The Magnolia Palace: A Novel

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis is a dual timeline novel that takes readers between 1919 and 1966. Lillian Carter, an artist's model known as Angelica, finds herself on the run after her landlord is killed and the police suspect her of the crime. Sheer luck has her obtaining the position as personal secretary to Miss Helen Frick, the youngest daughter of Henry Clay Frick. Miss Lilly, as she is called, works with the mercurial Helen. She learns to manage the household, organize functions, handle the household accounts, and much more. Miss Lilly hopes to earn enough money to get to Hollywood where she can become an actress. Henry Clay Frick tasks Miss Lilly with helping to get his daughter wed. He promises her a nice sized bonus if she can get Helen engaged by Christmas. Miss Lilly gets drawn into the family drama that soon lands her in a precarious situation. Veronica Weber was discovered in London after an unfortunate (or in this case fortunate) haircut. She lands a plum assignment that has her in America in 1966 doing a photoshoot for Vogue at the Frick Museum. After an altercation with the photographer, Veronica hides out in pipe room (where the pipes for the pipe organ are arranged) to avoid the other models. She ends up locked in the building with an assistant archivist during a blizzard. Veronica had found clues for a scavenger hunt in the pipe room and the pair unravel the riddles. The result of the hunt could help settle Veronica financial dilemma and solve two long unsolved crimes. I thought The Magnolia Palace was well-written with developed characters. The author captured both time periods, but I thought her portrayal of 1919 was spot on. I could tell that she did her research on the Frick family and their collections. I am amazed at the art they collected. Their home which is now a museum is just beautiful. We get to see what daily life was like inside the Frick mansion in 1919 with the demanding Henry Clay Frick and the difficult Helen Frick. I liked the action and activities that propelled the story forward to the end. The ending nicely wrapped up the book. I appreciated the author's note at the end along with her reading recommendations. I was baffled by a detail in the last chapter. I thought it was a week or so since the previous chapter, but then there was a 1977 reference. I wish the date has been clearly specified. The Magnolia Palace is an intriguing historical novel with a misplaced diamond, a lady lost at the loss of a loved one, a demanding dad, a devoted daughter, a strange scavenger hunt, an attractive art assemblage, and a mysterious mystery.