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    The Address: A Novel
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    The Address: A Novel
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    The Address: A Novel
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Address: A Novel

    Written by Fiona Davis

    Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld and Brittany Pressley

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Fiona Davis, author of The Dollhouse, returns with a compelling novel about the thin lines between love and loss, success and ruin, passion and madness, all hidden behind the walls of The Dakota—New York City's most famous residence.

    After a failed apprenticeship, working her way up to head housekeeper of a posh London hotel is more than Sara Smythe ever thought she'd make of herself. But when a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house The Dakota, leads to a job offer, her world is suddenly awash in possibility—no mean feat for a servant in 1884. The opportunity to move to America, where a person can rise above one's station. The opportunity to be the female manager of The Dakota, which promises to be the greatest apartment house in the world. And the opportunity to see more of Theo, who understands Sara like no one else...and is living in The Dakota with his wife and three young children.

    In 1985, Bailey Camden is desperate for new opportunities. Fresh out of rehab, the former party girl and interior designer is homeless, jobless, and penniless. Two generations ago, Bailey's grandfather was the ward of famed architect Theodore Camden. But the absence of a genetic connection means Bailey won't see a dime of the Camden family's substantial estate. Instead, her "cousin" Melinda—Camden's biological great-granddaughter—will inherit almost everything. So when Melinda offers to let Bailey oversee the renovation of her lavish Dakota apartment, Bailey jumps at the chance, despite her dislike of Melinda's vision. The renovation will take away all the character and history of the apartment Theodore Camden himself lived in...and died in, after suffering multiple stab wounds by a madwoman named Sara Smythe, a former Dakota employee who had previously spent seven months in an insane asylum on Blackwell's Island.

    One hundred years apart, Sara and Bailey are both tempted by and struggle against the golden excess of their respective ages—for Sara, the opulence of a world ruled by the Astors and Vanderbilts; for Bailey, the free-flowing drinks and cocaine in the nightclubs of New York City—and take refuge and solace in the Upper West Side's gilded fortress. But a building with a history as rich—and often tragic—as The Dakota's can't hold its secrets forever, and what Bailey discovers in its basement could turn everything she thought she knew about Theodore Camden—and the woman who killed him—on its head.

    With rich historical detail, nuanced characters, and gorgeous prose, Fiona Davis once again delivers a compulsively readable novel that peels back the layers of not only a famed institution, but the lives—and lies—of the beating hearts within.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateAug 1, 2017
    ISBN9780525499596
    Unavailable
    The Address: A Novel
    Author

    Fiona Davis

    Fiona Davis is the nationally bestselling author of historical fiction set in iconic New York City buildings, including The Lions of Fifth Avenue, The Chelsea Girls, and The Address. Her books have appeared on the Indie Next List, been LibraryReads Picks and TheSkimm Reads Pick of the Week, and have been translated into over a dozen languages.

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    Reviews for The Address

    3.5/5

    264 ratings50 reviews

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    • 5/5
      A perfectly balanced tale from both past and present, combining elements of mystery, madness, and romance...after all, they are all different sides of emotion.

      Often times I find stories written in both past and present hard to keep sorted, making it easy to misremember details, characters, and events, but the author tamed any potential issues with the deft stroke of her pen, allowing readers the simple pleasure of getting lost in a wonderful book. Diving into the past with Sara, and Theo, while witnessing the Dakota in its prime, while simultaneously seeing its decline in the present as well as the evolution of the inhabitants over time, was enveloping...while the mysteries, deceptions, and misconceptions that unfolded took your emotions into overdrive. At book's end, I was as fired up as the characters themselves who were mistreated, misdirected, and otherwise led astray....but also filled with an unexpected understanding of what might drive one to spontaneous actions that end in ways you hadn't fathomed.

      A great read for Historical and general Fiction fans...or simply those that love a grand story to wile away an afternoon that takes place at THE place to be, past or present.


