The Fifth Avenue Artists Society by Joy Callaway
The author brings a story based on her ancestors, Loftin family, of four sisters and a brother: Virginia (Ginny) the writer, Alice (Mae) the teacher, Anne (Bess) the milliner, Alevia the concert pianist, and Franklin the salesman. A family of talented artists.
It is set during a time, when “most men still believe that music is a profession that should exclude women.” A time when “women writers weren’t often considered by publishing houses unless they had a connection.” But Alevia and Ginny remain hopeful to make their mark.
Bronx, 1891: Ginny has been in love with Charlie since childhood. At a party, when Charlie is about to propose, Ginny is about to say yes. But when Charlie asks Rachel Kent to marry him, Ginny is crushed.
Afterwards, she is so heartbroken that she pours her heart and soul into writing. She writes for the Bronx Review. And when she can’t stop writing, she writes about Charlie and all the things she’d always hoped for in their future. When she is done, she’d written a book – “about imagined adventures overseas, a pleasant domestic life surrounded by family and art, and finally, a parting at death that made her ache.”
Her brother introduces Ginny to his best friend John, who hosts the Society of artists and writers at his mansion on Fifth Avenue. She is amazed at “the number of men and women sharing ideas, respecting each other’s art.” It fills her with even more hope.
Something happens at the mansion belonging to John and Ginny’s world is shuttered once again.
I’m very surprised to see an average rating of this book below 3.5 on Goodreads as it is a very enjoyable read presented through likeable characters, some more ambitious than the others, and some content with what they have. Written with eloquence and skill, with a very good and steady pace. There are some unexpected twists toward the end, but even without those turns, the read would have been and is absorbing.
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