In true New York fashion, Fiona Davis was in a cab crossing the Park when she got a call from her editor that her book made the “New York Times” bestseller list on its first week of publication in late January. This honor was bestowed upon her newest work, “The Magnolia Palace,” which stays true to the author’s blueprint of being set in an iconic New York building at two different time periods. This one is at the Frick, both in 1919 when it was still a mansion that housed Henry Clay Frick and his family, and in 1966, after it had become the Frick Collection, the art museum he left to the city upon his death.
The book’s dual timeline alternates from the story of Helen Frick, the “temperamental” daughter of Henry, and her private secretary, Lillian, a character Davis based off of the real-life artists’ muse Audrey Munson, whose likeness is found throughout Manhattan, to that of Joshua, an intern at the museum, and the aspiring British model, Veronica, whom he met when she was posing for a “Vogue” photoshoot on its sprawling grounds. As in all of her novels, the plot is centered around the solving of a mystery, and in this case, it involves a sentimental 12-carat pink diamond, the Magnolia, which goes missing from the mansion after its patriarch’s death.
Part of Davis’ research included taking an in-person behind-the-scenes tour of the Frick, where she got to see everything from the bowling alley in its basement to the maids’ chambers upstairs. She also worked closely with the Frick Collection’s archivists, who sent her glimpses into the mansion’s history with relics such as dinner party menus from 1915 and even its payroll, which included the names and salaries of all its 27 employees. “And all those details really helped to just bring those small scenes alive,” she said.
The Canadian native-turned-Upper West Sider has been releasing a book every year and a half, and is already drafting her next, set at Radio City Music Hall in the late 1950s. “I’m working on that now and talking to a lot of Rockettes in their 80s ... and it’s just been so much fun,” she said.
In the Author’s Note, you explained how the idea for the novel came about.
I’d always loved the Frick as a location and I thought it might make a really great book because it was a residence and then a museum. And so especially if you’re doing dual timelines, you can really compare and contrast the building and the people inside. And I was little worried because it’s not as well known as some of the other locations in my books, but I think there’s a reason why so many New Yorkers say it’s their favorite museum. There’s just something really special about it. And I just love the reaction to it and just how intrigued people are by it, so it couldn’t have worked out better.
Approximately how many books did you reference for this novel?
Oh my goodness, I’d say at least a dozen. Things like a 1905 book about how to become a private secretary. It was a lot of fun. I love that kind of research. I could spend years doing that if I wanted to.
Tell us a little bit about the real-life inspiration for Miss Lilly, Audrey Munson. You put such interesting facts in the Author’s Note about how she was admitted to an asylum and died at 104.
Isn’t it incredible? Yeah, so Audrey Munson, her figure is carved above the doorway to the Frick. And she was this very celebrated artists’ model who got caught up in a big scandal and then she and her mother kind of fled to upstate New York. She ended up being committed to an asylum and she died in 1996 at the age of 104, and at that time, she was buried in an unmarked grave. And it was just so sad, because her likeness is found all over Manhattan. She’s everywhere — she’s at Columbus Circle, in front of the Plaza, in front of the New York Public Library. And it was just interesting to learn about this woman who was very celebrated back then, and not known now.
As for the Frick family, give us an interesting fact about Henry and Helen that you learned through your research.
I was surprised to learn that Henry Frick was shot by an anarchist. He survived this assassination attempt in the 1800s and they took the bullets out of him without anesthesia, which just goes to show how tough this guy was. And for Helen, what cracked me up about her was that she was a pretty temperamental and prickly woman and if any of her friends bobbed their hair, she would dump them. She wore a pompadour in a bun, which is a very old-fashioned style, most of her entire adult life.
Who would you cast in the movie version? I hope one of your books becomes a movie one day.
I know, wouldn’t that be so nice, my goodness. So I would love Anthony Hopkins for Mr. Frick. I think he’d be great. I think for Helen Frick, it could be Emma Stone or Jessica Chastain. And then for either Lillian or Veronica, Anya Taylor-Joy, who was in “The Queen’s Gambit.” And then, for Joshua, there’s an actor Jacob Latimore, who’s in “The Chi;” he’d be great. So yeah, that’s the cast, now we just need the producers.
You’ve spoken about the community of women authors in New York. I interviewed Christina Baker Kline and she mentioned you and talked about this camaraderie that you all have. You meet up on Zoom, right?
Yeah, there’s a smaller group of us that, during COVID especially, we would meet every week on Zoom. Some people had books coming out any minute, some people were just starting working on a manuscript. And so you could kind of share stories and support each other. And then there’s a wider group of historical fiction and women’s fiction authors here in New York who, in the before times, we would get together for lunches and cocktail hours. It’s just an incredible group. And I’ve made some really wonderful new friends, which is rare to do when you’re over 50, to find some new best friends; it’s great.
What’s on your nightstand now?
There’s a wonderful book called “The Christie Affair” by Nina de Gramont. That just came out; it’s a really, really good book. I absolutely loved it. “Her Hidden Genius,” that’s by Marie Benedict. That just came out as well, really good. And then there’s a book called “The Ballerinas,” by Rachel Kapelke-Dale; I loved that book. There are some really good things out right now. It’s fun.
Next, I want to talk about the essay you wrote for “Good Morning America.” [Davis recently wrote a piece for the ABC show’s website to say that she had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s.] What response have you gotten from it?
“GMA” provided me with a wonderful way to bring it out into the open. It’s been really incredible, the outpouring of support and people sharing their own stories. I believe that the more people step up and say, “Yup, I have Parkinson’s,” the more power we have in terms of funding and research, as opposed to trying to keep the diagnosis a secret. At the moment, the medications work pretty well, and so I’m in this early stage where I can pretty much live my life and forge ahead, which I’m taking full advantage of. However, it is progressive and there is no cure. Thank goodness to Michael J. Fox and his foundation for everything that they’re doing.
Before your next novel, you have a short story coming out that’s set in Carnegie Hall.
Amazon reached out and asked me to do a short story as part of an anthology for historical fiction authors. It’s set in Carnegie Hall in the 1950s and that will be out sometime this summer on Audible and Kindle.
To learn more about Fiona’s work, visit www.fionadavisbooks.com
Follow her on Instagram @fionadavisauthor