The Lions of Fifth Avenue

The novel cuts to 1993, as Sadie Donovan enters the New York Public Library, irritated by the wave of tourists who, in her opinion, don’t appreciate the library’s scholarly value. She and her colleague, Claude (whose advances she has recently rebuked), prepare for an upcoming exhibit of the library’s Berg Collection, but Marlene, the collection’s curator (and Sadie’s mentor) is missing. Sadie gives a tour of the library to several board members, a feature of which is a walking stick belonging to “essayist and writer Laura Lyons” (24). She then explains the daunting task of preparing an exhibition of rare manuscripts.

When the library’s director, Dr. Hooper, informs Sadie and Claude that Marlene has taken another job, he appoints Sadie curator of the collection for the time being. Hooper asks Sadie to search the archives for additional examples of Lyons’s work to include in the exhibit.

Dr. Anderson tells Laura that he has “secure[d] a scholarship” (33) for her at Columbia (for her first semester only). Jack is conflicted over accepting a gift from his boss, but Laura asks for his support.

Laura’s first assignment as a student is to “investigate” the women’s hotel ban on butter. This assignment is for female students only. The men are sent to cover City Hall. Laura and her classmate Gretchen interview the hotel’s director, who argues that the butter ban is for the health of the residents. When Laura asks the director several pointed questions, she promptly ends the interview. On her way out, Laura interviews the cook who admits she’s defying management and ignoring the ban. The next day, her professor chastises her for exceeding the word count but praises her investigative skills.

A week later, Jack reports that a first edition of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass has been stolen. He and Laura search the Stuart Room, the book’s last known location. She reminisces about their early courtship—and her father’s disapproval of Jack—and they make love amid the rare volumes, although she worries about getting pregnant again. She enjoys school, but as a woman, she feels her professors are limiting her, only allowing her to cover “women’s” stories (social events, etc.). Jack suggests that Laura be proactive about covering stories that interest her.

Laura’s next assignment is to write a piece for the school’s “simulated” paper, The Blot. She heads downtown to the Charity Organization Society to cover its work with the poor, when a young boy calls to her: “You. Come. Mother’s waiting” (54). Confused, she follows the boy to his tenement apartment where she finds his mother and several children sewing garters. The boy directs her attention to a listless baby lying in a corner, but the mother pays the baby no mind. Then, the woman’s husband wakes up, angry at being disturbed after his “night shift.” He expects recompense, and when Laura offers him money, he demands her satchel that contains a class essay.