      ***copy received for review
    • 4/5
      This is a captivating book about what a woman who takes a chance and moves from England to New York to manage a new hotel. She doesn't want to be like her Mom and fall for her employer but she can't help it. Like The Dollhouse, Fiona Davis brings the characters to life and makes you care for them. It always shocks me the way women were treat back in the 1800's, not sure why it does because women fought so hard for rights and freedoms, but it always does. The fact that a sane woman who has done nothing wrong can be placed in a crazy house on a secluded island without all the evidence gone through just always blows my mind. I've read stories about that island in New York before. I really felt sorry for Sara and what she went through. I also was glad that Bailey was strong and fought for what she thought was right. I wanted to smack Melinda. What a bitch. Fiona Davis is a wonderful writer and you can tell she has done her research about the places and eras she writes about. Well worth my time.
    • 4/5
      Good. Interesting characters and plot twists. Will search out this author again.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book and am a huge fan of Fiona Davis. I read this in one sitting. The history in this book is what grabbed me right from the beginning. Books set in this time period are my fiction addiction! Great story line and characters that seemed so real. I look forward to this authors next book.
    • 3/5
      Not bad, but I wanted to give Sara a good shake. She didn’t learn a thing from her embittered mother or her pregnancy by Theo Camden. Bailey isn’t much better, but after her first relapse after rehab, she stays sober and sticks to her guns. There are a few of what I like to call “Maeve Binchy” moments with the super and Dakota tenant, Kenneth, that signaled the saccharine aspect to her story and how it all ends.There is nothing surprising for the most part in either timeline although I did have the real thief misidentified and was sad that Daisy’s behavior was all just an act. I shouldn’t have fallen for the obvious villain, but I couldn’t see anyone else who could immediately benefit from Sara’s removal. I also suspected that Mrs. Camden was Theo’s real killer and that Bailey was indeed a descendant from Theo and Sara’s liaison (at first mention of the Camden’s ward, it’s obvious who is is and who will be related). Luckily Melinda’s boyfriend’s cousin invented DNA matching and so it was inevitable that Bailey should be included in the whole Camden legacy. I didn’t see that Melinda would be cut out entirely though. I think that Mrs. Theo Camden’s unfaithfulness was a bit too over-the-top and didn’t have to be included. And that goes for Theo’s abuse of the kids from that relationship. I think that Sara could have cottoned onto Theo’s betrayal another way and their kid could have been folded into the established family by some other means. So for the predictability and the sappiness it only gets 2 ½ stars. Oddly enough though, in the same batch of books from the library as this one I have a non-fiction book about Blackwell Island/Asylum that covers the time period Sara was sent there in the novel. A horrifying place and those scenes were remarkably harrowing and hard to read.
    • 5/5
      In this wonderful historical fiction novel, we have two narrators, Sara Smythe in 1884/1885 and Bailey Camden in 1985. The story begins in 1884 as we are introduced to Sara Smythe in London, England. She is the head housekeeper at a swanky hotel where she save the life of a young girl teetering on a window ledge. The father, Theodore Camden meets Sara to thank her and is quiet impressed by this young lady. He offers her a job at the soon to open Dakota apartment building in New York City. Sara decides to accept the job, but once she arrives is immediately promoted to Manageress. 100 years later we meet Bailey. Fresh out of rehab and with no job, she accepts the offer of her "cousin" Melinda Camden to renovate her apartment in the Dakota as well as a place to stay in the meantime. Bailey and Sara are both trying their best to take control of their own lives. Sara has tragedy befall her through no fault of her own, and Bailey finds information that might just help her find where she belongs.

