berlin—breathlessly and triumphantly.”
—Jennifer Gilmore, author of Golden Country

“As moving as it is smart, this extravaganza had me from page one. The Glimmer Palace is a dazzling epic of survival in the urban wilderness of cabaret-era Berlin.”
—Emma Donoghue, author of Slammerkin and Life Mask

“Captivating…Beatrice Colin’s irresistible novel, The Glimmer Palace, follows the eventful life of a Berlin orphan who becomes a rising star in the brand-new medium of the cinema.  Early 20th-century Berlin is just like Colin’s main character: anything it wants to be and full of promise to be more. . . . Colin’s memorable tale is also the story of Germany’s film industry between the wars. Though the historical detail rings true, it is a mere backdrop to the compelling story of Lilly… The Glimmer Palace is haunting.”
—Bookpage

"As moving as it is smart, this tough-minded extravaganza had me from page one. The Glimmer Palace is a dazzling tale of survival in the urban wilderness."
-- Emma Donoghue, author of Slammerkin and Life Mask

Beatrice Colin was born in London and raised in Scotland. She has worked as a freelance journalist, writing for publications including The Guardian, and as a playwright, writing radio plays for the BBC.

Imprint: Riverhead Hardcover
Distributor: Penguin Group USA, Inc
Publication Date: 07-24-2008
Pages: 416
Measurements: 9.30in X 6.28in X 1.45in X 1.36lb