AS THE MARCH OF BOOTS ECHOES FROM OVERSEAS, all nations that border the Pacific and beyond are invited to build pavilions on Treasure Island at the Golden Gate International Exhibition. Dedicated to the pursuit of world peace and brotherhood, the Exposition celebrated San Francisco’s prominence as the “Gateway to the Pacific.”
Lily Nordby, young, brash, and headstrong, lands a job at the Examiner, a Hearst newspaper. Given a once in a life time assignment to cover the Exposition on Treasure Island, she meets Tokido Okumura, the host of the Japanese Pavilion. While highly suspicious of his true purpose on the island, she’s swept up in a whirlwind of powerful emotions that lead her into unknown territory.
Tokido Okumura is charged not only with presenting the beauty and refinement of modern Japanese culture, but a mission that requires secrecy and stealth. When he falls into a forbidden love affair with Lily, his loyalty to his country and honor are compromised. Receiving orders to intensify his mission, he faces the decision of his life.
Brilliant and enigmatic Woodrow Packard, a Mayan art scholar at the Expo, prefers remaining aloof and alone. But his infatuation and deepening relationship with Lily thrusts him into the limelight. He asks himself, could someone as smart and beautiful as she is return the love of a man who is a dwarf? In an attempt to prevent Lily from spiraling into danger, Woodrow intercedes to help her uncover family secrets. When fate intervenes, they are both pulled into a destiny they could never have imagined.
At the heart of this historical novel is the magical and exotic Golden Gate International Exposition. Mixing fact and fiction with a dash of noir, Beautiful Illusion is a story of love and deception that explores what happens when human hearts collide as the world is plotting war.
Editorial Reviews
"A love letter to the razzle-dazzle of ’30s San Francisco and the wonders of Treasure Island.”
"Fascinated by the fragile beauty of San Francisco’s 1939 'Pageant of the Pacific'—and by the ironic message of world peace in a world at war—Christie Nelson has crafted a haunting story of love, deceit and reconciliation beneath the glamour and bravado of a half-forgotten world’s fair.”
—Richard Reinhardt, author of Treasure Island: San Francisco’s Exposition Years
“San Francisco’s last world’s fair is the setting for trans-Pacific intrigue and romance. Christie Nelson’s delightful novel brings the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition vividly into readers’ imaginations. It’s the next best thing to a time machine—a sparkling visit to Treasure Island’s fabulous world’s fair.”
—Anne Schnoebelen, Historian and Vice-President of the Treasure Island Museum
"Christie Nelson’s tale is a loving valentine to the end of a San Franciscan incarnation. The two new bridges and WWII changed the City forever. Soon, ease of travel about the bay and the passage of hundreds of thousands of G.I.’s bound for the Pacific theater obliterated the small town feel that the story evokes. Told with a vivid attention to detail and populated with local characters, it illuminates the spectacle of the Fair, which was a last chromatic burst of fireworks, before the darkness set in."
—Will Maynez, Historian, Diego Rivera Mural Project, City College San Francisco
Meeting Patricia Araujo
One sparkling morning in 2017 when I was researching my novel Beautiful Illusion, I walked into a Treasure Island Museum Association meeting in the Administration building on the island.
It was crowded with strangers. Across the tiled floor I saw a lovely woman standing next to an easel with a glorious painting of Pacifica, the 80 foot statue built by Ralph Stackpole for the 1939 World’s Fair. I couldn’t believe my luck! I nearly ran to meet her. Her dramatic painting was thrilling. Her dreamlike portraits and luminous paintings captivated me then as they have for collectors and San Franciscans. We joined forces and beginning in 2019 we presented a series of presentations for libraries, historical organization and clubs. To this day, our friendship continues ever strong and devoted to the Magic City!
Learn more about Patricia and her work at Patricia-Araujo.com.