St. Louis County Library: Bestselling Historical Fiction Writing Team Shares 'The Lost Summers Of Newport'

University City MO

12 May, 2022

3:06 AM

Description

Press release from the St. Louis County Library: May 11, 2022 St. Louis County Library Foundation's Favorite Author Series presents acclaimed novelists Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White, bestselling historical fiction writing team and co-authors of "The Lost Summers of Newport." The event will take place on Wednesday, May 18, at 7:00 p.m. at Library Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd. The program is free and open to the public. Books will be available for purchase at the event from The Novel Neighbor. From the bestselling team of Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White, "The Lost Summers of Newport" is a novel of money and secrets set among the famous summer mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, spanning over a century from the Gilded Age to the present day. 2019: Andie Figuero has just landed her dream job as a producer of Mansion Makeover, a popular reality show about restoring America's most lavish historic houses. Andie has high hopes for her latest project: the once glorious but gently crumbling Sprague Hall. But Andie runs into trouble: the reclusive heiress who still lives in the mansion, Lucia "Lucky" Sprague, will only allow the show to go forward on two conditions: One, nobody speaks to her. Two, nobody touches the mansion's ruined boathouse. 1899: Ellen Daniels has been hired to give singing lessons to Miss Maybelle Sprague, a naive young Colorado mining heiress whose stepbrother has poured their new money into buying a place among Newport's elite. The family is determined to see Maybelle married off to a fortune-hunting Italian prince, and Ellen is supposed to polish up the girl for her launch into society. But the deceptively demure Ellen has her own checkered past. 1958: Lucia "Lucky" Sprague has always felt like an outsider at Sprague Hall. When she and her grandmother—the American-born Princess di Conti—fled Mussolini's Italy, it seemed natural to go back to the imposing Newport house. Over the years, Lucky's lost her Italian accent and found a place for herself among the yachting set. But one fateful night in the mansion's old boathouse will uncover a devastating truth. As the cameras roll on Mansion Makeover, the house begins to yield up the dark secrets the Spragues thought would stay hidden forever…. Program sites are accessible. With at least two weeks' notice, accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities. Call 314-994-3300 or contact us. This press release was produced by the St. Louis County Library. The views expressed here are the author's own.