The Unexpected Diva

Before the Civil War, Black opera singer Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield reigned supreme on Northern stages--even performing at Buckingham Palace. Novelist Tiffany L Warren brings this remarkable but forgotten diva's remarkable story to life for modern readers.   Born 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. Eliza'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 tale