It’s been said that a person’s address is like their shoes. It travels with them.
20 Bookers got a first-hand look at Jean McSpadden’s golf course home, and it lived up to the billing. Stunning! We welcomed new member, Laura Duner, to the group, Barbara Creach joined us, and we’re delighted to see her again and were happy Rokhshie Malone drove in from Dallas for the meeting. It was pointed out that today was International Women's Day and wasn’t it fitting that we were discussing a book that highlighted the oppression of women in the 19th century.
Our first-time reviewer, Bonnie Magee, donned the hat of a veteran with dozens of reviews under her belt with a thorough recap of the novel and her inside knowledge of New York and added research which gave it a “home-town-girl” flavor. Bonnie remembered our late Bookers’ member, Jane Freer, telling her all she needed to review was print something off the Internet and read it to the group. Good advice well taken but Mrs. Magee might not be able to sit on her Food and Beverage Czar title as her “reviews” anymore. All but one read the selection; some loved; some liked but didn’t love; some thought it was just okay and predictable while some were surprised at the twists and turns proving we all read the same book differently.
“Canadian-born, New York City-based novelist Fiona Davis has discovered a winning formula for her fiction: pair the history of a real-life landmark building with the imagined lives of those who might have lived or worked there, and structure the story as a dual narrative with alternating time periods. The title is cleverly drawn from a review of the building following its opening in 1885 in which the reviewer stated that “the Dakota will undoubtedly be known as ‘The Address’ of New York’s West Side.”
“The building at the center of this novel is the Manhattan apartment house, The Dakota, a notorious, castle-like building on 72nd Street off Manhattan’s Central Park but 130 years ago, this location was the muddy middle of nowhere. It was promoted as a prestigious Upper West Side residence which opened in 1884 and made infamous almost a century later as the location of John Lennon’s murder. The Address features two women — Sara Smythe, the head housekeeper at London’s Langham Hotel who comes to America in 1884 to work at the Dakota; and Bailey Camden, a young interior designer struggling with addiction and trying to make a decent life for herself in the New York of 1985. For these two women, the Dakota becomes a place of critical importance to their personal histories, as a site of both ruin and of promise.”
“Sara Symthe – When a chance encounter at the Langham Hotel with Theodore Camden, one of the architects of the grand New York apartment house the Dakota, leads to a job offer for Sara, her world is suddenly awash in possibility – no mean feat for a servant in 1884. The opportunity to move to America and the opportunity to see more of Theo, who understands Sara like no one else . . . and is living in the Dakota with his wife and three young children. Despite her caution after her mother’s experience of being in love with a married man, Sara finds herself falling in love with Theodore Camden.”
"When Sara arrives at the Dakota, she is immediately promoted from housekeeper to the role of “lady managerette,” and is reunited with the building’s architect, Theodore Camden, whose family will soon take up residence there. As the novel progresses, Sara becomes increasingly enmeshed in Theo’s life. Predictably, and against her better judgment, a romance ensues, and Sara becomes pregnant, an unthinkably shameful situation for an unwed woman in the 19th century. When she is accused of theft, her fall from grace is complete: she is declared mad and thrown into Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum. Here Davis includes another fascinating historical aspect in the narrative, even introducing the investigative journalist Nellie Bly into the story, whose reporting on the deplorable conditions in the asylum was responsible for further investigation and significant improvements.”
“Bailey’s half of the story, while not as eventful or compelling, is essential to explaining what really happened to Sara, Theo, and their child a century earlier. Bailey Camden is desperate for new opportunities: Fresh out of rehab, the former interior designer is homeless, jobless, and penniless. Bailey gets a chance at a new career when her cousin Melinda offers to let Bailey oversee the renovation of her lavish Dakota apartment, despite her dislike of Melinda's vision. The renovation will take away all the character of the apartment Theodore Camden himself lived in...and died in, after suffering multiple stab wounds by a former Dakota employee who had previously spent seven months in an insane asylum--a madwoman named Sara Smythe. Melinda is Theodore’s biological great-granddaughter, and in line to inherit a tremendous fortune along with her twin brother, Manvel. Bailey’s grandfather was Theodore Camden’s ward, who was left out of the estate, and as a result, her father had disavowed any connection to the family. While renovating the apartment, Bailey comes across a photograph that hints at a stronger connection between her and the family than her father realized and sparks a curiosity to learn more about who Sara Smythe is.”
