The Phoenix Crown: A Novel

As the earthquake hits, Suling is sheltered under the church’s marble bench. She walks over to St. Christina’s asylum, seeing the damaged buildings and people along the street. Once inside, Suling talks to Sister Anne, who gives her keys to unlock the cells on the floor Reggie is on. She won’t tell Suling which room is Reggie’s, so Suling has to unlock them all. She finds Reggie, who is extremely drugged, and leads her out of the building. On the way out, they see Sister Anne fall to her death. The exits are blocked, so Suling tosses mattresses out of a destroyed wall, including the one that Reggie fell asleep on, and jumps out after Reggie onto the mattress pile.

Immediately after the earthquake, Gemma sees Henry loading his gun and talking about looters. He leaves, and Gemma helps a guest who was left behind after the party. She checks on her bird, Toscanini, and decides to leave the bird until she knows where it will be safe. She walks to the boarding house, finding it fully intact. Alice orders Gemma to help her bring water for the fires that are starting to break out all over the city.

After jumping to the mattresses, Suling drags Reggie to the portico of the church. She also brings over a mattress for Reggie, who is scared but still heavily sedated, to sleep. Suling finds a market and buys some food. After eating, Suling falls asleep next to Reggie. When Suling wakes up, Reggie seems more sober, but still not completely herself. Reggie eats and doesn’t want to talk about her experience in the asylum. Suling assures Reggie that she loves her and tells her Gemma is in town. Reggie confesses that she saw Henry kill a man, which is why he had her locked up.

She arrived at the offices of Thornton Ltd earlier than planned and saw Mr. Langford, from the Pinkerton Detective Agency, questioning Henry about the Park Avenue Hotel Fire. She walked into the office just as Henry stabbed Langford. Henry had another man, Des, hold Reggie while Henry dosed her with chloroform. When she came to, she saw a man named Danny helping Des with the body. Henry confessed that he has been living under an assumed name and that he plans to use his real name and marry an aristocrat when he has enough money. Then, he took Reggie to the asylum and lied about her mental state to have her committed.

Suling tells Reggie about Gemma. When Reggie learns that Gemma is Henry’s mistress, she demands they go to the octagon house. Suling reluctantly agrees.

Alice leads Gemma to the California Academy of Sciences, where they meet up with Alice’s employees, Emily and Seth. Gemma is horrified when she sees the fires, and a man tells her the earthquake broke a water main, so the fire department can’t use it. Alice, meanwhile, gets the keys for the building and insists on going inside to save some of her work. The staircase is broken, but Alice is determined to climb up the outside of the stairs, stepping between the banister posts. She asks Gemma to come with her, and Gemma calls her crazy. Alice shames Gemma for not being friendly or community-oriented, and Gemma reluctantly begins to climb the staircase banister with Alice.

After they climb up four floors, Gemma begins to sing Verdi’s “Requiem.” They talk about what the lyrics mean—“Save me” (232)—and Gemma catches Alice when she slips. Alice tells her to keep singing as they climb the rest of the way to the sixth floor. Once in her office, Alice puts botanical samples into a basket and lowers it out of a window to Seth and Emily below. Gemma pleads with Alice to leave, but Alice is determined to save her life’s work. Eventually, Gemma convinces Alice to climb back down the staircase banister. Alice continues to beg to go back and Gemma decides she hates stairs.

On the ground, her employees catalog what they’ve saved. Alice wants to go back for more, but they convince her to put the samples on an express wagon and take them back to the boarding house. Gemma tells Alice she has to go back to the octagon house for her bird. Alice decides to go with her and save the Queen of the Night flower.

