Book: The Masterpiece
Author: Fiona Davis
Pages: 384
This is my 181st read for the year
What Amazon Says:
For most New Yorkers, Grand Central Terminal is a crown jewel, a masterpiece of design. But for Clara Darden and Virginia Clay, it represents something quite different. For Clara, the terminal is the stepping stone to her future. It is 1928, and Clara is teaching at the lauded Grand Central Scool of Art. Though not even the prestige of the school can override the public's disdain for a "woman artist", fiery Clara is single-minded in her quest to achieve every creative success - even while juggling the affections of 2 very different men. But she and her boheian friends have no idea that they'll soon be blindsided by the looing Great Depression - and that even poverty and hunger will do little to prepare Clara for the greater tragedy yet to come. By 1974, the terminal has declined almost as sharply as Virginia Clay's life. Dilapidated and dnagerous, Grand Central is at the center of a fierce lawsuit: Is the once-grand building a landmark to be preserved, or a cancer to be demolished? For Virginia, it is simply her last resport. Recently divorced, she has just accepted a job in the information booth in order to support herself and her college-age daughter, Ruby. But when Virginia stumbles upon an abandoned art school within the terminal and discovers a striking watercolor, her eyes are opened to the elegances beneath the decay. She embarks on a quest to find the artist of the unsigned masterpiece - an impassioned chase the draws Virginia not only into the battle to save Grand Central but deep into the mystery of Clara Darden, the famed 1920s illustrato who disappeared from history in 1931.
This was a really good book. I do like Fiona Davis' historical fiction books. I enjoyed both timelines in the book - and loved when they finally came together. Good character development and like how she weaved in the truth of Grand Central station with her fictitious characters.
Stars: 4.5
