The Fifth Avenue Artists Society audiobook

Belle époque of NYC comes alive through the Society gatherings of many artists and writers textured with music played on the piano setting a very atmospheric background to already alive scene of hopeful artists, musicians and writers; reflecting an era of hope and joy.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. @FB/BestHistoricalFiction

I was lucky enough to read a draft of this book. I can’t recommend it enough. It’s one of those books that will stick with me. Beautiful story and lovely writing. It’s timeless.

The Fifth Avenue Artists Society is an enthralling glimpse into New York City literary and artistic society in the 1890’s. Virginia Loftin, an aspiring writer, is one of five children whose family has been struggling financially ever since their father died several years before. The family resides in the Bronx, and all but one of the siblings are artistic - a musician, two writers, and a milliner who designs outlandish creations for her many clients, including the Astors and the Vanderbilts. As the book opens, Virginia is jilted by the love of her life. As she struggles to overcome her grief and anger, she pours out her soul into her writing. To help distract her, her brother Franklin introduces her to a group of artists, musicians, and writers that meet frequently at the fictional John Hopper’s house on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. As she becomes more involved with this group and its founder, she realizes that everything is not always as it seems.Joy Callaway does a wonderful job depicting the female role in society in the 1890’s. Both Virginia and her sister Alevia struggle to succeed in their respective fields because women were not yet viewed as anything but homemakers and in the wealthy set as the keeper of the social calendar and obligations. As they both begin to break through this barrier, they are then barred by society’s failure to look past a family scandal completely outside of their control. I never fail to be amazed at what earlier women endured to provide us with the freedom and choice we have today as females in the U.S. Some of my favorite parts of the novel were the appearances of Edith Wharton and Oscar Wilde at Hopper’s Fifth Avenue mansion. I also loved the descriptions of the early days of the great publishing houses like Henry Holt and G.P. Putnam’s Sons. The author clearly did her research which added tremendously to the novel. She also details at the end of the novel her inspiration for the story – her own ancestors. I felt that contributed a lot to the book also.My one complaint was that I felt that Virginia should have been a little less wishy-washy regarding her suitor situation. She vacillated too much for me. I also felt that her view towards her brother as later events unfold was not very realistic (I do not want to spoil part of the story by saying more). Thanks to HarperCollins for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed reading it and recommend it as a fascinating view of New York City society and the arts in the 1890’s.

I loved this book. You have the story of a gilded age family - each member with her own special talents and dreams - but then Callaway takes the book into unexpected and refreshingly deep waters. While The Fifth Avenue Artists Society works beautifully as a family saga, a love story, and a novel of manners it also explores the darker side of life among the New York elite. The twists and turns at the end showed a fascinating glimpse on just what it took to keep all that art, fashion, entertaining and gaiety going and the ending is utterly satisfying. Highly recommend!

This was a thoroughly enjoyable, very well written historic novel set in America 1891.Virginia is one of four sisters living at home with their widowed mother and while of genteel background struggling to make the bills. Virginia's twin is the only boy and while the women contribute to the household expenses, women do not earn as much or as easily in the 1890's as men do.Of the girls, there is a musician struggling to establish a career, another making her way through making hats, a teacher and Virginia who is a writer and has managed to get a job writing for a periodical. She dreams of writing a novel and after an introduction to the artists salon hosted by her brothers friend she grows as a writer and as a person.That description really does not do the novel justice, there were so many levels on which I liked it that it is hard to itemise them. Ultimately, the writing style and the characterisations won me over, but I really enjoyed reading the historical period in which it was set. I loved the period setting and I believed in it, while the women were contemporary enough to be likable, their situations rang true for me.There is a decent dollop of romance in there, more than a little mystery in one way or another and fun descriptions of literary Illuminati of the era - some of which I got, though I am sure I missed others.The only things I did not like are definitely spoilers (view spoiler)[ 1)I could not believe in the romance with Charlie, I tired, I just couldn't see it. And they ended up together.... Well, I did not hate the ending, but it was disappointing. I liked John much better, and found him more believable as a partner for Virginia. 2)Drugs? really? Americans are just embarrassingly obsessed with drugs being the evilnastybadguy. Kudos to the author for realising that the drugs in question were not illegal for the time, which puts it ahead of many American writers, but still. 3)Franklin, can I just say, that until fairly recently, it was not unusual for someone to use the word 'love' in a non romantic fashion, a man saying he 'loved' a friend would not be exceptional, and when a fairly decent chunk of the plot hinges on this factor.... Also 'confirmed bachelors' were hardly unusual or socially exceptional... I was so very not convinced. (hide spoiler)] and despite the things I did not like in the novel I still thoroughly loved the book overall and would certainly recommend it to anyone who might enjoy reading in the genera.

