The Doll House by Fiona Davis

The Doll House by Fiona Davis
Buy The Doll House by Fiona Davis at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: General Fiction
Reviewer: Lesley Mason
Summary: An intriguing mystery is the hook for an exploration of life for young women of various backgrounds in 1950s New York. It starts slow, with a modern day perspective that I could have lived without, but ultimately the main story is paced and pitched perfectly to keep you wondering what happened. The historical voice and style clicks into place for the era, it's a shame that the modern day protagonist wasn't as sharply drawn. On the whole though – it you enjoyed Mad Men, you'll love this.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 304	Date: August 2016
Publisher: Dutton Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1101984994
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New York City, 2016: Rose has quit her job as a newscaster and investigative journalist – not entirely voluntarily – and now works for an on-line outfit with the self-mockingly clumsy name of Wordmerge.

She has also given up her beloved apartment to move in with her up-and-coming politico boyfriend, tipped for Mayor or some such, who she believes is building up to finally popping the question.

He isn't.

Quite the reverse as it happens.

They live in a condo in what used to be the Barbizon Hotel for Young Women. Back in the 1950s it was THE place for the freshly independent women of the day to live. It's claim to fame is that Sylvia Plath stayed there for, oh, about a month, but long enough to rename the place and give it a starring role in The Bell Jar. When the gorgeously Italian-renaissance/gothic revival building was converted to condominium use the last few remaining residents were consolidated on the 4th floor, but allowed to stay in rent-controlled apartments.

One such survivor is the ever-veiled, semi-reclusive Miss McLauglin.

New York City, 1952: Darby McLaughlin arrives at the Barbizon scared and alone. Through some mix up in bookings she is allocated a room not on one of the floors dedicated to the Katharine Gibbs girls, learning to be secretaries, but on a higher floor with the Eileen Ford girls. Models. Gorgeous, confident girls who shortly take great pleasure in undermining the modicum of self-belief that Darby has managed to salvage from her years with her cold-hearted mother and mean-spirited stepfather.

Her rescue arrives in the unlikely form of a Peurto Rican maid. Esme soon has Darby sneaking down the back stairs and heading to the jazz clubs where she has no idea what she's getting into, but knows she is enjoying it more than she should. Shorthand, typing, book-keeping and learning the correct way to answer her imaginary future boss's phone surely pale by comparison. More: these people seem more human, kinder, than the poor little rich girls working their way into the world of fashion.

Back in the 21st century Rose learns why Miss M always keeps her face covered: a fight, a fatal fall from a Barbizon balcony, a long time ago. Naturally, the journalist in her has to start digging.

Davis's debut novel alternates between Rose and Darby and for the first few chapters this doesn't really work. The seedy-glamour of 1950s New York, the social-climbing ambition of all and sundry – this is where this reader kept wanting to return to – back in the days when it still felt like the dream might be attainable and the naivety could be forgiven. My time with Rose left me wanting to tell her to 'grow up'. This is 2016, Rose! You know what they say about a man who marries his mistress. More to the point, do women who fall for men who happen to be married really think that leaving the old marriage and starting a new one is what they need or want? Hint: the 'they' in that sentence refers to both the women and the men concerned.

My problem is that the Rose character doesn't really work for this reason. Her back story has her standing up for principles and making her way in what is still largely a man's world, so having her wimp out in her personal- / love-life just doesn't hold true.

The more she digs however and the closer the stories converge, the better it gets.

Strong women are the theme of the story: living life the way they choose and dealing with the consequences as best they can. It's a sharp insight into the life of a would-be working girl in the early 1950s, where the pre-war rules are trying to be reinforced, but a lot of young women are not having any of it. It doesn't shy away from the bitchiness of young people (men and women), but any racial elements which might have come into play at the time are somewhat under-played.

The backdrop is the mystery of whatever happened to Miss M (or whoever she really is).

Worth persevering with past the first few chapters. I liked it a lot more than I thought I was going to in the early pages, so much that it was one of those I just kept reading one more chapter and finished it in two sittings.

For a very different look at the 1950s we can recommend The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer.

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You can read more book reviews or buy The Doll House by Fiona Davis at Amazon.com.

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