“Any trouble a young person can find in a library is the best kind of trouble.”

Tildy Barrows, type A librarian extraordinaire, is the present day central character to this intriguing tale spanning over 100 years. Her discovery of 2 dollhouses hidden in a historic San Francisco library sets the tale in motion: one of generations of artists, literary notables and undercover agents. In each and every timeline these layered and complex characters share the guilt of hiding secrets from loved ones and the general public.

It is when Tildy slowly discovers that answers to a century of secrets are hidden within and on the walls of the stunningly decorated dollhouses, that the focus of the novel takes shape. Readers who have the patience to deal with numerous names at the onset will be rewarded with how the plot fills in like puzzle pieces clicking into place. I referred to my trusty character cheat sheet (with many question marks) many times during my audiobook listen and suggest readers limit distraction or the temptation to accelerate the speed, to enjoy the unique and compelling story.

Narrators Emily Rankin and Caroline Hewitt do an excellent job bringing a complex and multifaceted story to life. Thanks to Harper Audio and Net Galley for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Library of Lost Dollhouses was a fascinating story based in dual timelines: current days San Francisco and England/France/NYC during the time surrounding both world wars. Main themes include art (painting and miniatures), family, secrets, healing, and the strength of women. While it’s probably not for everyone, I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it for other historical fiction lovers who are intrigued by the synopsis. It delivers what it promises.

An informative author’s note explains the real life inspirations behind the characters and plot points.

The audiobook narrators did a flawless job. Many thanks to HarperAudio Adult for the ALC.

I'm not normally a fan of books that switch back and forth between time periods, but this book did it so well that it was seamless.

Tildy is the head curator at a San Francisco library. Her library is her home, and even when the library was closed during COVID (nice fact drop there as the book is set in 2024 for the current time period) she still found herself drawn to the library. When a school bus breaks down in front of the library, she allows the kids to come in and wait for the bus to be ready to take them off to school. While one child (with a few friends to boot) comes in to use the bathroom, they find a secret room with two exquisite dollhouses in it. This leads Tildy down a road of discovery to find out more about the dollhouse creator and about her deceased mother. How the two connect... well, you have to read the book to find out.

Cora, the other main character in this book (also the dollhouse creator) has a secret that she has to keep and runs to Paris to get away from. Can she outrun her past, or will it catch up to her? Cora doesn't just build dollhouses, she builds secrets and dreams.

The book took a bit to get into, but once I got my footing, I couldn't stop listening. Steeped in history and twists and turns, this book was really good. The narrators in this book were exceptional. To the point that I could barely tell the difference in the voices.

I'd like to thank HarperAudio Adult and Net Galley for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

This book was a great book. The characters each had their own stories. The surprises never stopped coming in the book. I recommend this for a fun, exciting adventure that takes in family stories, a library and of course dollhouses.

2024 San Francisco - Tildy is a libriarian who loves and knows every inch of "her" library until one day she finds a hidden room with an incredibly detailed dollhouse....and a bit of a personal mystery. This story line set-up had me ready for a great book. However, with the changing POV's from early 1900's to present day and quite a few characters, it felt like I never fully connected with any of the characters and it took away from the mystery. There is also a relationship in the book that felt disconnected with the story (reminded me of The Lions of Fifth Avenue). I did enjoy the history behind these dollhouses and the post-war era quite a bit. The narration was very good and enhanced reading along with the book.

My thanks to Net Galley, William Morrow and Harper Audio for advanced copies of this e-book and audiobook.

The Library of Lost Dollhouses is a wonderful multi-timeline story that centers on a fictitious library/museum in San Francisco, housed in a Beaux Arts Building, the Belva Curtis Lefarge Library. Belva Lefarge founded the library and lived on the top floor after her home burned down. The nickname of the library is, "the Bel." A Prologue sets the stage for why the dollhouses are important as we find ourselves in the workshop of the artist, an unnamed woman, who designs and constructs them with minute attention to detail and a secret story or information that the owner wants known but not publicized. Each house we learn about in the story has exquisite miniatures and interior architectural features made exactly to scale.

Initially,, we meet Tildy Barrows in 2024. She is one of the two protagonists in the timelines. She's the curator at the "Bel," second in line to the Director. She knows they are in serious financial trouble due to the period the Bel was shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic and to an issue with an embezzler. The building has some very, very valuable things that might save it, including a masterpiece painting that Belva purchased from the Metropolitan Museum in New York many years ago. but an unexpected repair issue makes it doubtful it will yield enough to save the Bel.

