When a young librarian discovers historic dollhouses in a hidden room, she embarks on an unexpected journey that reveals surprising secrets about the lost miniatures.
Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth of inventory housed in her beloved Beaux Art building. She loves the calm and order in the shelves of books and walls of art. But Tildy’s life takes an unexpected turn when she, first, learns the library is on the verge of bankruptcy and, second, discovers two exquisite never-before-seen dollhouses.
After finding clues hidden within these remarkable miniatures, Tildy sets out to decipher the secret history of the dollhouses, aiming to salvage her cherished library in the process. Her journey introduces her to a world of ambitious and gifted women in Belle Époque Paris, a group of scarred World War I veterans in the English countryside, and Walt Disney’s bustling Burbank studio in the 1950s. As Tildy unravels the mystery, she finds not only inspiring, hidden history, but also a future for herself—and an astonishing familial revelation.
Spanning the course of a century, The Library of Lost Dollhouses is a warm, bright, and captivating story of secrets and love that embraces the importance of illuminating overlooked women. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)
This is my first Elise Hooper read and I really, really enjoyed it.
This story weaves together historical fiction, mystery and a bit of women's fiction with a deep dive into miniatures! There is a dual timeline with two female protagonists, Tilda from 2024 and Cora from many decades of the 1900s, and how they both learn about themselves and grow is very compelling. It really had me thinking, what would I do if I found a hidden room at my job filled with secrets that could potentially save the place?! The opening of this book really sucks you in and keeps you baited the entire read! I also especially loved the focus on the miniatures!
I remember receiving my first dollhouse from my grandmother when I was young and I was so in love with it. I also remember getting older and making dioramas for class projects with my dad and really enjoyed the process of creating little tiny decor and intriguing detail for the viewer to marvel at. As an Art Therapist, I was in awe of all the detail Hooper gives of the dollhouses and the secrets hidden in them really had me so invested!
There is such deep character development and I really could not find out what happened fast enough. I love stories like that. I found so much hope in this story and will miss the characters so much. If you are a fan of libraries, relatable and lovely characters, and complex and engaging plots, read this one- you won’t be disappointed.
I can’t wait to read more from Hooper’s backlist!
Thanks to William Morrow for the book in exchange for an honest review. Purchase The Library of Lost Dollhouses here.
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