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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I didn’t enjoy the undercurrent of drawn out tension - waiting and waiting for the shoe to drop. And parts just didn't feel believable/plausible.
[b:The Magnolia Palace|57099323|The Magnolia Palace|Fiona Davis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1619545174l/57099323._SY75_.jpg|89353904] is not a usual pick for me, especially being a historical fiction. But as a high-rated Book of the Month, I was excited to give it a shot.
The novel is written with two timelines of 1919 and 1966 that uncover some fictional mysteries revolving around the historical Frick Mansion in New York. The characters are loosely related to historical people around that period in the art industries and the Frick household. Fiona Davis does a beautiful job layering a fictional story with historical facts. The author's notes at the end of the novel reveal [a:Fiona Davis|14903705|Fiona Davis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1632353908p2/14903705.jpg]'s inspiration to write the story after taking a tour of the Frick Collection and seeing the pediment above the front door, and imagining an elaborate entanglement if the model/muse of the art ever met the Frick family. The attention to detail with the New York landscape, the characters, the detailed description of the artwork in the Frick Collection, and the history of cultural, economic, and sociopolitical manners of the 1900s era are incredible and draw the reader to continue to learn more about the background and the inspiration around the story.
I got sucked in reasonably quickly. The 1919 timeline is fast-paced, salacious, and addictive, with a fun mystery of a lost heirloom diamond and a high society family drama. If the entire novel had been that timeline alone, this could have been a 5-star read. The story is unique and filled with detail, and I was intrigued to uncover the bombshell ending of Lillian's employment with Helen Frick. But, with the 1966 timeline, I was less enthusiastic as the story needed more depth and emotion. I didn't feel a solid connection to the main characters of Veronica and Joshua and felt their stories were more of a filler to bring the novel's ending to fruition.
Overall, it is a unique, cozy historical read.
The novel is written with two timelines of 1919 and 1966 that uncover some fictional mysteries revolving around the historical Frick Mansion in New York. The characters are loosely related to historical people around that period in the art industries and the Frick household. Fiona Davis does a beautiful job layering a fictional story with historical facts. The author's notes at the end of the novel reveal [a:Fiona Davis|14903705|Fiona Davis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1632353908p2/14903705.jpg]'s inspiration to write the story after taking a tour of the Frick Collection and seeing the pediment above the front door, and imagining an elaborate entanglement if the model/muse of the art ever met the Frick family. The attention to detail with the New York landscape, the characters, the detailed description of the artwork in the Frick Collection, and the history of cultural, economic, and sociopolitical manners of the 1900s era are incredible and draw the reader to continue to learn more about the background and the inspiration around the story.
I got sucked in reasonably quickly. The 1919 timeline is fast-paced, salacious, and addictive, with a fun mystery of a lost heirloom diamond and a high society family drama. If the entire novel had been that timeline alone, this could have been a 5-star read. The story is unique and filled with detail, and I was intrigued to uncover the bombshell ending of Lillian's employment with Helen Frick. But, with the 1966 timeline, I was less enthusiastic as the story needed more depth and emotion. I didn't feel a solid connection to the main characters of Veronica and Joshua and felt their stories were more of a filler to bring the novel's ending to fruition.
Overall, it is a unique, cozy historical read.
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I don't know if they've suddenly become more prevalent, but several of my latest reads have been set in famous art and literary institutions. Fiona Davis blends fact and fiction and adds a little mystery in her dual timelines story centred around the unlikely relationships and influences between the infamous 1910s "super model" whose beauty inspired numerous sculptural artworks found in NYC (including the decorative pediment of the mansion used to house The Frick Collection) and the immediate family circle of art benefactor Henry Clay Frick. An easy book to read but not an easy story to believe. I guess that's why it's called historical fiction.
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fabulous historical fiction with a mystery. It took me longer to read this book than usual, because I stopped several times to look up information and would fall down rabbit hole after rabbit hole. This time in NYC fascinates me. The conversations through the book tended to have some cringe-worthy moments, but all in all it kept me entertained and wanting more.
I love all the art and the way the author wove in history of the Frick Collection. Lillian is a seasoned "supermodel" who in 1919 becomes a suspect in a police investigation. As she's trying to evade the police, she is mistaken for a candidate seeking an interview for a position working for the very wealthy Frick family. Veronica is a very young and inexperienced model beginning her career in New York in 1966. She is counting on her new job to earn enough money to help support her mother and disabled sister. So when she makes a bad decision on her very first shoot and gets locked in The Frick Museum overnight, she's sure her modeling career is over. The story moves between Lillian's life in 1919 and Veronica's life in 1966. The characters are lively and distinctive. The author details the setting so well, you feel as if you're in the rooms with the characters. I appreciated so much learning the story background and how the historical facts guided the author's writing. I really enjoyed this book.