Diva by Daisy Goodwin, a historical fiction, is the story of Maria Callas, a woman whose extraordinary talent, unremitting drive, and natural chic made her a legend. But it was only in confronting the heartbreak of losing the man she loved that Maria Callas found her true voice and went on to triumph.

I didn't know much about Maria Callas before reading this book. I do not listen to opera much, so I am unaware of this world. I have read about Aristotle Onassis only in reference to Jackie Kennedy, so this book was very interesting and informative. The story is very informative in relation to the plight of Greek Islands during the World War era.

Maria Callas is definitely an enigmatic personality. In this book, the author has definitely explored the different aspects of this diva. Rebuilding a public person's life is so hard. Maria Callas, in this book, has gone through hardship, and her choices are bordering in the gray area. I liked the rebuilding of this diva's life, and the insight into the opera world is very informative. It's up to the reader to decide whether you like this diva or don't. How far can someone go in the name of love?

Thank you, St. Martin's Press @stmartinspress, for this book.

CW: Poverty, Infidelity, Cheating, graphic sex, Death of a Child, Manipulation, Financial trauma

I went into this book not knowing a lot about Maria Callas, but I learned so much and fact checked some of it! It was a fantastic read for anyone who is into historical fiction.

I love a book that mixes truth with fiction. As an avid opera fan, this look at Callas from the perspective of her romantic relationship was inspired and kept me entertained throughout.

The curtain rises in 1940’s Athens, the house spotlight on awkward 16-year-old Maria Callas. Daisy Goodwin introduces Maria’s main influencers through flashbacks to her childhood and how she felt exploited and unloved. Maria’s future successes and travels around the world are woven into her life story through memories and perspectives of Elvira de Hidalgo, her singing teacher, Franco Zeffirelli, her director and close friend, and the veteran of society, Elsa Maxwell. It was Elsa’s orchestrations that brought the two famous Greeks, Aristotle Onassis, and Maria Callas, together, as they bonded over troubled childhoods. Readers are gently introduced to Greek terms and operas like Carmen, Tosca, and Traviata through Maria’s voice challenges and points of view of singer and director.
From the October 1968, Onassis/Kennedy wedding, across continents, islands and opera houses, this novel is filled with movie stars, royalty, famous political figures, and the performance details of JFK’s iconic 45th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden.
Maria sometimes doubted the support of her family, her husband, and Ari, her lover, but she never doubted her own talent. Was she manipulated? Does Maria end up like the characters she portrays, dying for love in the third act or does she find her own ending?
Daisy Goodwin’s Diva, presented in operatic performance format, will have readers anticipating the encore and counting the curtain calls- Bravo!

Maria Callas was the toast of the opera world for years. She was a legendary soprano with a divine voice and insecurities to match. When she meets Aristotle Onassis, her world changed drastically.

Maria is a fascinating character. She was so talented and yet, so insecure. My heart went out to her on more than one occasion. Then there is Aristotle Onassis. He played a huge role in Maria’s life, almost to the point of breaking her…heart mind and soul.

I honestly have never heard of Maria Callas. So, needless to say, I learned a great deal. Daisy Goodwin did some excellent research and put it all together for a wonderful novel.

Lorelei King is the narrator of this audiobook. She could not have done a better job! She brought these characters to life!

Need a story which will have you researching and wanting to know more…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review

This took me a bit to get into, but I quite enjoyed this fictionalization of Maria Callas's life.

I actually didn't know anything about Callas going into this, so I actually was pretty surprised by the direction of events. Because of this though, I'd gotten a little frustrated with the pacing, but looking back at the story that was being told, the pacing makes sense.

This definitely makes me want to read more about Maria Callas!

Diva tells the story of opera singer Maria Callas, and it has all of the drama one would expect! This story grabbed me on page 1 and kept me spellbound until I finished the last page. This is the first book I have read by Daisy Goodwin, and it will not be the last! Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance reader copy of this fantastic book!

