The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper
Published: April
1, 2025 by William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre:
Historical Fiction, Books About Books
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 uneventful 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 starts to believe that Belva
Curtis LeFarge, the influential heiress who established the library a century
ago, is conveying a significant final message.
With a newfound sense of spontaneity, Tildy sets out to decipher the secret
history of the dollhouses, aiming to salvage her cherished library in the
process. Her journey to understand 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,
overlooked history, but also a future for herself, filled with exciting
possibilities—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 of the past.
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Meet the Author (taken from herwebsite): A native New
Englander, Elise Hooper spent several years writing for television and online
news outlets before getting a MA and teaching high-school literature and
history. Her debut novel The Other Alcott was a nominee for the 2017
Washington Book Award. Three more novels—Learning to See, Fast Girls,
and Angels of the Pacific—followed, all centered on the lives of
extraordinary but overlooked historical women. Her next book, The
Library of Lost Dollhouses (releasing 4.1.25) is inspired by a dollhouse
that’s been in her family for five generations. Elise lives in Seattle with her
husband and two daughters.
ADVANCE PRAISE:
“A straight-laced San Francisco librarian is surrounded by a
dazzling cast of characters in Hooper’s latest, which jumps from modern day to
Belle Époque Paris before taking off like a rocket through the 20th century.
An exploration of the link between art and artist, the secrets women must
maintain in order to survive in a man’s world, as well as the caustic effects
of withholding the truth from those we love most. This one’s an absolute gem.”
—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling
author of The Stolen Queen
“Elise Hooper’s The Library of Lost Dollhouses is
impressively shape-shifting. It’s a story that ranges over a century and
continents, but it’s also a portrait of the artist as a young — and not so
young — woman. It’s a coming-of-age tale — two in fact — but it’s also a
beguiling mystery. And in every incarnation, it’s as inspiring and
extravagantly detailed as the miniatures at its heart.”
—Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling
author of Family Family
"Who would have guessed at the transformative secrets a
long-forgotten dollhouse could hold? In Elise Hooper's wonderful The Library of Lost Dollhouses,
librarian Tildy Burrows discovers two mysterious miniature realms. As she
reassembles the pieces of the dollhouses' puzzle -- traversing an array of
times and places to do so -- an unknown image of the past and the historic
women inhabiting it begins to materialize before her. As Tildy solves the dollhouses'
mysteries, she also answers long-standing questions about herself in this
compelling tale."
—Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling
author of The Queens of Crime
“Elise Hooper’s latest marvel takes readers on an enchanting
journey from San Francisco to Paris, love to war, deception to redemption, as
her main character—a little-known artist—moves out of the shadows into the
limelight. This beautiful page-turner kept me reading all night.”
—Janet Skeslien Charles, New York Times bestselling
author of The Paris Library
“Elise Hooper's latest heartwarming novel, The Library of Lost Dollhouses,
is as intricately detailed as a dollhouse itself and full of remarkable
heroines, from twentieth-century ones who bravely made history happen to modern
ones drawing inspiration from their efforts. Hooper takes the reader on a
wonderful, whirlwind tour of some of last century's most intense and dramatic
times. I simply could not put this book down until I found out how all these
amazing characters reunited with family, lost loves, and the
amazingly described works of craftsmanship at its heart.”
—Natalie Jenner, internationally bestselling author
of The Jane Austen Society
