The Masterpiece

A Novel

By: Fiona Davis

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

In this captivating novel, New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis takes readers into the glamorous lost art school within Grand Central Terminal, where two very different women, fifty years apart, strive to make their mark on a world set against them.

For most New Yorkers, Grand Central Terminal is a crown jewel, a masterpiece of design. But for Clara Darden and Virginia Clay, it represents something quite different.

For Clara, the terminal is the stepping stone to her future. It is 1928, and Clara is teaching at the lauded Grand Central School of Art. Though not even the prestige of the school can override the public's disdain for a "woman artist," fiery Clara is single-minded in her quest to achieve every creative success—even while juggling the affections of two very different men. But she and her bohemian friends have no idea that they'll soon be blindsided by the looming Great Depression...and that even poverty and hunger will do little to prepare Clara for the greater tragedy yet to come.

By 1974, the terminal has declined almost as sharply as Virginia Clay's life. Dilapidated and dangerous, Grand Central is at the center of a fierce lawsuit: Is the once-grand building a landmark to be preserved, or a cancer to be demolished? For Virginia, it is simply her last resort. Recently divorced, she has just accepted a job in the information booth in order to support herself and her college-age daughter, Ruby. But when Virginia stumbles upon an abandoned art school within the terminal and discovers a striking watercolor, her eyes are opened to the elegance beneath the decay. She embarks on a quest to find the artist of the unsigned masterpiece—an impassioned chase that draws Virginia not only into the battle to save Grand Central but deep into the mystery of Clara Darden, the famed 1920s illustrator who disappeared from history in 1931.

So worth the read!!!

I loved the dual narrative of two very interesting women struggling to find themselves in the era they occupied! Setting their struggle against the history of the ground central station was superb. I was drawn in immediately!

Art from the past to the present

Loved the story of artists their talent and their struggles in the early 20 th century. With the war and homeless people. Very humble to know the struggles that my parents in the 40s had when my dad went to war.

excellent book

this is not the sort of stories I listen to but I was impressed. woujderful.

Fascinating!

What a lovely story, I really enjoyed learning about it all. Great narration as well. I recommend!

Love Fiona Davis

I took art lessons as a kid and have always enjoyed art in general, so I was excited to have Fiona take me to the Grand Central art school. I loved the story and the subject matter but I did not enjoy the narrator that much. Forgot she was the one that screwed up Where the Crawdads Sing for me. She cannot do accents and she cannot do different voices for different characters well. Loved the story, will skip the narrator next time I see her name.