The Address, by Fiona Davis

 

Characters
1884 – Sara Smythe	1985 – Bailey Camden
Theodore Camden – killed in the Dakota Minnie – wife Lulu and Luther – twins Emily - older sister Christopher – Sara and Theo’s son, adopted by family   The Dakota: Fitzroy – head porter Mr. Douglas – building agent Daisy Cavanaugh – assistant, stole from tenants to support her family Mrs. Haines – assistant and switch board Camden – architectural team Henry Hardenbergh – Camden’s boss   Blackwell’s Island Insane Asylum   Nellie Brown – Nellie Bly	Bailey – Parson’s School of Design   Tristan – business partner in Diego Crespo design company, let Bailey go after she got out of rehab   Silver Hill - rehabilitation for drinking   Peggy and Jack – Bailey’s parents Christopher – Jack’s father, adopted as baby into Camden family   Melinda – friend Manvel – twin brother Theodore Camden – great-grandfather Tony – Melinda’s boyfriend   Kenneth Worley – Dakota tenant   Renzo – Dakota superintendent, AA meetings with Bailey

 

1.      When Bailey was doing research on the Dakota, she used a card catalogue and microfiche.   Do you remember using these when you were in school?

2.      What did you think about Melinda completely remodeling her apartment and getting rid of the original workmanship? 

3.      Given the times, was there anything Daisy could have done to support herself and her siblings?

4.      Did the addition of Nellie Bly (Nellie Brown) add to the story for you?

5.      We are familiar with the Dakota because of John Lennon’s murder.   Did this knowledge add to your reading experience?

6.      Did the author do a good job of describing Bailey’s addiction and recovery?  Were you able to understand her feelings?

7.      Did you guess the ending - that Melinda and Manvel were not Theo’s real relations and that, through her father, Baily was?

8.      What were the clues the author wrote that led to the unraveling of the mystery?  For example, Bailey resembled Sara in the photo she found.

9.      This book followed a current trend in fiction where the story bounces back and forth in time and between characters. Did you like the way this author handled the transitions?  Were you able to keep everything and everyone straight?

10.  What was your reading experience?  Did you enjoy the novel?