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Jennifer Vido | Jen’s Jewels Interview: THE LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE by FIONA DAVIS
Author Guest / July 10, 2020

Jen: What inspired you to write THE LIONS OF FIFTH AVENUE? Fiona: At author talks and book signings, readers often suggest New York City landmarks they’d like to see featured in my novels. The New York Public Library came up repeatedly, so I figured I’d do a little research into its construction and history. I learned that when it opened in 1911, the superintendent lived in a seven-room apartment deep inside the library with his wife and three children. The idea of a family living in this monument of marble that’s filled with books struck me as a perfect setting for a novel, and I was up and running–although I created a fictional family for the story.  What is the catalyst behind Laura’s decision to apply to the Columbia Journalism School?  Laura, the superintendent’s wife, has been living in the library for a couple of years, and feels stifled and lonely–it’s not like there are any neighbors to chat with or borrow milk from, as there would be in a regular New York City apartment building. She’s been writing a column about her life raising her two children in a library for the employee newsletter, and when she hears that…