Synopses & Reviews
“It's a gem of a story.”—Laura Moriarty, author of The Chaperone
“This tale of big dreams, drop-dead glamour, and fragile hearts will have you turning pages late into the night. A timeless story inventively set at that midcentury moment in New York City when what it meant to be a woman began to change in ways great and small.”—Piper Kerman, author of Orange Is the New Black
"A fascinating joyride through 1955 Manhattan, Searching for Grace Kelly is the Mad Men of the world of the Barbizon."—Lynn Cullen, author of Mrs. Poe
For a small-town girl with big-city dreams, there is no address more glamorous than New York’s Barbizon Hotel. Laura, a patrician beauty from Smith, arrives to work at Mademoiselle for the summer. Her hopelessly romantic roommate, Dolly, comes from a working-class upstate town to attend secretarial school. Vivian, a brash British bombshell with a disregard for the hotel’s rules, rounds out the trio of friends. Together, the girls embark on a journey of discovery that will take them from the penthouse apartments of Park Avenue to the Beat scene of Greenwich Village to Atlantic City’s Steel Pier — and into the arms of very different men who will alter their lives forever.
"Reading Searching for Grace Kelly is like watching your favorite old Hollywood movie, filled with colorful characters, funny moments, tender scenes, and plenty of intrigue."—John Searles, author of Help for the Haunted
“Callahan recreates the dazzle of New York in the 1950s, but he also captures something much more subtle and elusive: the feeling of the era, and the sense of how people thought about the world and each other. It's a pitch-perfect novel."—Roberta Rich, author of Midwife of Venice
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andlt;bandgt;and#8220;A thoroughly engaging story about fate, struggle, and will, as told through the intertwined lives of two women in New York living a century apart. Past and present blur in unexpected ways in this insightful, charming, and wholly entertaining novel."andlt;/bandgt;
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"Lehmann's blend of past and present perfectly woven together create an addictively readable novel.
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andlt;bandgt;"This soul-searching journey of two women magically connected though time is spellbinding. I was transported by every moment.and#8221;andlt;/bandgt;
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"Stephanie Lehman's Astor Place Vintage is a fascinating tour of turn of the century New York.
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"A novel bound to be next summer's guilty pleasure!
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andlt;Bandgt;and#8220;This utterly engrossing novel gives us a portrait of one of the most fascinating cities in the world where long after the book has ended you will walk the streets in your mind.and#8221;andlt;/Bandgt;
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andlt;Bandgt;"A splendid banquet of fashion, style, and both old and contemporary New York City, couched in a riveting story. A feast not to be missed!and#8221;andlt;/Bandgt;
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andlt;Bandgt;"Anyone who loves vintage clothing, feels the pull of nostalgia, and has a taste for retro will be utterly transported by this wise and wonderful novel. A mesmerizing story about two women separated by a century but united by a quest for independence, a talent for business, and the challenges of being a woman that arise in every era."andlt;/Bandgt;
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andlt;Bandgt;and#8220;The past meets the present in Lehmann's work of feminist literary fiction. . . . The author combines an impressive knowledge of history, sociology and psychology to create an intellectually and emotionally rewarding story.and#8221;andlt;/Bandgt;
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andlt;Bandgt;"Lehmann does a seamless job of moving between the past and present and gives a definite sense of place to the storyand#8217;s two periods, with rich descriptions of city life and architecture. First-class storytelling with an enticing dose of New York City history."andlt;/Bandgt;
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“A thoroughly engaging story about fate, struggle, and will, as told through the intertwined lives of two women in New York living a century apart. Past and present blur in unexpected ways in this insightful, charming, and wholly entertaining novel." Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner
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andlt;bandgt;and#8220;Lehmannand#8217;s blend of past and present perfectly woven together create an addictively readable novel. New York City will never look the same to me after reading andlt;iandgt;Astor Place Vintageandlt;/iandgt;.andlt;iandgt;and#8221;andlt;/iandgt;andlt;/bandgt;
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"This soul-searching journey of two women magically connected though time is spellbinding. I was transported by every moment.” Marjorie Hart, author of Summer at Tiffany
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andlt;divandgt;andlt;Bandgt;"Stephanie Lehman's andlt;iandgt;Astor Place Vintageandlt;/iandgt; is a fascinating tour of turn of the century New York.
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andlt;divandgt;andlt;Bandgt;"A novel bound to be next summer's guilty pleasure!
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“This utterly engrossing novel gives us a portrait of one of the most fascinating cities in the world where long after the book has ended you will walk the streets in your mind.” Stephanie Cowell, author of Claude and Camille and American Book Award recipient
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"A splendid banquet of fashion, style, and both old and contemporary New York City, couched in a riveting story. A feast not to be missed!” Lynn Cullen, author of The Creation of Eve
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"Anyone who loves vintage clothing, feels the pull of nostalgia, and has a taste for retro will be utterly transported by this wise and wonderful novel. A mesmerizing story about two women separated by a century but united by a quest for independence, a talent for business, and the challenges of being a woman that arise in every era." Pamela Redmond, author of The Possibility of You
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“The past meets the present in Lehmann's work of feminist literary fiction. . . . The author combines an impressive knowledge of history, sociology and psychology to create an intellectually and emotionally rewarding story.” < -="" i="" -=""> - < -="" b="" -=""> - Kirkus - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
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"Lehmann does a seamless job of moving between the past and present and gives a definite sense of place to the story’s two periods, with rich descriptions of city life and architecture. First-class storytelling with an enticing dose of New York City history." < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - Publishers Weekly - < -="" -=""> - , starred review - < -="" -="">
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andlt;Bandgt;"Stephanie Lehman's andlt;iandgt;Astor Place Vintageandlt;/iandgt; is a fascinating tour of turn of the century New York. Guaranteed to appeal to anyone who likes to search for the bones of the past beneath the bustle of the present."andlt;/Bandgt;
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andlt;Bandgt;and#8220;A novel bound to be next summer's guilty pleasure! I love Amanda and Olive and how we come to understand what links them despite the passage of time. I love what Lehmann has done with the 1907 city--how real it is.and#8221;andlt;/Bandgt;
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"Thanks to Callahan's flawless evocation of the place and time, you understand how high the stakes are for these women, who have to break every rule their mothers taught them to discover who they really are."
