Dorothy Draper, 1930s – 1960s interior designer, is the main character. And, the historically significant Greenbrier Resort in White Sulfur Springs, WV serves as another primary character. Although the book is a work of fiction, the author hypothesizes, reasonably so, that Dorothy fell in love with the Greenbrier through her growing up years with summers away from NYC that were spent at the Greenbrier.
The story jumps between 1908 and 1947-1948. We first meet a 19-year-old Dorothy who has fallen in love with Italian race car driver, Enzo. Down on his luck, Enzo agrees to a marriage to Helen Taft, daughter of the President. Star-crossed romantics, Enzo and Dorothy are fated to part. In the 1940s, Dorothy has, at long last, been hired to her dream job of restoring the Greenbrier. As she works on the property, she reflects back on that summer.
It is a clever story with a reach into facts about Dorothy Draper, designer.
Thanks to Harper Muse for providing me an ARC in exchange for a review in my own words.
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