Review of The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

*The Magnolia Palace* by Fiona Davis (2022). Published by Dutton.

One of my favorite hobbies these days has been to return to my roots and go to the library. Last year I spent a lot of time going to the library when I had some free time, and it meant that I would pick up books at random to see if I liked them. I try to branch out as much as possible, which is something I’ve had a tendency to admire in myself lately.

I love seeing new perspectives and ways of seeing the world, so picking things up at random helps with trying to explore the natural diversity of the world. This is how I ended up seeing a copy of The Magnolia Palace in the new section of the library and flipping over to the synopsis.

Usually, I don’t go for historical fiction at all. It doesn’t usually go up my alley in terms of taste, and I think that it has to be done right in order for me to enjoy it. But because I’m trying to actively be more open minded, I found this synopsis interesting and decided to give the book a chance.

I read it over the course of two nights, which means that I got through it somewhat quickly. The writing is very accessible, which helped in this endeavor.

Let’s get into the review!

An event involving the Frick family in the 1920s bleeds into the present of the 1960s, complete with a major mystery to solve.

This is a book that alternates perspectives and time periods, so if you’re not prepared for this kind of narrative, you should prep yourself in advance. Sometimes these are more difficult to read because you have to keep in mind the threads between past and present.

The first narrator in this book is Lillian, who recently lost her mother in the 1919 Spanish Flu outbreak. Her mother was the one who pushed her to become a famous model for many New York City artists, and she often went under the moniker of Angelica.

But one night, when her neighbor does something major, involving murder, she flees as the name Angelica is tied to the scandal and she is considered to be potentially a part of it and having an affair with her neighbor. As Lillian wanders the streets, having left behind everything in her home, she wanders into the Frick Mansion.

There, they think she’s here to interview for the position they have open: working with Helen Frick as her secretary. Lillian smooth talks her way into the job, but as she sees how difficult Helen is, and even falls in love with the wrong person somewhere along the way, she finds herself tangled deeply within a new scandal.

We then transition between all of this to the 1960s, where Brit Veronica Weber has been contracted by the American Vogue for a photoshoot inside of the historic Frick mansion. She’s considered an underdog of sorts by all of her fellow models in the room, and she clashes with the photographer.

When everyone leaves her behind with only an intern inside of the mansion, a snowstorm locking them within its walls, she discovers the first clues to the mystery that began to be seeded with Lillian all of those decades ago.

While I do think this back and forth narrative works for the purposes of this novel, it starts to fail more in the second arc of the novel. If you’re expecting a major mystery, this one falls flat too.

Overall Thoughts

This wasn’t the novel for me, but I can see how someone else might like it so much more. It’s well-written, but the format just didn’t land well for my taste. Perhaps if the mystery were more drawn out, I would have liked it more.

That said though, I did enjoy the 1920s sections of the novel a lot. Upon reflecting on the book, I realized what didn’t land well was the narrative in the 1960s. While Veronica has a hard background and fights to be seen and heard, which I can resonate with, her narrative arc feels more purposeless.

But like I said, I could see someone enjoying this. Neither of us are wrong.

Follow me below on Instagram and Goodreads for more.