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The Masterpiece
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins
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Publisher's Summary
In this latest captivating novel, New York Times best-selling author Fiona Davis takes listeners into the glamorous lost art school within Grand Central Terminal, where two very different women, 50 years apart, strive to make their mark on a world set against them.
For most New Yorkers, Grand Central Terminal is a crown jewel, a masterpiece of design. But for Clara Darden and Virginia Clay, it represents something quite different. For Clara, the terminal is the stepping stone to her future.
It is 1928, and Clara is teaching at the lauded Grand Central School of Art. Though not even the prestige of the school can override the public's disdain for a "woman artist", fiery Clara is single-minded in her quest to achieve every creative success - even while juggling the affections of two very different men. But she and her bohemian friends have no idea that they'll soon be blindsided by the looming Great Depression...and that even poverty and hunger will do little to prepare Clara for the greater tragedy yet to come.
By 1974, the terminal has declined almost as sharply as Virginia Clay's life. Dilapidated and dangerous, Grand Central is at the center of a fierce lawsuit: Is the once-grand building a landmark to be preserved, or a cancer to be demolished? For Virginia, it is simply her last resort. Recently divorced, she has just accepted a job in the information booth in order to support herself and her college-age daughter, Ruby. But when Virginia stumbles upon an abandoned art school within the terminal and discovers a striking watercolor, her eyes are opened to the elegance beneath the decay.
She embarks on a quest to find the artist of the unsigned masterpiece - an impassioned chase that draws Virginia not only into the battle to save Grand Central but deep into the mystery of Clara Darden, the famed 1920s illustrator who disappeared from history in 1931.
Critic Reviews
“Fiona Davis in The Masterpiece continues a winning formula that showcases the stories behind New York City landmarks...a hard-to-resist and a timely reminder that for far too long the work done by women has been dismissed and disrespected.” (USA Today)
"Fiona Davis achieves a world in which fictional characters and real life seamlessly meld.... The Masterpiece is a beautifully crafted, meticulously researched story." (New York Journal of Books)
“Davis has written another paean to a New York City landmark. Historical fiction fans will love the compelling dual narrators and time periods perfectly captured in this novel based on the history of one of the busiest transportation hubs in the world.” (Library Journal, starred review)
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- Hiro
- 29-08-2018
‘The Masterpiece’ by Fiona Davis
When I found this is a historical fiction about Grand Central School of Art founded by John Singer Sargent in the 20s, I immediately decided to download from Audible. The reader is my favourite Cassandra Campbell. That helps.
The author adapted a well-trodden dual timeline format. And I think it works very well here.
The story itself is fascinating, very clever mixture of the fictional and the real.
Although some subplots are too contrived, I enjoyed the book. As usual, it’s read brilliantly.
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