While Tildy is working on the apartment floor with clothing that was in disarray from some impudent children, she discovers a door within the clothes/storage closet that leads to two large dollhouses, one the home Belva lived in while she was married and living in Paris in the early years of her marriage. This covers the period around 1910 when a young woman artist, Cora Hale, age 17, arrives in France, seeking a room at a women's residence, "Curtis House." The somewhat fractious manager explains that they are full up and that Cora should have had the room reserved before she arrived in Paris. That was not an option, as Cora considers herself a "ruined" woman in New York and she fled for Paris as an exile. Belva, a young married woman with a son is the founder of Curtis House and she is nearby when Cora is pleading her case. This leads to her reminding the manager/housemother of an upcoming vacancy and she offers Cora a room for the night. Over time, they get to know each other well and there is great mutual respect. It is one of a mentor/employer (Belva) who encourages Cora's work as an art instructor and also seeks to have Cora spend time on her own art creation. For some reason, she believes that painting is no longer an option for her, despite her training and talent.

At this point, everything else would involve spoilers, so I would say only that Cora discovers a new potential art form, creating dollhouses that are "portraits" of their owners, with significant choices about what is included and extra information hidden to tell the owners' stories. The novel takes us to other parts of Europe during WWI, with Tildy trying to learn the history of Belva's two dollhouses and Cora making her way through life on her eventual return to the United States. There is a fun part in England that involves a rehabilitation location for wounded servicemen and a Duchess who loves the dollhouse Cora made for Belva. Throughout, we wonder about and learn about the scandal that drove Cora from New York, about other clients/friends who commissioned their own unique dollhouses and their stories, about some mysteries in Tildy's life that help her understand her mother who had a very hard life and expressed some memorable things to Tildy about the Bel when she went there on a field trip at 10 and later when she was looking for work after earning her graduate degrees.

I read the novel on audio, narrated beautifully by Emily Rankin and Caroline Hewitt. I found the pace perfect and the stories all important to explain the lives and work of Tildy and Cora and the resolution of their initially unexplained sorrows. The stories in the dollhouses are either very, very personal information on the owner's intimate lives or would divulge very, very confidential information they have no right to publicize. I found them all interesting and the pace of the book just right. While the characters are all interesting, the plot and life stories are more up front than their inner voices. But they are definitely three-dimensional. I liked the writing very much. 4.5 rounded up.

I was looking forward to reading The Library of Lost Dollhouses. The cover was so inviting, dollhouses, art, libraries are all topics that interest me. Unfortunately, the book did not meet my anticipation. I couldn’t relate to the characters or the story.

Emily Rankin and Caroline Hewitt did a great job on the narration.

Thank you Harper Audio and NetGalley for the early copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Net Galley and Harper Audio for the advanced copy of this audiobook. While it is a general fiction book the historical references complete the story. I enjoyed the characters and the dual timeline and the creativeness of the story line. Women who built into telling about their secret lives within the dollhouse. I enjoyed the detail understanding of how miniatures are created. A unique and different story but still referencing history. There even was a shout out to Walt Disney and his miniatures. Thank you to the narrators Emily Rankin and Caroline Hewitt for bringing this story to life. Very enjoyable to listen to them.

THE LIBRARY OF LOST DOLLHOUSES by Elise Hooper shares the stories of Tildy, a young librarian living in present day San Francisco, and Cora, a talented artist who lived in the early twentieth century. Their connection is the Belva Curtis LeFarge Library where Tildy discovers two long hidden dollhouses. As the alternating stories enfold, readers learn about Cora's early life, travels in Europe, love affairs with both men and women, and her time during and after World War I when she began creating the miniatures. Although the story is sometimes a bit too slow-paced, Hooper certainly motivates her readers to reflect on the contributions of little recognized female artists (for a novel with a similar theme, see Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Vreeland). For me, the best part of Hooper's book was the description of the intricate, detailed work on the dollhouses and their contents. Both the Thorne Rooms (on display in Chicago) and Queen Mary’s Dolls' House (near London) are mentioned in the book and Hooper explains that "there's actually a psychological rationale to explain our affinity for small things: dollhouses offer us a sense of control and imagination. They can provide a feeling of agency. Miniatures allow us to create the world as we'd like to see it."

The audiobook is narrated by Emily Rankin and Caroline Hewitt who provide a clear and entertaining account of Cora's and Tildy's adventures. THE LIBRARY OF LOST DOLLHOUSES is a bonus fiction pick for LibraryReads in April 2025. Booklist recommends it for fans of Kate Morton and Fiona Davis.


