Author: Fiona Davis
Reviewed by Chloe Fuksa, Putnam Six Bookstore
Author Fiona Davis’s latest release – The Magnolia Palace – is another wonderful work of historical fiction, with her same trademark topic and format. In her novels, Davis takes iconic places in New York City, such as the Public Library, Grand Central Terminal, and the Barbizon Hotel, and then imagines the lives of the people inside – with a dash of a mystery thrown in too. She also uses dual timelines – but they don’t become jumbled, confusing messes like with other authors.
In The Magnolia Palace, the location is the Frick Mansion in 1919 and 1966. The earlier timeline focuses on Lillian Carter, a very popular artists’ model who has posed for sculptures all around NYC. But after she is forced to leave that life behind, and thanks to a case of mistaken identity, she is hired as a private secretary for the daughter of steel baron Henry Clay Frick. Fast forward almost 50 years, Veronica Weber is just trying to launch her modeling career when she is snowed-in inside the Frick Mansion, now a museum. Together with an archivist intern, she stumbles upon a treasure hunt for the place – and what they find might just answer the decades-old question of the missing Magnolia Diamond and Mr. Frick’s suspicious death.
Davis talks more in her Author’s Note about the novel, explaining how she based Lillian on the real-life Audrey Munson, and what parts are facts and what parts are fictionalized. She also gives numerous resources for further reading about the characters and the Mansion. The Magnolia Palace is a very pleasant read – and quite informative as well. With its unique combination of history, art, architecture, and mystery, this is a great book to reach for next.
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