I read an early version of this and it is MAGICAL.

This story immersed me into the world of four ambitious sisters navigating New York society during the Gilded Age. Wonderful historical details! I love that this novel is based on the author's own family history.

Until the end, I don't know what to think about the book..I have truely loved the story, the characters (Charlie) but there is something that I can't explain who makes me feel unsatisfied. This says that remains a good book and the end is perfect !

First, a warning: I had things "to do" today; I intended to read just a chapter, maybe three -- but once I started this novel, I couldn't put it down.The book opens with a familiar scenario: girl loves boy, boy proposes marriage to someone else. This problem of unrequited love --or, perhaps more accurately, unsatisfied love -- frames the narrative but does not serve as the central tension for the novel. The book's protagonist deals with more complex, though still universal issues -- family strife, class warfare, drug culture, gender inequality, just to name a few. I was drawn in by the layered conflicts in the book, but I could have just as easily fallen in love with the book based upon the writing alone -- the prose is gorgeous, packed with images that transport you back to 19th century New York. I felt like I was immersed in an American Midnight in Paris. The book, too, becomes all the more fascinating after reading the author's note at the conclusion of the novel: the book is based upon the author's artist ancestors and their histories. Truly, this book was a gift to read -- well worth clearing an afternoon for!

Joy Callaway's prose spins a historical tale but maintains a modern feel that gives a reader a sense of timeless beauty. This is a wonderfully written story that pulls you in from the beginning and holds you tight all the way to the end with sensible, believable characters inspired by the author's ancestors, a whimsical writing voice, and an always intriguing plot.***I read an early draft of this novel and fell in love.

this book left a mark on my heart.it messed up my feelingsi knew something was stirring butwowwing-yee is in awemy heart is literally pounding upon finishing itso beautiful and daringcan't decide whether it's a 4/4.5 star read.but gonna be recommending this to a lot of my pals now.song that i am playing on repeat: back to you by selena gomez

I read this for review at All About Romance and gave it a B-, so 4 stars here. I wrote: I long for books that capture my interest from the first, and hold my attention so that I avoid doing almost anything else until I finish. I didn’t dislike The Fifth Avenue Artists Society, but it was at times an uncomfortable read and I found it easy to put down. But since finishing, I’ve found myself thinking about the characters and doing research about the time period and settings. .....For more of my review go to: http://likesbooks.com/cgi-bin/bookRev...

3.5 starsThis is very reminiscent of Little Women with the tale's core focused on the siblings, their dreams, disappointments, love affairs, victories, and failures. Towards the last third the story took a dark and tragic twist that devastated everyone. It's the ending that I didn't love. It's not bad, it's very realistic actually, the resolution is so true to human nature and if I were caught in the same situation, I think it would play out close to how it happened here. Yet as this is fiction, I was hoping for full closure.

Great story! I found myself a little annoyed with the main character at times, but that was because she was well written. Interesting enough to make me start searching for more details about this particular era and some of the situations the characters experienced. Lots of nice details allowed me to build a great mental picture of the various settings and the people themselves.

i found this book on book outlet, intrigued by the idea of artist's in history coming together. the story lived beyond my expectations. the imagery is beautiful, capturing you and giving you a feel for each setting and character. so much emotion was put into how, through each chapter, everything fell either apart or together in different ways for the loftin family. this novel is a hidden gem. such a colourful and bittersweet story. please read it if you love writing and historical fiction.

I enjoyed this historical fiction novel set in turn of the century NYC.. a time and place I had not read much about previously. It was fun trying to picture NYC with a forest and as a place for hunting. The family dynamics and even a drug scandal of the 1890s kept me turning the pages. I love when novels are inspired by actual people and the fact that these characters were largely based on the author’s own family made it more endearing.

Did I like this book? Yes. Did I love this book? No. I am finding it hard to pinpoint what about this book fell short with me. The characters were ok, but I was conflicted between Sophie’s happiness and Grace’s. As Sophie was the main character I felt that I should “side” with her but I couldn’t. My heart went out to Grace. Postnatal depression is a debilitating mental illness and my family knows all too well how life altering it can be when proper treatment isn’t sort out. I digress. I guessed quite early on the “big mystery” about the Munro baby, so I wasn’t enthralled by that story line (which happened to be the main story line). Sophie was a nice main character but as the book went on I started to find her too likeable. I know what oxymoron, but everyone liked or was in love with her and I wanted someone to dislike her. Most main characters are there to be liked I know, however the emphasis put on how well liked she was by everyone was draining. In classic Liane Moriarty style she does again reward her readers for sticking with her till the end with a surprising twist and the older characters in the book (especially Rose) made it a worthwhile read.