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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
mysterious
fast-paced
This book is so cute and super up my alley - I think the ending wrapped up way too neatly, so it’s more like a 4.5 than a 5, but I really liked the way the author wrote this as entwining historical fic narratives
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I enjoyed reading about the Frick family and their collection. I wasn't familiar with any of it and I have learned something new. It was a fun and well-written mystery in an interesting setting.
This was a wonderful historical fiction dual timeline book. It was a joy to read and I didn't want it to end.
Lillian Carter is struggling since her mother died suddenly of Influenza. She is trying to keep jobs so she can continue to pay for their apartment. The landlord requests to meet her and she finds his wife has been murdered, she runs in a panic for fear she will be implicated. She was once a muse for many artists in the city and now has to redefine herself to stay hidden from the police. She finds a place as a secretary for Helen Frick. She is the mastermind behind her letters for her employer to catch a beau. Things go terribly wrong and Lillian is then suddenly moving on to a different.
Veronica Weber scored a photoshoot with Vogue magazine in the Frick mansion. She suddenly is in the photographer's spotlight because she tries to stand up to him when he wants the models to pose in the snow making angels in beautiful dresses. She is left behind all alone in the mansion when she get separated from the group. There is a terrible snowstorm and she thinks she is alone, but finds one of the archivists has been working and is locked in the house when the power goes out.
This story weaves the lives of Lillian, Helen Frick and Veronica together beautifully.
Lillian Carter is struggling since her mother died suddenly of Influenza. She is trying to keep jobs so she can continue to pay for their apartment. The landlord requests to meet her and she finds his wife has been murdered, she runs in a panic for fear she will be implicated. She was once a muse for many artists in the city and now has to redefine herself to stay hidden from the police. She finds a place as a secretary for Helen Frick. She is the mastermind behind her letters for her employer to catch a beau. Things go terribly wrong and Lillian is then suddenly moving on to a different.
Veronica Weber scored a photoshoot with Vogue magazine in the Frick mansion. She suddenly is in the photographer's spotlight because she tries to stand up to him when he wants the models to pose in the snow making angels in beautiful dresses. She is left behind all alone in the mansion when she get separated from the group. There is a terrible snowstorm and she thinks she is alone, but finds one of the archivists has been working and is locked in the house when the power goes out.
This story weaves the lives of Lillian, Helen Frick and Veronica together beautifully.
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
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:
Complicated
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Really enjoyed this book, as it bounced between 1914 and 1966 with linked characters. (The 1914 story line was much better). THEN, to find out most of the book is based off the true story of the multimillion dollar Frick family, was icing on the cake!
I liked this book. It was interesting and at times, I didn't really know where the story was going. The ending was really good, I liked that all the characters got some type of closure.
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I always, always end up enjoying Fiona Davis's New York City based books moving back and forth between timelines. Magnolia Palace has turned out to be a favorite because it is about the Frick Museum and draws on the life of a wealthy daughter who earned an inheritance that allowed her to carry out her father's dream of turning their home into the famous museum and "Angelica," based on Audrey Munson, an artist's model whose visage is featured on many New York sculptures of the period. Angelica becomes Lillian when she needs to go on the run and Lillian becomes Helen Frick's personal secretary. This part of the tale takes place in 1919. The other is in 1966, when British fashion Model, Veronica Weber, is part of a photoshoot at the Frick and winds up being dismissed from the shoot. This leads her to an adventure that is hinted at in the blurb for the novel, but I think that was a spoiler and believe you should find out for yourself how and why Veronica inadvertently learns more about the Frick, Helen Frick, Lillian and figures out a fifty year old theft. I find I've been thinking about this novel a lot and that it was cleverly written and touching.