What a delight this was, like reading lemon sorbet - light and refreshing, with a bit of bite if you take too big a spoonful, too quickly… My review copy of The Dollhouse was graciously provided by the publisher, Dutton (Penguin Random House).

The book opens in contemporary Manhattan, and shifts perspectives - and stories - back and forth by chapter. The two storytellers are Rose, the modern-day protagonist, and Darby, the 1950s version. The two women bear more than a few traits in common and find themselves in startlingly similar straits as their lives and circumstances dance in and out of their control - sometimes due to their own misguided decisions, but occasionally due to those of the people they (think they can) trust. The setting is what makes this a novel novel though, and separates it from other books of this genre.

The Barbizon Hotel for Women (the eponymous, and derogatively-nicknamed, “Dollhouse” of the title) is the home of both Darby and Rose - and scads of single women who moved to New York City in throngs in the 1950s to “better themselves” through education, modeling, or the other “respectable” jobs open to women of the day. The Barbizon has housed famous (and infamous) women throughout the years, from the darkly brilliant Sylvia Plath (perhaps the most well-known resident, albeit one of those of shorter duration - she only lived there for a month) to the sunny Grace Kelly, from the sassy Cybill Shephard to the terribly talented (and terribly controversial) Joan Crawford. It was the jumping-off point for some of the most famous women of the twentieth century, before they were known by anyone outside of their families. It was designed as a “safe”, “family” environment for these women, many of whom traveled to the big, bad city from suburbs and rural spots across America. The truth, of course, is that nowhere is always safe, not even family environments - and the Barbizon was no different.

The personalities, the secrets, the in-fighting and machinations - this is what made the book fascinating to me, and what tied the lives of Darby and Rose together into an interesting narrative. The two women’s stories intertwine as Rose finds herself swept up in the drama mystery of Darby’s life in an attempt to unravel some of the drama and mystery in her own. Continue reading Book Review: The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis