Book cover of The Masterpiece

Book description

In this captivating novel, New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis takes readers into the glamorous lost art school within Grand Central Terminal, where two very different women, fifty years apart, strive to make their mark on a world set against them.

For most New Yorkers, Grand Central Terminal is…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Masterpiece as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Don’t be fooled by the cover, The Masterpiece is an excellent dual-timeline about two seemingly ordinary women fighting for their independence in the same place, yet from two distinct time periods.

In 1928 Clara, a confident illustrator and art instructor and in 1974 Virginia, a recently divorced tollbooth operator, found themselves working at New York City’s Grand Central Terminal.

Davis brilliantly braids both stories about complicated flawed women challenging social injustices and entitled men of their time within a fascinating setting. (Yes, 50 years apart and they're dealing with similar issues!)

I stayed up late discovering how their stories coincide…

If you love The Masterpiece...

Book cover of Abandoning the Script

Abandoning the Script by Linda Rosen,

Lucy never wanted the life that's been thrust upon her—the wedding band or the baby in the crib. A woman of ambition, she longs to pursue her dreams on stage, but her husband insists on locking her in a gilded cage under his control. And in 1922, alternatives are almost…

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