Marjorie Lennox is the youngest daughter of a powerful automotive dynasty, a family known for money, not manners. Artistic, impulsive, and always slightly out of step, Marjorie has long been dismissed by her controlling father and self-absorbed siblings. But when she secretly applies to an exclusive arts program funded by an elusive benefactor, she sees a chance to redefine herself on her own terms. The building is grand. The participants are gifted. But something…is off.
Doors lock at odd hours. Strange sounds echo through the halls amid whispers that women are disappearing. And the handsome benefactor’s presence—mostly absent, yet somehow everywhere—begins to unnerve her. As Marjorie’s sense of self begins to slip, so does her grip on the truth. What happens to women who don’t fit neatly into a gilded frame?
I usually adore how Sepatys brings forgotten history to light, so I had high expectations for her adult debut. Unfortunately, it was a bit slow at the start. In trying to set up the Lennox family, they came across as cartoonishly eccentric. My friend and I chalked it up as the idle rich have time to develope nuroses because they have nothing else to do. However, once one gets past the first 50 pages, the story picks up. Sepatys’ Lennox family has lots of secrets, and we weren’t able to guess one of them. Impressive, but I think in keeping the reader in the dark about what the Lennoxes do or do not know, the historical descriptions/immersion Sepatys is so good at is lost. I did not feel like I was in the glittering world of the 20s or got any new insight about the gilded age of Detroit.
Still, it was an entertaining novel, and my friend and I enjoyed the characters especially Ivy, and Grandpa Lennox. We were also amused that asylums were featured prominantly in the novel. This is the third novel we’ve had this year about the role of difficult women being put in asylums for other’s benefit.
Also in keeping with the glittery, sparkles of the 20s, we watched Moulin Rogue. Another film filled with love lost, secrets and eccentric artists. Next up is the second book of the Outlander saga, Dragonfly in Amber.
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