Monday, October 16, 2017

"The Address" (book)



The address in the book title refers to the famous Dakota apartment building in upper west side New York, home in the twentieth century to Judy Garland, Lauren Bacall, Leonard Bernstein, Rosemary Clooney  and a host of other celebrities, most famously Yoko Ono and John Lennon who was murdered in front of its gates in 1980. 


The Dakota was commissioned by Edward Clark, founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company.  He hired architect Henry Hardenbergh to build the first multi family elegant residence for the wealthy.  It was located far north of the center of New York City at the time. It opened its doors in 1884.  At that time the location was thought by many to be too far out of the town center to be a success.

In the novel, Theodore Camden is the fictional architect hired by Hardenbergh to design the building.  The story is told by both Sara Smythe who was hired from England to be a senior servant at the Dakota and Bailey Camden, a NY designer in the mid 1980's who's relationship to the Camden family is somewhat of a mystery.

Davis provides insightful commentary about both era's but some of the plot line of the novel seemed pretty predictable. For me the descriptions of life in 19th century New York were enough to keep me engaged in reading the novel.

Most of the story actually focuses on New York in the 1880's so if you like history I think you would enjoy it.




6 comments:

  1. Sounds interesting, I'm putting on my "to Read list" thanks for introducing it.

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  2. What an interesting way to weave an iconic building into a story. I don't know anything about the building, and now I'm curious :)

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  3. It sounds like an interesting book. Thank you for sharing.

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  4. I only know the building from John Lennon's death, but know nothing else about it. I think it's an interesting story and, like Divers and Sundry, want to know more about the building now.

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  5. This books sound right up my alley. I am adding it to my wishlist since I have a couple of books on my nightstand to read. Did you ever read Time and Again and its sequel by Jack Finney. It is set in NY in the same time period. It's a great read that I will recommend back to you.

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  6. This does sound interesting. We went to have a look at it when we visited New York, and it is very striking. I did not realise how many famous people have lived there.

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