I read An American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin many years ago and although I don’t remember details, I thought it was an OK book. When I came across this one, I thought I’d give it a try. I realized early on that it was about a famed opera singer that I had never heard of. One reason I probably haven’t heard of Maria Callas is because I don’t care for opera. But I thought the story might be interesting, so I continued on, learning about her childhood and her fight to make something of herself. I became interested in the story until Aristotle Onassis entered the picture. I try my best to read books that don’t have a lot of descriptive, intimate scenes nor foul language. But with their torrent affair, I suppose it was hard to get around the descriptions. I skimmed over quite a bit of the story, and in the end there were some interesting takeaways. It was interesting to learn about Maria Callas and people that were intermixed in her life. But it just gave me more questions than answers. I ended up having to look up more about her life after I finish the book. If you are the type of person that enjoys stories like the Gilded Age, high drama, infidelity, adultery and mingling with the rich and famous, this might be right up your alley. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

"Diva" by Daisy Goodwin is a Historical and Romance Fiction Story!

I never would have imagined reading this story about the gifted and talented Opera Soprano Maria Callas. Not in a million years...

...but here I am devouring it as it describes bits and pieces of Maria's early life, in flashbacks, sandwiched between her brilliant career and her life before and during her relationship with Aristotle Onassis. To tell you anything more would spoil your experience of reading "Diva"...

What I will tell you is that there's much more to know about Maria than what was offered in the gossip columns. I found Maria's life to be impacted and influenced by the relationships she established through the years. A few were lasting ones, most were not. Maria developed self-control and acumen concerning her voice and performance. The rewards for her passion and commitment were thunderous applause, cheering, and numerous curtain calls that established her as “la divina", the divine one. As a result, her personal life took a backstage to her career.

This was an immersion reading experience through the gifted DRC and ALC. The audiobook is narrated by Lorelei King whose voicing skills are consistently excellent and, as a result, I recommend the audiobook as the preferred format for this story.

Daisy Goodwin has written an enjoyable and interesting book about Maria Callas's fascinating life. My only critique is the use of character dialog to relay information rather than focusing on creative writing skills to allow the story to flow more naturally. A little fluff is fun, often desirable, and this is fiction, after all.

The ending? It left me wishing the author had continued the story of Maria's life after Onassis...

3.75⭐

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio, and Daisy Goodwin for a DRC and an ALC of this book through NetGalley. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

Diva is a fascinating novel. You will be entertained even if you hate opera and have never heard of Maria Callas. Daisy Goodwin tells the remarkable story of the romance between Callas and billionaire Aristotle Onassis. The novel starts with Onassis' marriage to the widow Jacqueline Kennedy and is told in flashbacks through Callas's eyes. Goodwin's writing is eloquent, but not wordy. The romance between Callas and Onassis is hot-hot-hot. The descriptions of Callas's performances are lush and breathtaking. This book is difficult to put down and a definite must read.

Daisy Goodwin has done what she does best, written an engaging novel about a strong, powerful woman. Her descriptions Maria Callas’ clothes and jewels is sumptuous. The story is dramatic and keeps you turning the pages long after you should probably be in bed. The only thing I didn’t like about the book was her treatment of other historical figures, Jacqueline Kennedy, for example. While I realize her life was also dramatized for the story, there’s a fine line between fiction and fact, and some people might not realize that.
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Content warning:

- Alcoholism
- Disordered eating
- Fatphobia
- Intimacy
- Loss of pregnancy
- Pregnancy
- Suicidal ideation

We open on Maria Callas in 1940, when she was still Maria Kalogeropoulou. Her singing teacher tells her that her voice is like a collection of gold coins and that she should be careful with how she spends them, because once they’re gone, she won’t be able to sing the same.

The story does a fast-forward to 1956, when Maria is arriving in New York to perform. She has an older husband, named Tita, who is less of a lover and more of a manager. When The Times write an article about Callas, she threatens to walk out on her performance at the Met. The article refers to her as the best singer of her time, but also quoted Callas’s mother, who claims Maria unjustly ignores her and told her to jump out of a window.

Tita convinces Maria not to walk out on her obligation at the Met. Maria talks to her father and explains how her mother never really supported her, always preferring her sister instead. After her performance at the Met, Maria sees a review from someone called Elsa Maxwell, who says her performance was a disappointment.

Maria confronts Elsa at a party immediately, and Elsa warms to her and the way she stands up for herself. The two become friends, with Elsa inviting Maria to plenty of parties. Tita constantly pushes Maria to do shows even when she doesn’t want to, and Elsa consistently convinces Maria to come out and party when she should be resting to preserve her voice.

When performing, Maria sometimes struggles to reach the notes, especially with Tita and Elsa overextending her. Maria and Tita are far from the perfect couple, and Maria discovers from her accountant that Tita sends quite a bit of money back to his family in Italy.

