Astor Place Vintage: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Description

When a New York City vintage clothing shop owners recent purchases contain a hidden journal from 1907, her entire life will be turned upside down in this insightful, charming, and wholly entertaining novel (Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner).

Amanda Rosenbloom, proprietor of Astor Place Vintage, thinks sheson 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 womans 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 shes connected to Olive in ways neither could ever have imagined.

Reviews

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
Lehmanns 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 Astor Place Vintage. -- Kathleen Grissom, author of The Kitchen House
"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
"Stephanie Lehman's Astor Place Vintage 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." -- Lauren Willig, author of The Secret History of the Pink Carnation
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. -- Beverly Swerling, author of City of Promise
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
"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
"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
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. * Kirkus *
"Lehmann does a seamless job of moving between the past and present and gives a definite sense of place to the storys two periods, with rich descriptions of city life and architecture. First-class storytelling with an enticing dose of New York City history." * Publishers Weekly, starred review *

Author Bio

Stephanie Lehmann received her BA at UC Berkeley and a MA in English from New York University. She has taught novel writing at Mediabistro and online at Salon.com, where her essays have been published. She currently lives in New York City. Visit her online at StephanieLehmann.com and AstorPlaceVintage.com.