Suling and Reggie walk through the city, viewing the destruction on their way back to the octagon house. When Suling gives a woman food, the woman accepts it with a racist remark. They run into Madam Ning, who says the city is going to demolish some buildings in Chinatown, including her brothel, to keep the fires from spreading. Her employees have gone to the new Chinatown in Oakland, but she is going to see Henry because he didn’t pay the girls who worked the party the previous night. When they all arrive at the octagon house, Henry isn’t there, and most of the servants have fled. One servant, who was injured, remains but is also heading to Oakland. Madam Ning goes off to find Clarkson, asking Suling to write a note to leave at his house. Reggie eats some of Henry’s food and says Gemma will be back because her bird is still in the house.

Shortly thereafter, Gemma and Alice arrive. Reggie updates Gemma on what happened at the asylum, as well as on Henry being a murderer. As they gather Gemma’s bird and the flower, Henry returns. He sees Suling first and offers to pay her what he owes Madam Ning. As they talk, Reggie tries to sneak out, but Henry sees her.

A pane of glass falls and shatters as Henry confronts the women. Suling offers to waive Madam Ning’s fee if he allows them to leave. Henry stares at Reggie and says he would let Suling leave if she was alone. Gemma offers to go with him if he allows the others to leave. He refuses, pulls out a gun, and orders them into the conservatory. At this point, Madam Ning arrives, and Henry shoots and kills her. When Suling tries to approach the body, Henry hits her with the butt of his gun. The women go into the conservatory, and he locks them in. Alice has put the Queen of the Night flower in a pot. Suling tries the back door, but it is sealed by wreckage from the earthquake.

Henry pours lamp oil around the house after taking the Phoenix Crown and other valuable items. He apologizes to Gemma as he sets his house on fire. The women frantically try to find a way out, crashing against glass that has an iron framework too small for them to fit through. Alice wonders if the key to the back door also unlocks the front door of the conservatory. It does, allowing Alice, her potted flower, and Gemma to get out. Once outside, they realize Suling and Nellie are still inside. Gemma recalls George telling her that her opera training has given her “lungs like an elephant” (258). Holding her breath to avoid inhaling the smoke, she runs into the conservatory to save her friends. Gemma gets Nellie out first, then goes back for Suling. Her hair catches on fire, but Alice puts it out when Gemma and Suling get outside. Gemma’s bird also makes it out of the fire.

Once outside, Suling cries over Madam Ning’s body. Sergeant Clarkson arrives, checks Ning’s body for a pulse, makes the sign of the cross, and covers her body with his coat. Suling tells him that Henry is a murderer. Clarkson notes that so many people have died because of the earthquake that there probably won’t be a proper burial for many of the dead, including Ning. They all walk to the boarding house, and Clarkson is grateful to know about the murder Reggie witnessed. There, they clean up a bit and Reggie gives Suling the dragon robe, which she saved from the fire. They hear from other tenants that people are gathering in Golden Gate Park, but Suling plans to go to Oakland with Reggie. As they watch the city burn, the Queen of the Night flower blooms. Alice takes notes at first, but eventually they all just watch the flower.

Overnight, Alice made cuttings of the flower for everyone, and they keep them as they part ways. Suling and Reggie head to Oakland. Alice finds a ride to Fort Mason and offers to take Gemma with her. However, Gemma plans to look for George in Golden Gate Park. She gets to Union Square and pauses by a piano shop. Caruso walks by, joking that he should’ve taken the job in Naples instead of San Francisco. Then, he sings their duet from Carmen. Gemma doesn’t join in, and he asks if she’s a singer or a performer. As he discusses the difference, he stretches Gemma with a pencil and paper. Gemma joins in singing, and after they finish, Caruso gives her the sketch. When Caruso’s valet arrives, he invites her to come with him.

They meet up with other singers from the Met, and Caruso’s valet starts taking them to the ferry. Gemma watches people around her, thinking she might have seen the Flying Roller she met on the train to the city. A piano is out in the square, and Gemma plays it and sings for the crowd around her. People watch and cry. George arrives, tells her he was looking for her, and the crowd asks Gemma to keep singing. George accompanies her, and she sings until she is hoarse. Caruso’s cart returns and they talk about going on with the company to New York. He kisses her hand and they hold each other as they ride to the ferry.