At a party with Elsa, Maria meets a man named Aristotle Onassis. He’s married at the time, but he and Maria have something like an instant chemistry. Maria goes out on Onassis’s boat with him and his wife, and the two connect over their shared Greek ancestry.

After meeting Onassis, Maria agrees to perform in Athens. She reconnects with her old teacher while in Greece, and Maria expresses that she feels Tita is more in love with her voice than with her. Her teacher advises her to find someone who actually loves her.

Another aspect of Maria’s life that appears throughout the story is that she used to be overweight, but has since lost a lot of weight. She exhibits disordered eating throughout the story, severely limiting what she can have, like taking a single bite of cake on her birthday. But her thinness is part of why people admire her and call her “the diva,” so she keeps her extreme diet.

Maria attends another party with Elsa against her best judgement, where she sees Onassis again, who continues to flirt with her. He invites her and Tita to come spend a few weeks on his boat with other famous people, like Winston Churchill. Onassis attends one of her concerts and buys her a necklace that she’s renting for the performance.

While Maria and Tita are out on Onassis’s boat, they begin their romance, sneaking away together when they believe nobody can see them. Maria notices a bracelet on Onassis’s wife and compliments her on it. Later, Onassis gives Maria a bracelet that’s almost identical.

Maria decides she’s going to divorce Tita so she can be with Onassis. Tita doesn’t like this, obviously, and says she is ruining her career, but Maria doesn’t care, and she tells Tita to leave. Maria goes through the divorce with Tita and Onassis goes through a divorce with his wife, Tina.

When Maria discovers she’s pregnant, she’s elated, thinking she and Onassis are going to live happily as parents. Onassis is less happy, as he’s still sorting out his divorce with Tina, but Maria insists she’s going to keep the pregnancy.

Unfortunately, Maria has a miscarriage. Shortly after that, Onassis starts to show interest in other women, and Maria begins to suspect that he’s going to cheat on her the way he cheated on Tina. She finds a bracelet identical to the one he gave her in his safe, ready for gifting to another woman.

Onassis starts spending more and more time with the Kennedys, including Jackie Kennedy, who recently lost her husband, JFK. Maria seems to know at this point that Onassis is cheating on her, but doesn’t know with who until it’s announced that Onassis is going to marry Jackie Kennedy.

The story ends with Maria seeing Onassis outside her place after his surprise marriage to another woman, and she closes the curtain in his face.

So now that you know everything that happens in The Diva, we can get into my thoughts, praises, and criticisms.

The first thing I appreciated about this book was that it introduced me to a historical figure I’d never heard of before. I listened to some opera music while reading, but I can’t say it was my favorite.

I also appreciated the way this book made Callas real instead of idolizing her. Through this story, we get to see how amazing she was, but also that she still had flaws, like anyone.

Though I liked the characterization and appreciated learning something new, I just think the pacing in this one was a little too slow. For most of the story, it really felt tiresome to get through. It picks up a little when Maria first meets Onassis and starts her affair with him, but is slow before and immediately after.

It was particularly depressing to read about Maria clinging to Onassis even after he showed he wasn’t someone to be trusted. It felt like this went on for a while with the reader waiting to see what Maria would do about it. She’s straightforward and intense about almost everything else, but just pitiful when it comes to this.

Seeing Maria Callas, someone who earned her own money through her talent, get consistently taken advantage of was pretty upsetting, especially when you see her husband, Tita, pushing her too hard and stealing her money. I know it’s not an easy thing to change stories when they focus on real historical figures, but I still felt the story was just too slow paced.

All in all, I enjoyed Diva and thought it was worth reading. If it weren’t for the fact that this book taught me something new, it may have been a two-star for me, so if you’re a huge fan of Maria Callas, this may not be the best book for you.

Wow, this was such a fascinating book. I did not know much about Maria Callus and it was intriguing to learn about her life. She really was a strong woman who created her own success. She is known around the world as the Best Opera Singer ever. Maria knows she has a great gift and works tirelessly to make her fans adore her. This is where all her passion goes. Her life seems so glamorous, being in Milan, Rome, Paris, Monaco, New York, and her beloved Greece. She is with all the beautiful, powerful, and wealthy people that her friend Elsa Maxwell introduces her to. Yet, behind this there is sadness permeating Maria’s life. She was born in New York, but at 13 her mother takes her and her sister back to Greece. She doesn’t get to see much of her father. Her mother loves her talent and exploits that, but Maria never really feels love. When she marries her husband, Tita Meneghini she realizes he really loves her voice and the money she can make, but not Maria, the woman.

