One of my favorite parts of writing any book is the research. I love to wade into pages and pages about a particular event or person and trek to the location to immerse myself in the sounds, sights and smells of it. When the research is paired with one of my favorite places in the world, what could be better? New York City history is centuries rich from its foundation to the changing ethnic neighborhoods to the millions of personal stories that echo in its streets.
While writing my new novel, The Next Ship Home, I headed into New York and found myself caught up in not only the fascinating history of Ellis Island and the many waves of immigration but also the tenement culture, the building of the Subway, the labor movement — and so much more. Many other authors — and readers — share my love for the Big Apple, so if you’re missing your visits to New York during this snowy covid winter, step into the bright excitement of the city through the pages of one of these engaging and delicious novels that highlight many compelling aspects of the city’s culture.
The Social Graces
by Renée Rosen
1876 — in the glittering world of Manhattan’s upper crust, women are valued by their pedigree, dowry and, most importantly, connections. They have few rights and even less independence — what they do have is society. The more celebrated the hostess, the more powerful the woman. And none is more powerful than Caroline Astor — the Mrs. Astor. But times are changing. Alva Vanderbilt has recently married into one of America’s richest families. But what good is dizzying wealth when society refuses to acknowledge you? Alva, who knows what it is to have nothing, will do whatever it takes to have everything.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop
The Magnolia Palace
by Fiona Davis
Eight months after losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, 21-year-old Lillian Carter’s life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists’ models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge. But with her mother gone, a grieving Lillian is rudderless and desperate. So when she stumbles upon an employment opportunity at the Frick mansion, Lillian jumps at the chance. But the longer she works as a private secretary to the imperious and demanding Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family — pulling her into a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels and family drama that runs so deep, the stakes just may be life or death. (Read BookTrib’s review here.)
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop
The Girls with No Names
by Serena Burdick
Growing up in New York City in the 1910s, Luella and Effie Tildon realize that even as wealthy young women, their freedoms come with limits. But when the sisters discover a shocking secret about their father, Luella, the brazen elder sister, becomes emboldened to do as she pleases. Her rebellion comes with consequences, and one morning, Luella is mysteriously gone. Effie suspects her father has sent Luella to the House of Mercy and hatches a plan to get herself committed to save her sister. But she made a miscalculation, and with no one to believe her story, Effie’s own escape seems impossible — unless she can trust an enigmatic girl named Mable. As their fates entwine, Mable and Effie must rely on their tenuous friendship to survive.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop
The Show Girl
by Nicola Harrison
It’s 1927 when Olive McCormick moves from Minneapolis to New York City, determined to become a star in the Ziegfeld Follies. All the glamour and excitement is everything she imagined and more — even worth all the sacrifices she has had to make along the way. Then, she meets Archie Carmichael. Handsome and wealthy, he’s the only man she’s ever met who seems to accept her modern ways — her independent nature and passion for success. But once she accepts his proposal of marriage, he starts to change his tune, and Olive must decide if she is willing to reveal a devastating secret and sacrifice the life she loves for the man she loves.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop
The Last Tiara
by M.J. Rose
Told in alternating points of view, the stories of two young women unfurl as each struggle to find their way during two separate wars. In 1915, young Sofiya Petrovitch, favorite of the royal household and best friend of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, tends to wounded soldiers in a makeshift hospital within the grounds of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg and finds the love of her life. In 1948 New York, Isobelle Moon works to break through the rampant sexism of the age as one of very few women working in a male-dominated profession and discovers far more about love and family than she ever hoped for. In M.J. Rose’s deftly constructed narrative, the secrets of Sofiya’s early life are revealed incrementally, even as Isobelle herself works to solve the mystery of the historic Romanov tiara.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Bookshop
The Social Graces by Renée Rosen
1876 — in the glittering world of Manhattan’s upper crust, women are valued by their pedigree, dowry and, most importantly, connections. They have few rights and even less independence — what they do have is society. The more celebrated the hostess, the more powerful the woman. And none is more powerful than Caroline Astor — the Mrs. Astor. But times are changing. Alva Vanderbilt has recently married into one of America’s richest families. But what good is dizzying wealth when society refuses to acknowledge you? Alva, who knows what it is to have nothing, will do whatever it takes to have everything.
The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis
Eight months after losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, 21-year-old Lillian Carter’s life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists’ models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge. But with her mother gone, a grieving Lillian is rudderless and desperate. So when she stumbles upon an employment opportunity at the Frick mansion, Lillian jumps at the chance. But the longer she works as a private secretary to the imperious and demanding Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family — pulling her into a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels and family drama that runs so deep, the stakes just may be life or death. (Read BookTrib’s review here.)
The Girls with No Names by Serena Burdick
Growing up in New York City in the 1910s, Luella and Effie Tildon realize that even as wealthy young women, their freedoms come with limits. But when the sisters discover a shocking secret about their father, Luella, the brazen elder sister, becomes emboldened to do as she pleases. Her rebellion comes with consequences, and one morning, Luella is mysteriously gone. Effie suspects her father has sent Luella to the House of Mercy and hatches a plan to get herself committed to save her sister. But she made a miscalculation, and with no one to believe her story, Effie’s own escape seems impossible — unless she can trust an enigmatic girl named Mable. As their fates entwine, Mable and Effie must rely on their tenuous friendship to survive.
The Show Girl by Nicola Harrison
It’s 1927 when Olive McCormick moves from Minneapolis to New York City, determined to become a star in the Ziegfeld Follies. All the glamour and excitement is everything she imagined and more — even worth all the sacrifices she has had to make along the way. Then, she meets Archie Carmichael. Handsome and wealthy, he’s the only man she’s ever met who seems to accept her modern ways — her independent nature and passion for success. But once she accepts his proposal of marriage, he starts to change his tune, and Olive must decide if she is willing to reveal a devastating secret and sacrifice the life she loves for the man she loves.
The Last Tiara by M.J. Rose
Told in alternating points of view, the stories of two young women unfurl as each struggle to find their way during two separate wars. In 1915, young Sofiya Petrovitch, favorite of the royal household and best friend of Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, tends to wounded soldiers in a makeshift hospital within the grounds of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg and finds the love of her life. In 1948 New York, Isobelle Moon works to break through the rampant sexism of the age as one of very few women working in a male-dominated profession and discovers far more about love and family than she ever hoped for. In M.J. Rose’s deftly constructed narrative, the secrets of Sofiya’s early life are revealed incrementally, even as Isobelle herself works to solve the mystery of the historic Romanov tiara.
