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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
This was just an OK read for me so I’m giving it 3* and I’m going to shelf it as historical fiction because I didn’t know there was a mystery to be solved until the later part of the book. The storyline and plot are captivating, and I may have felt a bit of sympathy for Lillian/Angelica but I didn’t find her or any of the characters to be likeable, which unfortunately made it difficult for me to be fully engaged with this. The addition of Veronica in a future date seemed almost pointless to me. I kept wondering how the author would tie her into the plot. It finally happened, but was I felt this part of the novel was borderline anticlimactic.
This novel is set in 1919 in New York City. Twenty-year-old Lillian Carter’s mother has just succumbed to the Spanish Flu. Under her mother’s watchful eyes, Lillian had been an artist’s model for some of the city’s most iconic statues. Now she must find work through her grief and find a way to support herself. Her landlord, Mr. Watkins, is well aware of her financial vulnerability and has propositioned her. She has managed to avoid him thus far, but as she returns to her apartment building, she spies blood on the rug in entryway to the Watkin’s apartment when a police officer emerges from within. Later, the authorities knock on her door, questioning her with regard to a crime that has been committed in the Watkin’s residence. Innocent, but not trusting the system, Lillian flees out a window and down the fire escape. After a spending a night on a park bench, she heads down Fifth Avenue looking for a studio where she had previously worked. She is mistaken for an applicant to a position of private secretary in the Frick mansion, and suddenly finds herself in the inner circle of the infamous Frick family where infighting is common and tensions run high.
There is also an understory in intermittent chapters concerning a model named Veronica, who in 1966 visits the Frick mansion for photo shoot. She is left behind and accidentally locked inside when a blizzard causes a power outage across the city. She stumbles upon clues to a long-forgotten treasure hunt and unexpectedly finds the Magnolia diamond, a treasure that was lost years ago.
This novel is set in 1919 in New York City. Twenty-year-old Lillian Carter’s mother has just succumbed to the Spanish Flu. Under her mother’s watchful eyes, Lillian had been an artist’s model for some of the city’s most iconic statues. Now she must find work through her grief and find a way to support herself. Her landlord, Mr. Watkins, is well aware of her financial vulnerability and has propositioned her. She has managed to avoid him thus far, but as she returns to her apartment building, she spies blood on the rug in entryway to the Watkin’s apartment when a police officer emerges from within. Later, the authorities knock on her door, questioning her with regard to a crime that has been committed in the Watkin’s residence. Innocent, but not trusting the system, Lillian flees out a window and down the fire escape. After a spending a night on a park bench, she heads down Fifth Avenue looking for a studio where she had previously worked. She is mistaken for an applicant to a position of private secretary in the Frick mansion, and suddenly finds herself in the inner circle of the infamous Frick family where infighting is common and tensions run high.
There is also an understory in intermittent chapters concerning a model named Veronica, who in 1966 visits the Frick mansion for photo shoot. She is left behind and accidentally locked inside when a blizzard causes a power outage across the city. She stumbles upon clues to a long-forgotten treasure hunt and unexpectedly finds the Magnolia diamond, a treasure that was lost years ago.
Not sure who recommended this one, but I found it on Libby (if you don’t have a library card, get one. E-book borrowing is the best!) it was a great historical fiction/mystery, set in the gilded age of the 1920’s. It hooked me and left me with some curiosity about the Frick gallery in New York, more for the architecture of the mansion than the art if I am to be honest.
I think maybe Fiona Davis writes specific books just for me that I specifically would adore. Her stories are always so captivating. I loved the mystery, scavenger hunt, interesting female characters, the importance of setting, all amongst some historical events. I had never heard of the Frick’s and think even less about the individuals who have posed as an artist’s muse. Fiona Davis did it again!! I love all of her books.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
medium-paced
While I enjoyed this book as a fun summer read, I was somewhat disappointed with the ending. The resolutions to the mystery as well as the characters fates was convenient and not very realistic.
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wish I could give this 3.5 stars. It was a nice book and very entertaining. Interesting use of historical fact blended with the author’s imagination of how things may have happened. I did enjoy it. An easy and fun read.
This book reads like a pulp mystery written by a non-mystery writer. I don't mean that as a slight. The writing is more elevated than that genre, and the parallel timeline narrative makes it something more. Still, at its base, this is a mystery. But as such, I don't think it is meant to be solved by the reader, as none of the characters are actually sleuths or even particularly committed to solving the ongoing mysteries.
It was educational to read something set in a mostly forgotten era: post WWI/pre-roaring twenties. The descriptions of art are detailed and informative. As the book points out, it's true that I never thought about the models (or muses if you prefer) that have posed for famous sculptures, whether classical or beax-arts.
The juxtaposition with the 1960s timeline was interesting. I don't know exactly why the mushroom-haired character Veronica was from Britain. But I did pick up on the '60s narrative showing the continued legacy of classism in America.
It wasn't until I had finished reading that I realized this book was based on historic people, that is the Fricks, and that I have actually toured the Frick's mansion in Pittsburgh! Also, Angelica's story is based on artists' model Audrey Munson. Knowing all of this retroactively increased my enjoyment of the novel.
Overall, it was a perfectly fine read. But, like Lydia Kang's The Impossible Girl, the premise itself is flawed beyond recovery, and thus I will not give it more than three stars. Specifically, there is a decades-old scavenger hunt hidden throughout a popular NYC museum, yet somehow none of the clues have ever been found, even with all the restoration projects that must have been completed...
It was educational to read something set in a mostly forgotten era: post WWI/pre-roaring twenties. The descriptions of art are detailed and informative. As the book points out, it's true that I never thought about the models (or muses if you prefer) that have posed for famous sculptures, whether classical or beax-arts.
The juxtaposition with the 1960s timeline was interesting. I don't know exactly why the mushroom-haired character Veronica was from Britain. But I did pick up on the '60s narrative showing the continued legacy of classism in America.
It wasn't until I had finished reading that I realized this book was based on historic people, that is the Fricks, and that I have actually toured the Frick's mansion in Pittsburgh! Also, Angelica's story is based on artists' model Audrey Munson. Knowing all of this retroactively increased my enjoyment of the novel.
Overall, it was a perfectly fine read. But, like Lydia Kang's The Impossible Girl, the premise itself is flawed beyond recovery, and thus I will not give it more than three stars. Specifically, there is a decades-old scavenger hunt hidden throughout a popular NYC museum, yet somehow none of the clues have ever been found, even with all the restoration projects that must have been completed...