Gemma and her friends from the Spence Academy return to the realms to defeat her foe, Circe, and to bind the magic that has been released, in the sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Reprint. Gemma and her friends from the Spence Academy return to the realms to defeat her foe, Circe, and to bind the magic that has been released. Gemma Doyle is looking forward to a holiday from Spence Academyspending time with her friends in the city, attending balls in fancy gowns with plunging necklines, and dallying with the handsome Lord Denby. Yet amid these distractions, her visions intensifyvisions of three girls dressed in white, to whom something horrific has happened that only the realms can explain.The lure is strong, and soon Gemma, Felicity, and Ann are turning flowers into butterflies in the enchanted world that Gemma takes them to. To the girls great joy, their beloved Pippa is there as well, eager to complete their circle of friendship.But all is not well in the realmsor out. Kartik is back, desperately insisting to Gemma that she must bind the magic, lest colossal disaster befall her. Gemma is willing to comply, for this would bring her face-to-face with her late mothers greatest friend, now Gemmas foeCirce. Until Circe is destroyed, Gemma cannot live out her destiny. But finding Circe proves a most perilous task. . . .This sumptuous companion to A Great and Terrible Beauty teems with Victorian thrills and chills that play out against the rich backdrop of 1895 London, a place of shadows and light . . . where inside great beauty can lie a rebel angel.
