{"product_id":"the-unexpected-diva","title":"The Unexpected Diva","description":"\u003cp\u003eBorn into slavery on a Mississippi plantation, Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield has been raised in the safety of Philadelphia's Quaker community by a wealthy adoptive mother. Sheltered and educated, Eliza's happy childhood always included music lessons to nurture her unique gift: a glorious three octave singing voice that leaves listeners in awe. But on the eve of her twenty-fourth birthday, young Eliza's world is thrown into a tailspin when her mother dies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEliza's inheritance is contested by her mother's white cousins, leaving her few options. She can marry her longtime beau, Lucien, though she has no desire to be a wife and mother. Or she can work as a tutor for rich families. Her mother's dying wish was for Eliza to pursue her talent and become a professional singer, but that grand vision now seems out of reach.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen a chance performance on a steamboat to Buffalo, New York, leads to a surprising opportunity, fearless Eliza seizes her moment. Within a year she is touring America, singing to packed houses, and igniting controversy wherever she goes. In a country captivated by \"the Swedish Nightingale\" Jenny Lind, Eliza is billed by tour promoters as \"the Black Swan.\" An unlikely diva, Eliza is tall, dark-skinned, and robust of figure compared to the petite European prima donna, but even the harshest critics can't deny Eliza's extraordinary gift. Menaced by racist crowds, threatened by slave-catchers who kidnap free Black people, Eliza lives a public life full of risk, but one which also holds the promise of great riches, and the freedoms those buy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the churches of Philadelphia to Queen Victoria's salon in Buckingham Palace, Eliza Greenfield will blaze her own path--with a voice that no listener will ever forget.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Asè Book Boutique","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44477147840708,"sku":"","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0578\/7834\/7972\/files\/IMG-1286.jpg?v=1735266980","url":"https:\/\/www.thehomeplaceinstitute.com\/products\/the-unexpected-diva","provider":"Asè Book Boutique","version":"1.0","type":"link"}