      The novel is well researched, and a great read, in fact I had a hard time putting it down. The two story lines meshed so well together and even though I had figured out certain things in the story, the ending surprised and delighted me. Another reviewer put it perfectly when she said, "The Address" tells a rich story of New York, alternating between the gilded age of the late 1800s and the "Greed is good" indulgences of the 1980s. I felt like I was there, I could see the world so well through her writing. A great read for any lovers of historical fiction as well as those wanting to know about life in New York during those time periods. Thanks to Penguin's First to read program for giving me the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this book.
    • 2/5
      I was looking forward to reading this book as I absolutely loved The Dollhouse. With the Dollhouse; I was instantly transported back in time with engaging characters that brought the story to life. Thus, I was ready to jump into this book and continue this experience again. When I first started this book, I was transported back in time right away. Additionally, I was drawn to Sara. This was something about her that made me want to get to know her better. Which, for me I liked Sara and the past more than the present. Bailey kind of got lost in the shadows for me. She did not draw me in. Thus, I found myself skimming the present just so I could get back to the past. Yet, even the past had some faults. It did not engage me the whole time. For me, this book was a few steps back from the Dollhouse. However, I still plan to check out the next book from this author.
    • 2/5
      I read this author’s first book and hated it, so I’m not quite sure why I gave this one a chance, except maybe I’ve always been fascinated by the Dakota apartment building in New York City.Davis tells the two parallel stories. One set in the 1880’s when the Dakota had just opened in what then was the wilds of the upper west side of Manhattan, and the other set in 1985. Unfortunately, both plots are preposterous and the characters undeveloped. Two strikes and this author is out
    • 4/5
      After reading The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis, when I saw she had another book out I was immediately interested. Her second novel did not disappoint. It’s a wonderful combination of mystery, historical fiction and romance. The story is told from two different time frames and centers around the Dakota Apartment building.Sara begins the story in 1884 when she saves a child from falling out of a window in the London hotel where she works. Because of that, she is offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to come to New York and help manage the new Dakota Apartment building. The story picks up again in 1985, when Bailey Camden, fresh out of rehab, returns to New York and ends up helping her cousin Melinda renovate the family apartment at the Dakota. There were some past unresolved family issues and when Bailey begins the renovation, she discovers several clues from the past that eventually fill in the blanks from the family’s past.I enjoyed both storylines equally and although it was a bit of a slow start, this was a quick read because once I was far enough into the story, it was hard to put down. Many thanks to First to Read/Penguin for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed the fact that the Dakota was and still is a real building, and I enjoyed the history portion of it. Through most of the novel, however, I didn't care for any of the characters. There are two different time frames in the book, when the building was first opened as apartments in 1885 and when it is being renovated 100 years later. Sara and Theo are in the first time period, and Bailey and Melinda are in the later time. By the end of the novel, I only liked one of the three and frankly could care less about the others. Still, the twist at the end made the book much more interesting. I even went back and reread some sections to clarify some things. It was good to read about something I knew nothing about.
    • 4/5
      This story is based around the famous apartment building "The Dakota", built in 1884 on the Upper West Side of New York City. It was one of the first luxury apartment buildings built as a vision of architect Thomas Camden and constructed in the middle of 'nowhere', surrounded by farms and the countryside. Toggling between 1884 (Sara Smythe and Thomas Camden) and 1985 (Bailey Camden) it is centered on the generations of the Camden family.The characters are well written and it's fairly easy to follow between the the two centuries with enough plot twists to keep it interesting to the very end. An enjoyable read.Davis takes creative liberties on the actual timeline, explaining it at the end of the book. And shouldn't bother anyone who enjoys this book; unless you are a history buff with a need for accuracy! 3.5 stars
    • 4/5
      New York City in the Gilded Age, a murder, and a family still haunted a century later - this is definitely my kind of guilty pleasure. In this book, a Englishwoman is hired to manage the staff a new apartment building in 1880s New York - the Dakota. She quickly becomes involved with one of the tenants, leading her down a dark path which ends in a brutal murder and still bears consequences for a family a century later. Fun reading for historical fiction fans.
    • 4/5
      This is an interesting story of the beginning of The Dakota in New York City, built in 1884. With both history and mystery, two stories, one from 1885 (Sara) and the other from 1985 (Bailey), are told. Sara's story begins by telling how she became involved with The Dakota, meeting the architect, Theo Camden, and his family in London and being recruited to be the lady managerette of this new apartment building. She goes on to tell of her relationship with Camden and the intriguing events that happen in her life thereafter.Bailey's story begins when she starts to help her cousin remodel her apartment at The Dakota and finds some mysterious items in storage in the basement. Bailey is not an official cousin of the family since her great-grandfather was merely a ward of this wealthy family and not a blood relative -- or is he? What was his relationship to this family, and therefore, Bailey's relationship? And how does Sara's story connect with Bailey's, and can she find out what really happened? This is an interesting tale that held my attention and made me want to keep reading. I also liked the history that was told of the beginnings of the New York City skyscrapers and some other interesting details of what was going on at the time. Also, I thought I was going to like the 1885 era best in the storytelling, but I found that I couldn't wait to get back to the 1985 story, as Bailey's story was very compelling. I will say that I enjoyed this one very much!
