Using all the new information he has uncovered about Callas and Onassis and what he has been able to verify about their backgrounds from the mass of rumors, speculation and misinformation published about them, Gage has created a vivid dual biography, an illuminating mosaic about the lives of two icons of the most glamorous period of the last century.

Greek Fire is a series of startling revelations, tracing the relationship from the first meeting of Callas and Onassis at a masked ball in Venice in 1957, through the day-by-day encounters that ignited their passion during the 1959 cruise; the rancor and press hysteria as the two lovers' marriages dissolved, the ensuing bliss, battles and self-destructive behavior on their island hideaway of Skorpios; the deterioration of Callas' fabled voice and career, and the strange courtship and unexpected wedding between the notorious Greek tycoon and the revered widow of an American president-a marriage that rocked the world and nearly destroyed Callas.

The chapel on the island of Skorpios

Within days of his marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy, Onassis was back at Maria's door, and their relationship would continue on a new and deeper level, through tragedies and trials until the end of their lives.

The revelations Gage sets forth in this book, based on meticulous research in Europe and America and an intimate understanding of the Greek character, will forever change what is known about Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis and the woman who came between them---Jacqueline Kennedy.

Greek Fire is an operatic spectacle of desire and loss shared by two legendary figures whose hold on our imagination is as firm today as when their love affair dominated headlines throughout the world.

Nicholas Gage, a native of Greece, is the author of the internationally best-selling memoir Eleni. He lives in North Grafton, Massachusetts.

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