The Library of Lost Dollhouses
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Synopsis
"This beautiful page-turner kept me reading all night.” —Janet Skeslien Charles, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library
When a young librarian discovers historic dollhouses in a hidden room, she embarks on an unexpected journey that reveals surprising secrets about the lost miniatures.
Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth of inventory housed in her beloved Beaux Art building. She loves the calm and order in the shelves of books and walls of art. But Tildy’s uneventful life takes an unexpected turn when she, first, learns the library is on the verge of bankruptcy and, second, discovers two exquisite never-before-seen dollhouses. After finding clues hidden within these remarkable miniatures, Tildy starts to believe that Belva Curtis LeFarge, the influential heiress who established the library a century ago, is conveying a significant final message.
With a newfound sense of spontaneity, Tildy sets out to decipher the secret history of the dollhouses, aiming to salvage her cherished library in the process. Her journey to understand introduces her to a world of ambitious and gifted women in Belle Époque Paris, a group of scarred World War I veterans in the English countryside, and Walt Disney’s bustling Burbank studio in the 1950s. As Tildy unravels the mystery, she finds not only inspiring, overlooked history, but also a future for herself, filled with exciting possibilities—and an astonishing familial revelation.
Spanning the course of a century, The Library of Lost Dollhouses is a warm, bright, and captivating story of secrets and love that embraces the importance of illuminating overlooked women of the past.
Release date: April 1, 2025
Publisher: HarperCollins
Print pages: 320
Reader says this book is...: emotionally riveting (1) entertaining story (1) historical elements (1)
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Told from first person perspective (Cora Hale) and third person (Mathilda ‘Tildy’ Barrows) following several (non-linear) timelines from 1910-1974 and 2024, THE LIBRARY OF LOST DOLLHOUSES is a story of historical fiction that focuses on Tildy Barrows as the journeys through the past in the hopes of discovering the truth about the what she found in ...
Told from first person perspective (Cora Hale) and third person (Mathilda ‘Tildy’ Barrows) following several (non-linear) timelines from 1910-1974 and 2024, THE LIBRARY OF LOST DOLLHOUSES is a story of historical fiction that focuses on Tildy Barrows as the journeys through the past in the hopes of discovering the truth about the what she found in the secret room at the Belva Curtis Lefarge Library. In 2024, Tildy Barrows is the Head Curator at the archival library, and finding a collection of exquisite and detailed miniature dollhouses pushes Tildy to unravel a centuries old mystery including the history about a painting titled Young Woman in Hat but as Tildy begins her search for the truth, the reality will change the course of history for not only for Tildy but everyone involved.
The backstory begins in 1910 when we are introduced to a young woman named Cora Hale, and for the next six decades we are up close and personal with the talents of a woman forced to hide her true self but a woman who also hides the stories of the woman who have been purged from history, for who they were, and what they did. As Tildy begins to dig deeper into the past, her own family history will become entwined with the stories buried in the miniatures and Cora Hale.
THE LIBRARY OF LOST DOLLHOUSES is a slow building story blending some historical fact with fiction focusing on secrets and lies hidden by the talents of Cora Hale. From two world wars, to the inception of Disneyland and beyond, the fictional Cora and her talent tell a story that remained hidden for close to one hundred years. The premise is detailed and imaginative; the characters are numerous and unique.
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