    • 4/5
      THE ADDRESS is an engrossing mystery and family drama with a majestic New York City landmark as its backdrop. The Dakota apartment building on the Upper West Side provides a link between two women one hundred years apart. I enjoyed learning about the history of The Dakota, as well as trying to figure out the century-old murder mystery presented. I loved how the dual time periods were mid-1880s and mid-1980s, so really it's historical fiction inside historical fiction. Sara and Bailey are both sympathetic and relatable characters. I enjoyed the author's straight-forward writing style, and the twists revealed at the end were simply delicious. I missed reading Fiona Davis' debut THE DOLLHOUSE last year, and now I definitely want to pick it up.Disclosure: I received a copy of this book through Penguin's First to Read Program.
    • 5/5
      I loved The Dollhouse and couldn't wait to read The Address. I'm not done yet and your writing is amazing. Traveling from the 1800 to the 1900 is seamless. From Sara to Bailey. I'm on page 213 and do not want The Address to end.
    • 2/5
      I liked reading about the Dakota, a building I've always wanted to visit but I don't generally like dual timeline stories. I find them contrived and one is always better than the other. In this case I preferred the story set in 1884 to the one set in 1985 until it turned into a romance novel with obvious consequences. At that point I gave up on it. Women's fiction and I just do not get along. I should have been warned. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
    • 2/5
      An architect selects a girl working in a London hotel who saved his daughter from a deadly fall to manage the Dakota, a residential building, opening in New York. Although it seems in the middle of nowhere, development is headed that way. Fast forward almost 100 years. A newly rehabilitated girl is given the opportunity to renovate the family apartment at the Dakota. She's a descendant of the architect although her cousin received the inheritance. While the story line held promise, the author failed to weave the story in an engaging manner. For me, starting with the modern piece and then going back in time would have been preferable to chopping the story up. The revelation of what she discovered could have occurred in the end or it could have been revealed. I would have kept reading. As written, I struggled to plod through it. The writer used passive tense too much. The book's editor failed to correct the problem.I received an advance electronic copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation of an honest review.
    • 4/5
      This was a very interesting read. If a book leads me to learn more about the subject matter, in this case The Dakota Hotel in New York City, NY, then I rate it highly.Usually, the changing of stories every other chapter leaves me frustrating, and I did experience some of that, but not enough to stop me from reading the book.Built in the late 1880's, from the inception, The Dakota has been filled with very intriguing people. Famously know as the address where John Lennon, a senior member of the Beatles, and one of the most famous tenants, was murdered outside the hotel. This book mentions none of it, but learning about the history of The Dakota, was indeed a wonderful experience.Both woman characters lost a lot in their lives because of poor choices. In 1886 Sara Symthe left England to manage the newly built Dakota. She falls in love with the owner of The Dakota, and it was Mr. Camden who convinced her to leave her country and move to New York to work with him. The very married Mr. Camden, is at first a likable character, and the reader can understand how he gently seduced Sara. But, all too soon, he becomes a cad as a web of deceit spins around the now pregnant Sara who undeservedly lands in a terrible mental hospital. Fast forward to the year 1985 where Bailey is newly released from rehab having fallen from the graces of the elite New York society. She is fired from the prestigious job of an interior decorating firm, and after completing rehab, she is homeless, broke and unemployed. Her quasi cousin,who will soon inherit the Dakota, offers the opportunity to live and work at the Dakota, assisting with the overall renovation and reconstruction of the famous hotel. While her rich cousin continues to live the fast life of drugging and drinking, Bailey is continually fighting temptation. When she finds three large chests in the basement of The Dakota, she is lead to discovering the lives of Mr. Camden, his wife, and Sara. This unfolding leads her to present knowledge of the true owners of the hotel.The plot is very good, the detail is marvelous, rendering this a four star book.
    • 3/5