Links:
https://www.artic.edu/highlights/12/thorne-miniature-rooms
https://www.rct.uk/collection/stories/queen-marys-dolls-house

This was such a unique, fun story! It incorporates hidden secret rooms and treasures in the form of elaborate miniature dollhouses. Tildy Barrows is the head curator of a library who discovers the intricate dollhouses. Tildy embarks on an adventure across the country to uncover the secrets of the dollhouses stemming from Paris and the English countryside. It was entertaining to go on the journey and learn the history of the women behind the dollhouses. Elise Hooper skillfully wove strong female WWI history with these dollhouses discovered hidden in an old library. This was my first novel by Hooper and I look forward to reading more by her.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What a great unique historical fiction! This was my first novel by Elise Hooper and I loved it. Great cast of characters spanning so many years,

Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth of inventory housed in her beloved Beaux Art building. She loves the calm and order in the shelves of books and walls of art. But Tildy’s uneventful life takes an unexpected turn when she, first, learns the library is on the verge of bankruptcy and, second, discovers two exquisite never-before-seen dollhouses. After finding clues hidden within these remarkable miniatures, Tildy starts to believe that Belva Curtis LeFarge, the influential heiress who established the library a century ago, is conveying a significant final message.

With a newfound sense of spontaneity, Tildy sets out to decipher the secret history of the dollhouses, aiming to salvage her cherished library in the process. Her journey to understand introduces her to a world of ambitious and gifted women in Belle Époque Paris, a group of scarred World War I veterans in the English countryside, and Walt Disney’s bustling Burbank studio in the 1950s. As Tildy unravels the mystery, she finds not only inspiring, overlooked history, but also a future for herself, filled with exciting possibilities—and an astonishing familial revelation.

Spanning the course of a century, The Library of Lost Dollhouses is a warm, bright, and captivating story of secrets and love that embraces the importance of illuminating overlooked women of the past.

There’s secrets in this library! Secret rooms, secret dollhouses, and secret family revelations. This book had me in the feels waiting to find what is next! This one is a women’s literary fiction that also feels a bit like historical fiction.

I listened to the audiobook of this story. I loved the narrator. I felt she did a good job representing the story and portrayed the whimsical tone that the author writes in very well. The writing style and amount of description reminded me of the book, “The Lost Apothecary,” but obviously with a different plot. The timeline is non-linear as there are flashbacks, but even in the audiobook it was easy to follow.

The plot: in “The Library of Lost Dollhouses,” Tildy Barrows learns the archival library she works at the Beaux arts building is on the verge of bankruptcy. She finds a hidden room that contains dollhouses and begins the idea of having an art exhibit for these dollhouses as well as some paintings. Tildy finds notes that lead her to more secrets contained around these dollhouses and even has ties back to her family. Can Tildy find the true background of her family? Can Tildy save the library? This book travels between present day with Tildy, and the past with her mom Meg who has since passed. The journey to discover the secrets of her family and the dollhouses is very whimsical.

I loved just about everything in this book. The imagery was wonderful. The narrators portrayal was moving. The plot kept me going. As a book lover, who wouldn’t love to find secrets in a library! And also, who wouldn’t love to learn more about their family member who have passed. As I compared this book to “The lost apothecary,” I think they are similar in their descriptions for imagery, whimsical tone, the way they write their flashbacks, however “The Library of Lost Dollhouses” takes place within this past century rather than many centuries ago (as in “The Lost Apothecary.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this listen and think many who love women’s literacy fiction would enjoy uncovering the secrets in this story as well. I’d like the thank the author Elise Hooper, Harper Audio, NetGalley, and the wonderful narrator for allowing me to listen to this ARC for free in exchange for an honest review. I’ll be keeping my eye on Elise Hooper!

I loved this book. I liked how the POV went back and forth between the past & present. I wish this was a true story. I also enjoyed the narrator of this audiobook.

I was really excited to read this book. It contains a library, a secret room, and dollhouses with secrets. Sounds great to me!

Tildy the main character is fun and predictable. She has a specific mug for every day. Tildy just happens to find a secret room in the library with two immaculate dollhouses. These dollhouses have been meticulously made. When Tildy learns that the library is in financial trouble she starts searching for answers on where the dollhouses came from.

The story switches point of views. From Tildy in the present day and Cora Hale during World War II. Cora has lots of secrets in her past. Cora ends up meeting a lot of high society women in her career.

Turns out the dollhouse hold secrets of wealthy women during a time when it was a "man's world".

The thing that is not mentioned on the back cover is the intimate nature of the female characters in Cora's time. I understand that authors might do this so that a reader does not discriminate against their book. I have a hard time with this because I am a librarian. There are patrons that I know that would be offended if I had suggested this book to them. Being forthright with a topic is helpful. There are quite a few lesbian relationships in this book.

Tildy Barrows is the curator of a San Francisco library and archive housed in an historic San Francisco Mansion. With the library on the verge of bankruptcy and its most valuable art possible to be sold, she discovers as hidden space in the building where she finds an exquisite dollhouse model complete with miniature artwork as well secret messages in its wallpaper. Going back and forth from the present through the history of the woman who created the dollhouse and others, as well as her loves, art, and struggles. Extraordinarily compelling historical fiction.

The Library of Lost Dollhouses delivers a captivating blend of history, art, and mystery. It's rich with historical detail, and portrays the creativity and resilience of women. I'll definitely be recommending this one to historical fiction lovers.