The Lions of Fifth Avenue: A GMA Book Club Pick
By Fiona Davis
- Release Date: 2020-08-04
- Genre: Historical Fiction
Description
A Good Morning America Book Club Pick and a New York Times bestseller!
“A page-turner for booklovers everywhere! . . . A story of family ties, their lost dreams, and the redemption that comes from discovering truth.”—Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Shoemaker's Wife
In New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis's latest historical novel, a series of book thefts roils the iconic New York Public Library, leaving two generations of strong-willed women to pick up the pieces.
It's 1913, and on the surface, Laura Lyons couldn't ask for more out of life—her husband is the superintendent of the New York Public Library, allowing their family to live in an apartment within the grand building, and they are blessed with two children. But headstrong, passionate Laura wants more, and when she takes a leap of faith and applies to the Columbia Journalism School, her world is cracked wide open. As her studies take her all over the city, she is drawn to Greenwich Village's new bohemia, where she discovers the Heterodoxy Club—a radical, all-female group in which women are encouraged to loudly share their opinions on suffrage, birth control, and women's rights. Soon, Laura finds herself questioning her traditional role as wife and mother. And when valuable books are stolen back at the library, threatening the home and institution she loves, she's forced to confront her shifting priorities head on . . . and may just lose everything in the process.
Eighty years later, in 1993, Sadie Donovan struggles with the legacy of her grandmother, the famous essayist Laura Lyons, especially after she's wrangled her dream job as a curator at the New York Public Library. But the job quickly becomes a nightmare when rare manuscripts, notes, and books for the exhibit Sadie's running begin disappearing from the library's famous Berg Collection. Determined to save both the exhibit and her career, the typically risk-averse Sadie teams up with a private security expert to uncover the culprit. However, things unexpectedly become personal when the investigation leads Sadie to some unwelcome truths about her own family heritage—truths that shed new light on the biggest tragedy in the library's history.
Reviews
Very very good
4By Amigo73Enjoyable read, fantastic characters, interesting plot. Highly recommend it.A wonderful read
5By okcquilterA history of the New York library and the people that visited it.So predictable
2By Freckles0309It is no longer edgy or titillating to be gayStrong women are still fighting for their rights
5By Cars2345Wow! If you are a woman who is working or not working but have children or thinking of having children then this book will help you decide. I also love the fictional history of the library and famous authors.Fiona Davis
5By McCarthy ReavillAnother captivating book byFiona Davis.The Lions of Fifth Avenue
5By stusan18When your sorry the book ends you know it’s a good one! Totally enjoyedThe lions of fifth avenue
3By Rb1560Strong opening, but very obvious ending.Disappointed
2By bungalow writerStarts off interesting and then becomes unbelievable. Strange twist, that doesn’t seem to plausible give the character development in the beginning.The Lions of fifth Avenue
5By rlcjrsA very enjoyable readCould not put it down!
5By mKimrThis book is the first book in a long time that held my interest throughout the whole book! It had a rich plot and so many unseen twists I couldn’t put it down. I loved the complicated lives of the characters! Excellent writing!The Lions of Fifth Avenue
3By The Eyes of MarchGood book worth reading. I gave 3 stars because I figured out the ending pretty early. It was a little predictable, but still an enjoyable read.Good
1By KendallfhNot goodA page turner
5By avomariaEnjoyable read kept me up all night . The plot is rich and the family dynamics are complicated, especially they action during the turn of the century at the NYPL. A visit there is now on my bucket list.Loved it!
5By 8BaileyCLoved it!Excellent book spanning 3 generations of the Lyon Family
5By kaykaybean13Living in the recently opened Nee York Library that had finally been completed after almost a decade a man Jack Lyons, his wife a homemaker and writer for the libraries small column about living in the library apartment with her husband the superintendent of the library and her son Harry and daughter pearl. After receiving financial aid with the help of her husbands boss she is accepted into Columbia’s journalism program that recently began accepting women. She realized first hand the advantages and preferential treatment the men in her class received the inequality and different writing assignments set for women and men. She becomes friends with a feminist doctor whom she becomes extremely close with and introduced her to the suffragist and feminist movement happening in Greenwich village. A string of book thefts break our in library causing permanent wreckage for the Lyons family. Pearls daughter, Sadie is bos the curator at the library and under her watch precious books are being stolen again she must tell investigators who who grandparents were and she’s under suspicion by the leader of investigation but he and Sadie become very close, solve 3 generations of crime and family dysfunction and dynamics. Wonderful read!!
