The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis

Fiona Davis takes iconic New York City buildings and creates richly-imagined stories around them: the Barbizon Hotel for Women in The Dollhouse, The Dakota apartment building in The Address, The Grand Central Terminal in The Masterpiece, and the Chelsea Hotel in The Chelsea Girls.  Her new book, coming out on August 4, brings to life the grand New York Public Library building, weaving together two stories of the people in it.

The first story takes place in the early 1900s when Laura and Jack Lyons and their two children live in the library building for Jack’s caretaking job there.  (While this family is completely fictional, there actually was an apartment in the building used formerly by the library’s superintendents.)  Jack is an aspiring author, and in his off-duty hours, he is completely immersed in  writing a novel.  Laura and their two children make themselves at home as best as possible in the immense and majestic halls of the building, open all day to scholars and readers and quiet as a tomb at night.  Laura has her own aspirations, and she follows her dream of entering the Columbia School of Journalism and becoming a reporter. 

The second story takes place in the early 1990s and features a librarian for the Berg Collection, the world-class research library within this building that contains original manuscripts from authors like Edgar Allen Poe and William Shakespeare as well as memorabilia and oddities belonging to famous writers, such as Charles Dickens' cat paw letter opener.  Sadie Donovan, slightly awkward but completely competent, is thrilled when she is put in charge of highlighting this collection in an upcoming special exhibit.

Both the Lyons and Sadie’s lives at the library are tainted by missing or stolen books and suspicions of their involvement in their loss, but their lives are also entwined in other ways.  The mysteries of the books’ disappearances makes for compelling reading and allows for wonderful behind-the-scenes looks at the library and its system of dumbwaiters along with the marvelous architectural beauties of the place.  Adding to the depth of the story is Laura’s involvement in the bohemian Heterodoxy Club for women and the discussion of the roles and expectations of women, both in 1914 and in the 1990s. 

The enjoyable thing about Davis’ books is the mix of mystery, history, architecture, and societal issues.  Here, there is a certain amount of suspense, some lovely interludes about the music scene in New York enjoyed by Sadie as an escape from her life, and a burly but surprisingly tender detective. 

If you want to know more about this special library, it’s easy to do so at the New York Public Library website where an excellent page of “facts” can start you down the rabbit hole of exploration.  https://www.nypl.org/about/locations/schwarzman/facts


Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss and Netgalley for advance copies.