Maria is known as difficult, but this takes place over the course of the 1950’s and 1960’s when women were not expected to stand up for themselves. Maria knows she has true talent, but longs for love. When she meets Aristotle Onassis, she thinks she has found her Soul Mate. A man who will always love her and finally she can be free to enjoy a passionate life beyond just the one within the confines of the Opera House. Sadly, Ari sees women as objects to be possessed and never embraces Maria’s stunning career. He wants to control her and live his life freely. Maria has always wanted to marry and have children. As the devastation of her relationship with Ari goes on, she pours her heart and soul into her beautiful Operas. The was a wonderful work of historical fiction where I was both entertained and learned so much.

Thank you NetGalley, Daisy Goodwin, and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this book. I always write a review of books I read.

At age 16, Maria is taking singing lessons. She loves singing but her wise teacher cautions her than she must always take care of her voice. She was born in the U.S. but her mother decided to take her and her sister back to Greece. Maria was ignored by her mother until the woman discovered her daughter’s beautiful voice. Then, she exploited the girl by making her sing on the streets to get money from people.

When Maria married, her husband, Tita, keeps pushing her to take on more concerts which puts too much pressure on her vocal cords. She is furious when she learns that he has been sending her hard-earned money to his worthless family. Maria is very famous and her voice is perfect. When she is introduced to Aristotle Onassis, she feels like she has finally met someone with whom she can truly communicate.

Thus begins the love affair between Maria and Aristotle that lasted for years. As much as she wanted him to marry her, he would not. He was very good at maneuvering her to be his patient lover. There are other women for him and he eventually married Jackie Kennedy which broke Maria’s heart. However, she persevered with her own life and career.

This was a well-written depiction of the lives of two very famous people and the affair that the world knew about. It was nice to learn about the other famous people in their lives and how they all interacted. Sometimes, people can never have enough money or pleasures, but true love often eludes them.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Diva by Daisy Goodwin tells the story of Maria Callas, the famous opera singer, and her romance with Aristotle Onassis up until the time he betrays her by marrying Jacqueline Kennedy. I previously knew next to nothing about Maria Callas, but I had read more about Jacqueline Kennedy's life before and after her second marriage.

This is biographical fiction that I wish had been more clear about the distinction between fact and fiction. The book (my ARC, at least) did not contain an author's note, which I would have appreciated to address this discrepancy. Nonetheless, the writing was solid and I learned a lot about the opera world through Maria's experience.

I will recommend this to readers who like historical fiction about real women's lives.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review

Diva by Daisy Goodwin

This is a very interesting, straight forward account of the highs and lows of the life of opera singer María Callas. She was a diva by all accounts: voice, talent, showmanship and popularity. Her underlying sense of doubt and lack of confidence were her own secret.

This biography starts with Maria’s younger years and rough start on her journey to becoming the world’s best known opera star, and continues to her passing at age fifty-three. It describes her vocal range as extraordinary, and her hard work, training and sacrifice as exceptional. Betrayal by her family and those she counted on was to be expected.

A large portion of this story, which I received as a complimentary copy from St Martin’s Press, tells of her complex relationship with the wealthy and famous business magnate Aristotle Onassis. He made her feel worthy of her talents, until he didn’t.

Many details of her gowns and day-to-day clothing will delight fashionistas, and the book will also highly appeal to biography aficionados. I give Diva a strong four stars.

Diva by Daisy Goodwin is a magnificent, richly crafted, highly entertaining story about the legendary opera singer Maria Callas. I was enraptured by this well researched book from the beginning until the very end. I throughly enjoyed reading every single page of it. A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press, the author and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of the book.

Known to the world as La Davina: The Divine One. Marie Callas was a woman with an amazing voice, a panache for the dramatic and known for her stunning beauty. She was celebrated all over the world. But with tremendous success comes exploitation, great love, pain and loneliness. Daisy Goodwin pulls back the curtain and gives us an intriguing glimpse into the luxurious life of a true diva.

