The Magnolia Palace

The Magnolia Palace, Fiona Davis’s sixth novel, is a New York Times bestseller and a Goodreads Choice Award nominee. Published in 2022 by Dutton, the novel uses the historical setting of the Henry Clay Frick House and characters based on actual historical figures to explore the mysteries surrounding Henry Clay Frick’s death. Davis is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and is well-known for her historical mystery novels that focus on iconic structures in New York City.

This study guide refers to the e-book version, also published in 2022 by Dutton.

Plot Summary

The Magnolia Palace begins in 1919 in New York City, where 21-year-old Lillian Carter is posing nude for a sculptor. Lillian is an artists’ model known as Angelica; sculptures with Lillian’s likeness are scattered throughout the city. Lillian, as Angelica, is famous for her work, but at the start of the novel, her career is stagnating and her mother, Kitty, recently died. When Lillian arrives home one day, she discovers that her landlord murdered his wife. The police suspect her to be an accomplice, although she is not.

During a police interview in her apartment, Lillian escapes through her bathroom window. As she is walking down Fifth Avenue, she stops at a mansion that has a sculpture of Angelica over the door. A servant, mistaking Lillian for a job applicant, pulls her into the mansion. Lillian, who is knowledgeable about art and art history, talks her way into working as the personal secretary to Helen Clay Frick, heiress and daughter of the mansion’s owner. Lillian reasons that living and working in the mansion is an ideal way to hide from the police.

A second storyline woven throughout the novel takes place in 1966 and features protagonist Veronica Weber, a model who has arrived at the Frick Collection, located in the Frick Mansion, for a photo shoot. She traveled from London where she lived with her mother and supported her sister, Polly, who has developmental disabilities. She is hoping to make enough money modeling in New York to pay for her sister to come and live at home. When Veronica has a disagreement with the photographer, however, he throws her out of the shoot. To calm down, she wanders the mansion, but she soon realizes that the models and crew have left and she is locked inside. A terrible snowstorm descends upon the city, and the mansion loses power.

Veronica is not alone in the dark mansion, however. Joshua Lawrence, an archivist for the Frick Collection, has fallen asleep at his desk and is trapped in the mansion with her. Veronica discovers clues to an apparent scavenger hunt in the organ room of the mansion, and she and Joshua decide to see if they can solve the puzzle. The city remains shut down the next day, so they continue their hunt while they wait for help to arrive.

Back in the 1919 narrative, Lillian agrees to work for Helen for one month in order to earn the money to move to California to start her acting career. She meets Mr. Frick—steel magnate, esteemed art collector, owner of the mansion, and Helen’s father. He privately offers Lillian additional money to facilitate a courtship between Helen and Richard Danforth, a suitor chosen by Mr. Frick. Lillian agrees to help the relationship along, and eventually, the courtship is progressing toward marriage. However, when Helen goes out of town, leaving a scavenger hunt for Richard so he can explore the mansion and get to know the art collection, Lillian helps him with the clues, and they grow romantic feelings toward one another.

Richard withdraws from his relationship with Helen and asks Lillian to move to Boston with him. She is not sure she wants to give up her dream of an acting career. She also fears that he will reject her if he finds out that she is Angelica. When she does ultimately reveal her past to him, he reacts as she feared, ending their relationship. At the same time, her dreams of a career in Hollywood come to a halt when a producer connection reveals his intent to use Lillian’s past as fodder for sordid plots.

Mr. Frick, who has been ill, dies after drinking from a glass of water; Helen’s brother, Childs, discovers that someone had mixed a sedative into the water, suggesting the death was actually a murder. Additionally, shortly after the death, a family treasure disappears: a cameo that holds the Magnolia Diamond. Childs hires an investigator who discovers Lillian’s past as Angelica, and the family considers her a suspect in both the theft and the murder. Before she can be arrested, however, she disappears, leaving the mysteries of Mr. Frick’s death and the diamond’s disappearance unsolved.

In 1966, Veronica and Joshua find the cameo and the Magnolia Diamond along with a watch fob, a gift from Helen intended to be Richard’s prize for completing the scavenger hunt. The watch fob has a magnolia decorating the ribbon, continuing the magnolia motif. Veronica slips the diamond into her pocket before Joshua sees it; she wants the money to bring her sister, Polly, home. The following morning, the snowstorm has cleared, but before they can leave, Helen Frick discovers them in the house. She was next door at her art library during the storm.

They show her the watch fob and cameo that they found. She is shocked by the cameo’s discovery but upset when she opens the back to find the diamond missing. Veronica pretends to find it and returns the diamond to Helen, but Joshua suspects what she has done, and she feels ashamed.

Now that Helen knows Lillian didn’t steal the cameo in 1919, she, Veronica, and Joshua decide to find Lillian and see if she has any insight into the mysteries. Lillian now lives in upstate New York, and they drive to visit her. She reveals her belief that Helen’s mother’s private secretary, Miss Winnie, killed Mr. Frick and stole the cameo, but Helen refuses to believe it. They all visit Miss Winnie, who now lives in a nursing home, and she confesses to both crimes.

Helen and Lillian are finally able to reconnect and forgive each other for the past. Helen decides to use the diamond to fund a scholarship and makes Joshua, who wants to get his master’s degree at Columbia, the first recipient. She also hires Veronica as her new private secretary and brings Veronica’s family, including Polly, to live in America.

Months later, Helen invites Lillian to visit the Frick Collection. They have acquired one of the first sculptures for which Lillian, as Angelica, posed. She will be recognized as the model, and tour groups will learn about her contribution to the art world. After facing a lifetime of shame and discrimination for her work as Angelica, Lillian feels vindicated to be recognized and respected.