—More
"Perfect for your next girls' night."
—Good Housekeeping
"Callahan, who has convincingly researched the era. . .writes page-turning prose and gets the characters' big arcs right."
—ELLE
"You'll rip through this novel, inspired by Grace Kelly's pre-princess Barbizon stay."
—Marie Claire
"Callahan's debut is a delight."—People Magazine
“The New York of the 1950s shines through Callahan’s pages. His characters’ breathless excitement with their new lives pulls you into that time and place, and his deft plotting holds you there.”
—New York Times Book Review
"[A] deliciously stylish, retro first novel. . .As each woman becomes entangled with mysterious, even dangerous men, Callahan suavely combines literary finesse and pulp fiction to create a fast-moving, heartwrenching tale of romance and tragedy in a time of tyrannically sexist social conventions."
—Booklist
"Callahan’s debut novel truly captures glamorous New York City from young women’s perspective in the 1950s. For aficionados of anything from the Fifties and the movie The Best of Everything (1959)."
—Library Journal
“Callahan has a knack for nailing the perfect detail to take a reader back to a particular time and place; this story of three spirited young women is full of the glamour of New York City's Barbizon Hotel in 1955. The dialogue sings, and the pacing was perfect. It's a gem of a story.”
—Laura Moriarty, New York Times bestselling author of The Chaperone
“A wonderful champagne bubble of a book—glamorous, aspirational, and relatable! The fifties never seemed so fun! Wicked, naughty and clever.”
—Melissa de la Cruz, New York Times bestselling author of Witches of East End
“This tale of big dreams, drop-dead glamour and fragile hearts will have you turning pages late into the night. Michael Callahan tells the timeless story of three very different young women on the cusp of discovering themselves, inventively set at that midcentury moment in New York City when what it meant to be a woman began to change in ways great and small. Suspenseful, sharp and romantic, I loved every minute of it.”
—Piper Kerman, bestselling author of Orange is the New Black
"Reading Searching for Grace Kelly is like watching your favorite old Hollywood movie, filled with colorful characters, funny moments, tender scenes and plenty of intrigue. I was completely charmed by this book!"
—John Searles, bestselling author of Help for the Haunted
"A fascinating joy-ride through 1955 Manhattan, Searching for Grace Kelly is the Mad Men of the world of the Barbizon."
—Lynn Cullen, bestselling author of Mrs. Poe.
Synopsis
When a vintage clothing store owner in New York City discovers a journal from 1907, she finds her destiny at stake as the past and present collide. The past has a seductive allure to Amanda Rosenbloom, especially when it comes to vintage clothing. She’s devoted to running her shop, Astor Place Vintage, but with Manhattan’s rising rents and a troubled economy, it’s tough to keep the business alive. Meanwhile, she can’t bring herself to end an affair with a man who really should be history. When Amanda finds a journal sewn into a fur muff she’s recently acquired for the shop, she’s happy to escape into the world of Olive Westcott, a young lady who lived in New York City one hundred years ago.
As Amanda becomes immersed in the journal, she learns the future appeals to Olive. Olive looks forward to a time when repressive Victorian ideas have been replaced by more modern ways of thinking. But the financial panic of 1907 thrusts her from a stable, comfortable life into an uncertain and insecure existence. She’s resourceful and soon finds employment, but as she’s drawn into the social circle of shopgirls living on the edge of poverty, Olive is tempted to take risks that could bring her to ruin. Reading Olive’s woes, Amanda discovers a secret that could save her future and keep her from dwelling in the past.
It’s Olive, however, who ends up helping Amanda, through revelations that come in the final entries of the journal. As the lives of these two women merge, Amanda is inspired to stop living in the past and take control of her future.
Synopsis
When a New York City vintage clothing shop ownerand#8217;s recent purchases contain a hidden journal from 1907, her entire life will be turned upside down in this and#8220;insightful, charming, and wholly entertaining noveland#8221; (Khaled Hosseini, author of andlt;I andgt;The Kite Runnerandlt;/Iandgt;).andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Amanda Rosenbloom, proprietor of Astor Place Vintage, thinks sheand#8217;son just another call to appraise and possibly purchase clothing from a wealthy, elderly woman. But after discovering a journal sewn into a fur muff, Amanda gets much more than she anticipated. The pages of the journal reveal the life of Olive Westcott, a young woman who had moved to Manhattan in 1907. Olive was set on pursuing a career as a department store buyer in an era when Victorian ideas, limiting a womanand#8217;s sphere to marriage and motherhood, were only beginning to give way to modern ways of thinking. As Amanda reads the journal, her life begins to unravel until she can no longer ignore this voice from the past. Despite being separated by one hundred years, Amanda finds sheand#8217;s connected to Olive in ways neither could ever have imagined.
Synopsis
In 1955 New York three spirited young women living at the famed Barbizon Hotel form an unlikely friendship and come of age in the glamorous post-war city that could make—or break—them.
About the Author
Michael Callahan is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and a former deputy editor at Town & Country and Marie Claire. His articles have been published in more than two dozen national magazines, including Mens Health, Real Simple, Vibe, and Good Housekeeping. Searching for Grace Kelly is his first novel.