“In the past five years, there had been a reawakening in interest around Laura Lyons, as her essays were reexamined by feminist scholars and cited for their forward thinking. The few details of the writer’s reclusive life were being mined for clues, which made the walking stick a perfect choice.” (p. 31). Kindle Edition.
I was first introduced to the New York Library apartments when I saw Feeding the Dragon, Sharon Washington’s one-woman play at the Hartford Stage Company in 2018. That play evoked so much emotion about the importance of libraries and books. Although The Lions of Fifth Avenue also emphasizes the value of books, the authors have different writing purposes. Sharon Washington’s story is nonfiction and the Fiona Davis story, although based on some history, is a fictional story.
What I liked most about The Lions of Fifth Avenue is its emphasis on New York neighborhoods and the women’s movements during the 1913-14 period, before women’s suffrage and the early stages of women’s acceptance into professional positions. I also loved reading about the library’s structure—the architecture and the pneumatic tubes, the dumbwaiters, and the hidden apartment. I also appreciated learning about the security systems, the library staff’s commitment, and close monitoring of researchers who use precious library materials.
One thread of the novel, which takes place 1913-14, features Laura Lyons, whose husband is the Fifth Avenue research library’s custodial superintendent. She went to Vassar and married Jack against her family’s wishes and struggles to attain her career goal. With two young children, she finds a way to attend Columbia’s new School of Journalism and attempts to battle male chauvinism in the world of journalism. In her determination to be successful, She puts much at risk. She meets members of the Heterodoxy Club and exercises her passions, but she suffers tremendously.
Meanwhile, the other protagonist of the story, Sadie Donovan, Laura’s granddaughter, who works at the library in 1993, shares her grandmother’s passion for books and writing but is trying to solve not only current mysteries that involve stolen books but also unsolved thefts that date back to her grandmother’s time living at the library. The book is an easy read with interesting characters and fascinating history of New York Library and its holding as part of the plot.