      I liked this book but I didn't love it. There were parts of the story that I really liked while other sections of the book didn't capture my attention as well. This was a book that was never really hard for me to set aside. I actually started reading it just before bed and never had any desire to read more than one chapter. The story was never one that made me want to put my other reads aside and was really a rather slow start. I didn't have a hard time finishing it but the book seemed to lack that something extra that really seems to grab my attention.This story is told through dual timelines. The parts of the book that focus on Sara Smythe take place in 1884, while the section of the book from Bailey's point of view occur in 1985. As is often the case with this kind of story, I found myself enjoying one of the timelines much more than the other. Sara's story was really just so much more than Bailey's and anytime the book made the switch to 1985, I found myself wanting to put it down. There were a few times in the book when something that happened in 1985 would hint at an event that was going to happen in the earlier time period which took away some of the excitement. There were things that I really liked about the story. Sara Smythe was a character that was easy to like. She was very capable and was able to come up with impossible solutions quite quickly. The descriptions in the book were really well done. It was so interesting to see this famous building just as it was starting to be lived in. There were a few times in the book that I was really quite surprised by the turn the story took. While I thought that the 1985 time period was described quite well, I just had a hard time connecting with anything going on in that timeline. Bailey was not as easy to like as Sara. The Dakota's super and the neighbor downstairs were much easier to like. Bailey did grown on my by the end of the book but I still always preferred Sara's story.I think that a lot of readers will enjoy this one a bit more than I did. I would recommend that anyone who is interested in this story to give it a try. I would not hesitate to read more from Fiona Davis in the future.I received an advance reader edition of this book from Penguin Publishing Group - Dutton via First to Read.
    • 3/5
      Such great potential but this book fell flat. Unsympathetic characters and a plot that wandered leaving me with one notable thought. ""Men betrayed, women endured.
    • 3/5
      I felt like this novel went off the rails a bit for me towards the end, where it felt as though the author was throwing absolutely everything on some sort of "dramatic historical novel" checklist at the reader to make sure everyone was suitably emotionally drained. In general, I found the Sarah Smythe storyline to be more engaging, but overall this was a fun and interesting historical.
    • 4/5
      I live in a high rise condo in Bethesda, Maryland, largely based on the exterior of The Dakota, so I found this book very interesting inasmuch as Davis stuck to the facts of the how, when, and why of the construction of the building. It certainly read as though much research of ghe times went into the writing (hence the Bly connection).The main plot (spoiler alert) moves between the historical time and more current times, which is not a favorite style I appreciate much, but Davis does work hard at it.
    • 3/5
      Thank you to Penguin First to Read for the opportunity to read this book in advance.I'm going to begin with the negatives so that my review can end on a positive note.I have to stop reading dual time-period novels. I really do, they're just not for me. But the covers are so pretty and I love historical fiction so I can't resist, but I've read three in a row now, and all three have been no more than three stars for me. I'd much rather read one continuous story that flows, rather than being cut off and held in suspense every few chapters so that the time period can change over.If only it wasn't so...cheesy? I guess (I know) I am very harsh critic in terms of realistic conversation and events. I know it's an incredibly hard skill to master, and few do, which makes me appreciate that I can't expect everything I read to fit my stupidly high standards of what I believe sounds like conversation that could truly pass between real-life people and what couldn't. In addition, the Americans in the 1985 part of the story would use Britishisms that just felt inaccurate, and I reasoned that maybe Ms. Davis was English, as a way to move past it/excuse it in my mind. However, she's Canadian, and maybe they say more English phrases there than in America, but I felt that sort of thing could use a bit more editing, a closer eye to detail. Sara, the protagnist of the late-19th century half of the story, was likable; a feminist, a woman who was proud, yet simultaneously aware of her faults and her susceptibility to fall for men. She perhaps seemed too enlightened for her time, though of this I can't be sure, but some of the things she spoke aloud and thought to herself felt very 21st-century feminist to me; thoughts that didn't seem (sorry for the repetition of this word) realistic to me for the time period Sara was in. I enjoyed the setting of The Dakota, in both 1885 and 1985, not knowing much about it other than the heinous murder of John Lennon that happened there in 1980. I have to give credit to Fiona Davis for writing a very page-turning story, one that kept me interested the entire time. There were plenty of twists and turns that I didn't see coming, and the stories in both time periods were executed very well (cheesiness aside). I guess that's the fun of two time periods, double the mystery, double the shocks.
    • 4/5
      As with Fiona Davis' previous book, The Address is about (historical fiction) of a building in NYC and the stories of those who lived there. In this case, the building is The Dakota, the first "high rise" apartment style living for the wealthy (built in 1884). The focus is on Sarah Smythe, a woman in charge of housekeeping at a venerable hotel in London. She captures the attention of Theodore Camden, one of the Dakota's architects. She accepts his offer of a similar job in NYC at the soon to be opened Dakota. The span of the book seems much longer than the actual little more than a year as their relationship quickly becomes personal and Sarah is captivated by the married Theodore. Alternating chapters focus on descendants of Camden who are still living in the original Dakota apartment where another drama is taking place. The storyline is interesting and made me want to keep reading and discover how the two stories merged. The ending was bittersweet.
    • 4/5
      Sara Smyth is working her way up to head housekeeper in a posh London hotel when she's offered the opportunity of a lifetime. Theodore Camden, one of the architects of The Dakota - a new apartment house in New York - offers her a job. This is a big deal for a woman in 1884. It also gives her the chance to see more of Theo as he lives in The Dakota with his wife and three children.