Living through a challenging childhood in Nazi-occupied Greece where she was being raised by her overbearing mother, who exploited her magnificent voice for her gain. Then later on in her life Maria marries a man that doesn’t see her for the woman that she is, only the money that her voice can make. However, after meeting the wealthy, attractive Aristotle Onassis in Italy in 1957 she finally feels seen. And so ensues a scandalous love affair of extravagant glamour. Maria believes she has found her happily ever after. But everything comes to a blinding halt with the release of a press announcement stating that Aristotle is set to marry the beloved former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Completely shocked, caught off guard by this, Maria must reconstruct and start her life anew.

Diva is a brilliantly written, instinctive story about the cost of stardom, overcoming devastating heartbreak, the resiliency of one woman’s spirit, the hard work and dedication to her incredible gift, and the healing power of art. This is a historical fiction novel that should not be missed.

Diva is historical fiction at its best. Author, Daisy Goodwin presents a riveting story that reveals Maria Callas, star opera singer of the 50s and 60s, in all her glory. From the title selection to the last page this book is such a well-written, lavish story of glamour, stardom and the late 50s-60s lifestyle of the rich and famous that will have meaning for fans of today’s superstar female artists.

Ms. Goodwin’s unique flashback technique was such an effective way to tell the story. We start her story at the end with Maria as an adult and this is a tease to keep reading to see what happens. Then Ms. Goodwin uses events in Maria’s adult life to trigger memories and this fills us in on the story of her childhood and upbringing. Maria’s childhood split between New York and war-torn Greece dominates her adult life choices and personality and was integral to the story. Daisy Goodwin has created an innovation on the flashback technique that so many other authors torture. The memory triggers are so natural to the story and that makes the book so much easier to read than other books that contain jolting and contrived flashbacks. This is another reason to read Daisy’s book – the innovative writing.

Also, the supporting characters are a who’s-who of 1960s world figures, Aristotle Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy, Grace Kelly, Prince Rainier, the Windsors, and a very touching cameo appearance of Marilyn Monroe. All of these famous people of the 20th Century are well known and still remembered. But memories of Maria Callas and her influence on culture and music has faded and I am glad that Daisy Goodwin chose to give us this book to remind us of her influence and talent – which is why I read historical fiction – to learn a new story. The way that all the many famous people are presented leads the reader to seek out more information about these heavy hitters and is another success of this book.

I loved the title “Diva” – because Maria Callas was truly a Diva with all the imagery and connotations that word conjures up. Fans of modern-day divas and cultural icons, Taylor Swift, Beyonce and others, should read this book to see how Maria handled world-wide fame and expectations for each performance to be better than the previous one and also how media images of famous stars may not be the total story. Also, Maria’s struggles with weight and body image are so relatable to us in 2024. I was amazed that there were so many stories of Callas fans camping out on the streets to be able to get a ticket and swarming her after performances to get an autograph. After reading this story, I see how Maria Callas was a pioneer and without her other women artists probably would not have a path to success.

Two characters I had not known about were Elsa Maxwell, gossip columnist and party planner to the stars, Franco Zeffirelli, producer. Elsa Maxwell is another connection to modern culture as she could be called an OG social media influencer before the internet existed. I liked Franco Zeffirelli’s friendship and support of Maria.

Author Daisy Goodwin is a leading historical fiction author, and I was expecting a lot out of this book. Diva did not disappoint. I hope this book ends up as a mini-series on PBS like her book Victoria, because the story of Maria Callas as Ms. Goodwin has presented it is a delightful story for both yesterday and today where the reader (and hopefully viewer) will learn about history to be able to reflect on life today.

The concept of this book intrigued me, but I just couldn't get into it. A lot of the opera stuff was lost on me and the story just wasn't something I could get into. I felt sorry for Maria, but I didn't ever like her or the other characters.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

Maria Callas, known as la divina: the divine one, in the competitive world of opera, was raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her golden voice. She learned early in life to protect herself from those who would use her for their own ends. When she met the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, for the first time in her life, she believed she’d found someone who actually saw and understood her. She fell desperately in love. He introduced her to a life of unbelievable luxury, showering her with jewels and sojourns in the most fashionable international watering holes with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Then, as quickly as it started, it was over. The international press announced that Aristotle Onassis would marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.

I am a huge fan of this author's books. She is one of my favorite go-to's for historical fiction. She did an excellent job once again with this book. I felt like I was there watching it all unfold. I had never heard of Maria Callas before, so I found the entire book fascinating. If you are a fan of historical fiction, you will definitely want to check this one out!