“As Bailey begins to dig into the past, however, and conveniently finds mysterious items stashed away in old trunks belonging to Sara, Theo, and his wife, the structure of the Camden family tree and the accepted story of Theodore Camden’s death begin to crumble. Was Sara really insane, and did she kill Theo in a crime of passion, as she was accused of doing? Was Christopher Camden merely Theo’s ward, or something more? To which family does Bailey truly belong? By the novel’s midpoint, Davis has provided sufficient clues for an attentive reader to anticipate the answers, but there are still a few twists and turns to enjoy.”
“The Address is not a serious novel in the sense that it makes grand statements about women’s lives, but it does effectively point to and question class and gender divisions in both time periods. Sara, for instance, is herself the product of her mother’s affair with the Earl of Chichester, making her illegitimate in the eyes of society. “‘My mother was his housekeeper,’” she says, “‘He would never recognize me as his daughter.’” And, early in their romance when Theo asks Sara, “‘Do you not think you could move up in the world?’” Sara is surprised by his naiveté and thinks, “Of course a woman could not move up in the world.” She tells him, “‘It’s easy for you to think so, but there are very clear delineations. Here as well as in England.’” Unfortunately for Sara, 19th century society’s rigid rules and expectations suggest the likelihood of her recovering from her tragic downfall is nonexistent. Bailey, too, so many years later, faces her own struggle as the poor “cousin” in the Camden family, trying to discover the truth about her birthright and relying on the kindness of the mercenary Melinda and her Oxford-educated boyfriend, Tony. In contrast to Sara’s situation, though, Bailey’s transgressions will not be her ruination; she will have the opportunity not afforded to Sara to make a fresh start.”
Our lively discussion:
Bonnie agreed with the assessment of others who have reviewed our books – you get so much more out of it when you read it in preparation for offering your synopsis and opinions to the group! We discussed the characters – Theo was not a good guy to begin with. He showed his hand upon meeting Sara manipulating her from the beginning as he had with everyone else in his life crushing them all like a boa constrictor. Did we think she really killed him – maybe with everything that she’d been through – it was difficult to ignore the evidence. But why did she take the blame – she had made terrible mistakes, was a mistress with an illegitimate child that she gave up and chances were she would never get another job. We discussed the parallel plots and how sometimes switching from one to the other can be confusing unless clearly indicated in the book, which was done well in this one. The Dakota was a main character as all the action was focused on turning this residence into the place to be and the place to be seen. It was added to the National Registry of Landmarks in 1969 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and although the building has maintained its Renaissance Revival exterior, many changes to the individual apartments have taken on a life of their own. In discussing how Melinda’s view of modernizing the interior flew in the face of good sense and was viewed as disrespectful to the legacy of the building akin to what is going on in Dallas’ Highland Park as some of the century-old homes are being razed. Bonnie offered some interesting facts about the Dakota – thank you Google – no fire escapes, the tenants are forbidden to remove the original doors or fireplace mantels; the original owner, Edward Clark of Singer Sewing Machine fame, died before it opened but his apartment featured sterling silver floors; they have had no vacancies in forty-five years; although still the home of Yoko Ono who declares seeing John Lennon’s ghost frequently in their apartment, some celebrities have been denied residency including Cher, Madonna, Alex Rodriquez to name a few; and the boilers are capable of heating every structure within a four block radius. I brought a book of photography by Annie Leibovitz featuring a naked John Lennon embracing a clothed Yoko Ono on the cover. It was taken the morning of December 8, 1980, a few hours before Lennon was gunned down by Mark David Chapman after returning to the Dakota from a recording session. Chapman was incensed by Lennon’s lavish lifestyle and claimed inspiration from fictional character, Holden Caulfield, from Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. He remained at the scene reading the book until arrested. He received a twenty-to-life sentence, has been denied parole eleven times with the next one due August 2022. Characters we liked were Renzo and Kenneth, and collectively sighed at the softening and healing between Sara and her Dad, and of course awwwwwed at the addition of a new puppy at the end.