      It's 1985 and Bailey Camden is fresh out of rehab and struggling to stay sober. The former party girl and interior designer is homeless, jobless and has no money. Her cousin Melinda offers to let Bailey oversee the renovation of her Dakota apartment as well as stay there for a while. Bailey doesn't agree with Melinda's vision for the old apartment that was once owned by Melinda's own great-grandfather Theodore Camden, the same apartment where he was stabbed to death by a madwoman and former Dakota employee named Sara Smyth.

      Even though one hundred years separate Sara and Bailey, they both take refuge within the Upper West Side's gilded fortress. But a famous building rich with both history and tragedy can't hold its secrets forever and when Bailey goes looking through old trunks once belonging to Theo, his wife Minnie and Sara she discovers something unbelievable.

      I liked Sara's story more than Bailey's because there's just something about that time period - a big monstrosity of an apartment house outside of the city proper which is actually something really beautiful even to this day! The author makes The Dakota come alive with rich details. Many famous people made their home there with its charm and character. I thought both women were kind, strong, hard workers. I liked the twists and turns. I liked that the author used real places and events and even a real (and very interesting) person makes an appearance! Overall two very interesting and readable stories that weave their way into one.

      Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for a copy of this book.
    • 5/5
      Excellent story.
    • 4/5
      This historical fiction added mystery and switched between time periods. It was interesting, escape reading.
    • 3/5
      Is this author writing a series of books about famous New York City buildings? Her first book was about the Barbizon Hotel, and this book is about the Dakota Apartments. Both books contain two female protagonists in different time periods with inter-connecting stories. Even the cover art is very similar. Once again, I was not invested in the characters, and the writing at times seemed naive and trite, although this story is marginally better than the first. Come on, Fiona Davis, show a little imagination!
    • 2/5
      When Sara is offered a job at the new Dakota apartment house in New York, she lives her job in London for the unknown. In the present day, Bailey is out of rehab and looking for a job. When her cousin offers her the opportunity to refurbish her apartment in the Dakota, she jumps at the chance.This book was just mediocre. The characters were shallow and poorly developed. The story line and conclusion was extremely predictable. Overall, a bust.
    • 4/5
      Almost everyone in the Western world has heard of the Dakota apartments, most famously as the location of the shooting of John Lennon. This book is set in the Dakota and has two separate timelines. One is just after the Dakota was built in the late 1800s, a time referred to as The Gilded Age. The other is more modern as it takes place in 1985 but as the book shows there have been a lot of changes in the 30 plus years since then. There is plenty of historical detail although the book is a work of fiction.Sara Smythe was working as head housekeeper in a posh London hotel when a chance encounter with Theodore Camden, an architect with the firm building the Dakota, results in her moving to New York City to act as housekeeper/manager there in 1885. Camden is married with three young children but that does not stop him from pursuing Sara. Despite her misgivings (Sara is an illegitimate child of an Earl who seduced her mother when she worked in the Earl's manor house) Sara finds herself in love with Theo and soon she is pregnant. A century later, Bailey Camden is an interior designer and recovering alcoholic who has taken a job overseeing renovations to her cousins' apartment in the Dakota. Bailey has always been told that her grandfather, Christopher, was an orphan taken in as a ward by the Camdens and that he had no claim to the Camden wealth. While going through old trunks in basement of the Dakota Bailey comes across evidence that seems to show that Christopher was Theodore's sone. Bailey wants to find out the truth not so much to have a right to the estate but more to establish who she is. DNA analysis, a relatively new technology then, may clear things up.I loved all the detail about the building and I was especially taken by the fact that when it was built it was far awy from the main city. I also learned that the developer, Edward Clark, was the head of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. Several Singer sewing machines appear in the book and brought back memories of the treadle machine in the house where I grew up. I was somewhat less than impressed by the supposed affair between Sara and Theo. Sara seemed so clever plus she had the example of her own birth circumstances that it was hard for me to believe she would fall under Camden's spell so completely. I thought Bailey was much more realistic a character and I liked her quite a bit.