by Mark Helprin
First published 2014
Peter Lake comes to rob a grand Manhattan house during New York's Belle Epoque era. The middle-aged Irishman expects to find valuables but discovers Beverly Penn, the young daughter of the family, alone inside. What begins as a crime becomes something else entirely when Peter encounters this dying girl. Their unexpected meeting sparks a love that crosses the boundaries of age and circumstance. Beverly knows her time is limited, yet she and Peter form a connection that defies the harsh realities of his criminal world and her failing health. The story follows their relationship as it develops against the backdrop of a glittering but unforgiving city. Peter must navigate between his old life and this new feeling that has taken hold of him. Beverly faces her mortality while experiencing a love she never expected to find. Their bond becomes the heart of a tale that spans the elegant and brutal sides of turn-of-the-century New York.
Genres: romance, american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, lyrical, suspenseful
Tropes: cross-boundaries, love-story, unexpected-meeting
Setting: Manhattan, New York
Period: Belle Epoque
688 pages · ebook · Mariner Books