From New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis, an exhilarating new novel about two women whose obsession with a mansion tucked away in Upper Manhattan could change their lives forever.
On the north end of Manhattan lies the oldest house on the island: the Morris-Jumel Mansion. Built in 1765, it was once part of a 135-acre property that ran from the Harlem River to the Hudson. Today, the mansion is relegated to one city block, where it sits like a regal queen in a garden of lilacs and maples.
In 1800s New York City, Eliza Bowen is a woman with ambition, determined to rise above her humble background. When she meets political upstart Aaron Burr, she vows to win his love and break into the high society that shuns her. Eliza’s ultimate aim: secure her future with the purchase of the most beautiful house in Manhattan, in spite of a shadowy figure intent on exposing the truth about her sordid past.
In 2010, disgraced architect Abby Dorrance has always aspired to make her family proud. Recently released from prison for a financial crime she didn’t commit, Abby’s intent on clearing her name and rehabilitating her career. But when her father—a well-known real estate developer—dies from a fall at a haunted, crumbling uptown mansion the night before she’s set free, Abby gets drawn into the murky circumstances behind his death. As dangerous forces threaten, Abby must choose between saving her family’s legacy and fortune, or saving the mansion and losing everything she loves.
The Jewel of Sugar Hill brings Eliza Jumel to life, a woman notorious during America’s infancy, who ignored social convention and achieved dizzying success. The result is a sweeping, ambitious story of two scandalous women, two centuries apart, each with an unshakeable belief in her ability to carve space for herself on her own terms.
