Our current read is The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis (2020)
Join in the fun over on Patreon.
Where to Find:
Check your local library! I like the Libby and Overdrive apps to borrow ebooks and audiobooks.
"Virtual Tea Party" book club meeting: Saturday, August 22, 5pm EDT
Let's try something new for this live stream. I'm calling it a "virtual tea party" in the hopes that we can capture the coziness and fun of the "virtual slumber party" streams in an afternoon-ish way. Tea, snacks, fancy dress, historical flourishes, and dolls are all encouraged though of course not required.
You are welcome at the stream even if you haven't read/finished the book, but obviously be aware that spoilers will abound.
Kate's Recs to Readers:
Content Note:
Adult book for grownups!Having finished the book myself, I want to flag that the book as a whole is concerned with grief/loss. Major CW for suicide. Lots of Sad Family Stuff. Find more info in the user-submitted info on Storygraph.
Before/during reading:
Learn about Patience and Fortitude, the titular lions, on the NYPL website.
If you take this short quiz, you can tell me if you are a Patience or a Fortitude. (It says I'm a Patience, which sounds... incorrect.)
Read up on the Progressive-era women's discussion group the Heterodoxy Club, which appears in the novel.
After reading:
Check out the rest of the official book club guide for the novel. I'm not a fan of the discussion questions (I think we can do better!) but there are some great images.
This blog post has some great images from the actual NYPL exhibits that inspired scenes in the novel.
The thefts in the novel are inspired by real cases. Davis credits Travis McDade's books on the Daniel Spiegelman case from the 1990s and a Depression-era rare book theft ring.