When an abandoned safe deposit box at a New York bank is opened after seventy years, it reveals a collection of high-end jewelry and personal letters. Jane Willoughby, a court clerk, and Phillip Lawton, an auction house expert, work together to identify the mysterious owner, Marguerite Wallace Pearson. Their investigation moves from the modern city back to the high society of Europe and post-war America. By tracing the provenance of the diamonds and private correspondence, they reconstruct Marguerite's life, her difficult romantic choices, and the historical events that led her to leave her fortune unclaimed.
Readers who enjoy historical mysteries and stories about inherited secrets will find this narrative focuses on the intersection of personal legacy and archival research. It appeals to those interested in the social structures of the early twentieth-century elite and the process of verifying historical artifacts. The reader learns how individual lives are pieced together through paper trails and physical objects, ending with a clear understanding of how past trauma influences future generations. It provides a detailed look at the procedural elements of legal and artistic authentication.
- Published
- 2010
- Language
- EN