Bonnie is currently reading Davis’ debut novel, The Dollhouse, which is set in another iconic location in New York, The Barbizon Hotel, a female-only residence, home to the Katharine Gibbs School, the inventor of the modern professional secretary, who turned out thousands of executive secretaries with a reputation for their office skills, organization, punctuality and most of all, hats, heels, and white gloves. It’s not surprising that our Mrs. Magee as a Gibbs Girl has so many skills. Katharine Gibbs did this when a Harvard Medical School professor said, “higher education damaged a woman’s ability to bear children by causing the uterus to atrophy.”
As happens often at Bookers, we have true confession time, and our hostess, Jean, being a huge Bruce Springsteen fan and having seen his layout in Leibovitz’s book, confessed to “stealing” a 1975 Time magazine cover of her idol from the Plano library proving it by a show-and-tell along with other memorabilia she might have “lifted” which sparked admitting to “borrowing” a few teaspoons from the airlines by some…but we didn’t have time to discuss my mother’s well-documented “kleptomaniac tendencies…fodder for another time.
On the business side:
Jane Shaw shared the information on the Rainbow Room, the PWC spotlight charity this month spearheaded by Cindy Kellum which helps CPS caseworkers with supplies and clothing for children who are victims of abuse or neglect. Please see the Clubster post for details. This is an opportunity to help children who enter the foster care system literally with everything they own on their backs.
Our book selection committee has been hard at work on the slate for next year. Details soon.
Our Books in Bloom, (Friday, April 22, 2022, at the First United Methodist Church, Athens, Texas) Table one (Jane Shaw, Debbie Yarger, Barbara Creach, Pat Faherty, Rebecca Brisendine, Rokhshie Malone, Bonnie Magee, and me discussed needing a theme and maybe using the Dallas Cowboys since the speakers will be talking about the history of this storied franchise and the impact of the “hole in the roof” that changed how modern football stadiums evolved. Please send me your ideas! Also, Rokhshie suggested opening Table two to our men. We have three ladies interested (Patty Evans, Tanya Holstead, and Linda Thompson) and Bud Malone has indicated he would participate. That leaves 4 slots open – please toss around the idea to your “partners” and let me know.
COLOR CODING SYSTEM
WHITE: LIGHT READ
PINK: MODERATELY CHALLENGING
RED: CHALLENGING
April 12: Cher Ami & Major Whittlesey, Kathleen Rooney
From the green countryside of England and the gray canyons of Wall Street come two unlikely heroes – one pigeon and the other a soldier. Answering the call to serve in WWI neither the messenger bird nor Charles Whittlesey the army officer can anticipate how their lives will briefly intersect in a chaotic battle in the forests of France.
PINK
Discussion Leader: Jane Shaw & Patty Evans
Home of Bonnie Magee
May 10: Be Frank With Me, Julia Cleburne Johnson Debut
A reclusive literary legend who wrote a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winning novel at nineteen has barely been seen or heard from since though, ironically, she still lives in a glass mansion in Bel Air even after having lost all her money in a Ponzi scheme. She needs to write another novel, so her publisher sends her a highly competent editorial assistant whose job is to be a companion to the author’s nine-year-old son – a boy with the intellect of Albert Einstein and the wardrobe of a 1930s movie star.
PINK
Discussion Leader: Debbie Yarger
Home of Debbie Yarger, Bookers Evening Meeting
Bonnie Magee, Food & Beverage czar will coordinate our fare.
Summer Read: The Wives of Henry Oades, Johanna Moran
When Henry Oades accepts an accountancy post in New Zealand, his wife, Margaret, and their children follow him to exotic Wellington. But while Henry is an adventurer, Margaret is not. Their new home is rougher and more rustic than they expected—and a single night of tragedy shatters the family when the native Maori stage an uprising, kidnapping Margaret, and her children. The story is based on a real-life legal case.
PINK
Discussion Leader: Jane Shaw
“Imagine” and remember the places and the people in our lives… “we’ve loved them all.”
Happy Reading,
JoDee
