Jen Vido: What inspired your new book, THE MAGNOLIA PALACE?
Fiona Davis: THE MAGNOLIA PALACE was inspired by the Frick Collection, a museum in New York City that was home to Henry Clay Frick (an industrialist and art collector), and his family. I loved that it was both a residence and a museum, which works well with a dual-timeline novel. Some of the characters are real people – Henry Clay Frick and Helen Frick, his adult daughter, in particular. And some are fictional, like Lillian, who’s inspired by a celebrated artists’ model from the 1910s named Audrey Munson. Audrey posed for the reclining nude figure that’s carved above the entrance to the Frick mansion.
In 1919, what happens in Lillian Carter’s life that lands her in the Frick mansion?
Lillian has been struggling in her career as an artists’ model since her mother died earlier that year, and then was accused by the police of being part of a sordid love triangle after her landlord killed his wife. (The scandal is drawn directly from Audrey Munson’s real life.) Early in the book, Lillian is staring up at the image of herself in the Frick’s doorway, wondering what’s going to become of her, and gets mistaken for an applicant for the position of the imperious Helen Frick’s personal secretary. Intrigued – and looking for a way to hide out from the police –she ventures inside and lands the job.
Nearly fifty years later, who is Veronica Weber and why is she at the former Frick residence?
Veronica is an up-and-coming English model who’s been hired to take part in a Vogue photo shoot at the Frick in 1966. It doesn’t go very well, and she gets trapped inside the museum during a three-day blizzard, along with an intern named Joshua. Together, they stumble upon a series of hidden messages in the mansion, a scavenger hunt that Veronica hopes will reveal the location of a missing pink diamond known as the Magnolia diamond.
What role does Joshua play in Veronica’s search for the truth?
The clues for the scavenger hunt are found throughout the mansion’s art work and sculptures. Luckily, Joshua knows the art at the Frick quite well and is able to help Veronica figure out the answers. He also understands the context of the art on the walls, and how it relates to the larger picture of art history and the forgotten Black artists who helped shape it. In that way, he provides a larger context for the history of both the Frick family and the art world in general.
What’s the most historically interesting tidbit you learned during the writing process?
When I was given a behind-the-scenes tour of the Frick mansion while researching, I learned that there’s a circa 1914 bowling alley in the basement – that still works. Of course that had to be included in the story.
What’s the best way for readers to stay up-to-date on your latest news?
Best is to sign up for my newsletter, which you can do at fionadavisbooks.com. I’ll be doing a number of author talks – both in person and virtual – about the Frick, where you can learn more about the research and inspiration behind THE MAGNOLIA PALACE. They’re listed on my website as well.
Sneak peek! What’s your next project?
The next book is set at Radio City Music Hall, from the point of view of a Rockette. I’m working hard on it, and can’t wait to share it with you.
It’s been an absolute pleasure catching up with you, my friend! Best of luck with your new release!
Thank you for this amazing opportunity. You’re the best!! xoxo
THE MAGNOLIA PALACE by Fiona Davis
Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue, returns with a tantalizing novel about the secrets, betrayal, and murder within one of New York City’s most impressive Gilded Age mansions.
Eight months since losing her mother in the Spanish flu outbreak of 1919, twenty-one-year-old Lillian Carter’s life has completely fallen apart. For the past six years, under the moniker Angelica, Lillian was one of the most sought-after artists’ models in New York City, with statues based on her figure gracing landmarks from the Plaza Hotel to the Brooklyn Bridge. But with her mother gone, a grieving Lillian is rudderless and desperate—the work has dried up and a looming scandal has left her entirely without a safe haven. So when she stumbles upon an employment opportunity at the Frick mansion—a building that, ironically, bears her own visage—Lillian jumps at the chance. But the longer she works as a private secretary to the imperious and demanding Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of industrialist and art patron Henry Clay Frick, the more deeply her life gets intertwined with that of the family—pulling her into a tangled web of romantic trysts, stolen jewels, and family drama that runs so deep, the stakes just may be life or death.
Nearly fifty years later, mod English model Veronica Weber has her own chance to make her career—and with it, earn the money she needs to support her family back home—within the walls of the former Frick residence, now converted into one of New York City’s most impressive museums. But when she—along with a charming intern/budding art curator named Joshua—is dismissed from the Vogue shoot taking place at the Frick Collection, she chances upon a series of hidden messages in the museum: messages that will lead her and Joshua on a hunt that could not only solve Veronica’s financial woes, but could finally reveal the truth behind a decades-old murder in the infamous Frick family.
Historical [Dutton, On Sale: January 25, 2022, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780593184011 / eISBN: 9780593184028]
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About Fiona Davis
Fiona Davis began her career in New York City as an actress, working on Broadway, off-Broadway, and in regional theater. After getting a master’s degree at Columbia Journalism School, she fell in love with writing, leapfrogging from editor to freelance journalist before finally settling down to write fiction. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and she’s based in New York City.
Photo credit: Deborah Feingold
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