The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig
I love to walk into a historic building or a really old house, and think of who lived there. What were they like? Who did they love? What is their story? The Forgotten Room is the novel form of one of those curious visits, bringing to life the stories of three women: Olive, a housemaid in 1892, her daughter Lucy, a secretary in 1920, Kate, a nurse and Lucy’s daughter in 1945. The chapters rotate through their points of view. While written by three different authors, the writing is generally smooth enough to make me forget three women wrote this book. I will say it did take me a few chapters to understand the depth of the relationships and connections between the generations. That technique, is in fact, one of the great things about this book. I also found myself flipping ahead occasionally, looking for resolution and not wanting to be left hanging about a particular character through two more chapters!
Olive, Lucy and Kate are the people, the Pratt Mansion is the place. Today, the Pratt Mansion is a posh wedding venue. Here is a brief description and a few pictures.
Pratt Mansions Fifth Avenue is an elegant New York City landmark located directly across from the Metropolitan Museum. The perfect venue for weddings, parties, meetings, private events and other special occasions, this unique event space on Manhattan’s Upper East Side combines the grandeur of a mansion with the warmth of a gracious home.
1027 – Pratt Mansion: Designed by the architectural firm of Van Vleck and Goldsmith, and built on speculation for Benjamin Williams between 1901 and 1903, the milk-white façade of 1027 Fifth Avenue was unusual even by the standards of Gilded Age extravagance. An article appearing in the New York Times described 1027 as a mansion “on a magnificent scale,” the most expensive house built for sale in New York when it was erected. Once completed, Williams sold it to George Crawford Clark, a banker, for $540,000. In 1919, the mansion was purchased by Herbert Lee Pratt who, like his father before him, was a leading figure in the U.S. oil industry. When he became head of Standard Oil Company of New York in 1923 he appeared on the cover of Time.
(images and description courtesy of www.prattmansions.org)
While there are definitely some liberties taken with Harry Pratt and his mansion, I think using a real place added to the plot. If you like historical fiction, and you like a good romance (but not a bodice ripper), give The Forgotten Room a try. Come summer, this will be the perfect book for the beach or pool.
Great review!