June 12, 2017
Davis (The Dollhouse) has folded together two historical eras in this breezy historical novel that jumps between Gilded Age and Reagan-era New York City. In 1884, Sara Smythe sets off from London to New York, wooed there with the promise of a job at the Dakota, an apartment building for the rich. In 1985, Bailey Camden, fresh out of drug rehab, accepts a job from her party-girl cousin to remodel the shabby apartment that she inherited in the old Dakota building. As Bailey researches the building, she discovers Sara’s tragic history: her romance with the architect who designed the Dakota, Theo Camden, and her eventual conviction for his murder. Davis overlays the two histories beautifully, tying them together through transitions focused on the picturesque building. But the two women are connected by more than just the Dakota, and all sorts of secrets slowly come to light as Bailey proceeds with the renovation. The book, rife with historical description and architectural detail, will appeal to design and history buffs alike. But while the setting is captivating, the facts of Sara’s and Bailey’s lives tend toward the melodramatic. Readers interested in Gilded Age New York will appreciate this light historical drama, but predictable moments and a convenient resolution will leave others wanting. Agent: Stefanie Lieberman, Janklow & Nesbit Associates.
June 1, 2017
Historical fiction meets real estate porn in this tale revolving around Manhattan's storied Dakota apartment building.Davis (The Dollhouse, 2016) tells two, eventually intertwining, stories that take place 100 years apart. In 1884, Sara Smythe is head housekeeper at London's Langham Hotel when she accepts an offer to work at the Dakota, just opening in the wilds of Manhattan's Upper West Side. The very notion of upper-class families living in shared space had been considered gauche, but the Dakota--a "communal living experiment," as one of the characters puts it--becomes a showpiece for affluent families who can't afford a Fifth Avenue mansion. In 1985, New York City interior designer Bailey Camden has just been sprung from rehab only to learn that her former employer doesn't want her back. She gets a commission from her friend Melinda (a sort of relation--but that's a long story), who owns an apartment in the Dakota. Unfortunately, Melinda's renovation ideas are painfully out of step with the Gilded Age grandeur of the building. Back in the 1880s, Sara gets involved with married architect Theodore Camden and winds up in an insane asylum on Blackwell (now Roosevelt) Island. The real-life pioneering reporter Nellie Bly engineers her release, and Sara returns to the Dakota only to be accused of a grisly crime. Bailey, meanwhile, stumbles across some strange artifacts at the Dakota that will link her, inextricably, to Sara. Though her characters lack depth, the author does a good job showing how tough it could be for women in the 19th century. At the same time, the historical asides about old New York and the Dakota's beginnings are fun to read. The writing is only serviceable, but this jam-packed narrative unfolds at a brisk clip--even if, in the end, the convoluted plot turns have a dizzying effect.
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