The Magnolia Palace: A Novel

by Fiona Davis

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue, returns with a tantalizing novel about the secrets, betrayal, and murder within one of New York City's most impressive Gilded Age mansions.

Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, twenty-one-year-old Lillian Carter's life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists' models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge. But with her mother gone, a grieving Lillian is rudderless and desperate—the work has dried up and a looming scandal has left her entirely without a safe haven. So when she stumbles upon an employment opportunity at the Frick mansion—a building that, ironically, bears her own visage—Lillian jumps at the chance. But the longer she works as a private secretary to the imperious and demanding Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family—pulling her into a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels, and family drama that runs so deep, the stakes just may be life or death.

Nearly fifty years later, mod English model Veronica Weber has her own chance to make her career—and with it, earn the money she needs to support her family back home—within the walls of the former Frick residence, now converted into one of New York City's most impressive museums. But when she—along with a charming intern/budding art curator named Joshua—is dismissed from the Vogue shoot taking place at the Frick Collection, she chances upon a series of hidden messages in the museum: messages that will lead her and Joshua on a hunt that could not only solve Veronica's financial woes, but could finally reveal the truth behind a decades-old murder in the infamous Frick family.

• ISBN10: 0593184017
• ISBN13: 9780593184011
• Publish Date: 25 January 2022
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Dutton / Signet
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780593184011

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

The Magnolia Palace was one of my three BOTM picks for January, and I am so glad I took a risked and nabbed it. I don't read as much historical fiction as I should (sorry), and this choice was an effort to correct that. And boy, was The Magnolia Palace the right pick!

Lillian Carter's life has been slowly crumbling for a while, but it took the death of her mother for it all to fall apart. On the run, desperate for cash and a cover story, it is hard to believe that she was the famous model that all the artists were clamoring for once upon a time.

Nearly fifty years after Lillian's story hits its peak, Veronica Weber is about to find herself embroiled in the same story. She's desperately seeking the life and career of a model, and it isn't going so well. However, it did open a surprising door for her.

“The rich think they’re protected, that they have magical powers, when in fact they’re only mortals, like the rest of us. Bodies break down, betray you. People you love die. Children die.”

If you pick one historical fiction novel to grab this year, let it be The Magnolia Palace. This novel enchanted me, taking me away to two very different lives that somehow found a connection, despite all odds.

I'll be honest with you – it took me a little while to get into The Magnolia Palace. At first, I was second-guessing my decision to read it, but once I hit the thirty percent mark (or so), I was hooked. This went from being a book I was nominally interested to a book that I devoured. I do love it when that happens.

To be clear, The Magnolia Palace takes place during two different points in time, and the novel jumps back and forth between the two women and their stories. Lillian's story comes first and is set in 1919. Veronica's story follows fifty years later.

These two perspectives weave in and around, leaving readers wondering how they're so connected. That connection builds a mystery, one that left me desperately turning pages to see how it all worked out. In other words, it made for a fun night of reading for me, and thus I cannot recommend this book enough.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks