The Palace of Illusions

Centered on the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, Miller’s lavish if slightly overstuffed retelling of The Nutcracker, like her Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill, plunges a plucky young heroine into a parallel world of delights and dangers. Clara Ironwood, fresh from her clock-making apprenticeship in Milwaukee with her eccentric godfather, is working on the Exposition’s Palace of Illusions, a complex house of mirrors built to exhibit the glories of electricity. When her godfather sends her a mysterious nutcracker for Christmas, this gift proves the key to a dazzling alternate dimension Paris full of wonders and, as Clara soon learns, threatening shadows that pursue her. She becomes addicted to this place, called “the anderwelt,” but when human greed leads to an attempt to bring strange creatures from the anderwelt—including a fascinating ballerina and an assortment of tin soldiers—into the real Paris, blights threaten the anderwelt’s entire existence. Miller populates the anderwelt with such vibrant and magical creatures that the “real” characters seem pallid by comparison. Partly this is due to an abundance of somewhat convoluted subplots, which leave little room for character development. Still, the historical setting and lush landscapes of Miller’s fairy tale world spark the imagination. Die-hard fans of The Nutcracker will find plenty to enjoy. (June)