The Hypnotic City is the second in the Gold and Glasslight Chronicles. I read this book as a stand alone. It does not completely reveal the previous story, but I definitely know the basics after reading the Hypnotic City.
The book is set in the theater world of New York City in the early 1900s. Philomena and her friend Jennie are escaping London after an extended quarantine had been lifted from the city. Philomena is the daughter of an earl, but she has only ever felt like a bird in a gilded cage. She steals some of the family wealth and sets out to America to be her own person and seek success on the stage.
While in America, she encounters all of the problems that face a young unknown actress: theives, false friends, disinterested producers, exploitative employers and the need to find a way to survive. Philomena and Jennie find a balance about the time that Jennie falls in love, gets married and leaves to help her husband in his new business. Philomena finds herself on her own in a job that feels like a dead end. One of her co-workers arranges for Philomena to get an important audition only to have the stage manager make fun of her and the producer to dismiss her without even listening to her audition. All of the stress leads Philomena to do something rash while performing at her job. However, that moment is the beginning of big things for Philomena, not least of which attracts a monster. Read
The Hypnotic City to see if Philomena is able to make it big and escape the monster that pursues her.
