# Read the first page of The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis Read the opening of The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis free, no signup. Book thefts rock the New York Public Library across two generations. - Page: https://uncovered.ink/read/the-lions-of-fifth-avenue-fiona-davis - Genre: Historical fiction - Year: 2020 - ISBN: 9781524744625 - Read it blind (cover and title hidden): https://uncovered.ink/?b=9781524744625&s=read-page - Buy: https://bookshop.org/a/125786/9781524744625 - Borrow: https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=9781524744625 ## The opening She had to tell Jack. He wouldn’t be pleased. As Laura Lyons returned from running errands, turning over in her head the various reactions her husband might have to her news, she spotted the beggar perched once again on the first tier of the granite steps that led to her home: seven rooms buried deep inside the palatial New York Public Library. This time, the beggar woman’s appearance elicited not pity but a primal fear. It was certainly some kind of ominous sign, one that made Laura’s heart beat faster. A woman on the verge of ruin, alone and without any resources. Unloved. The beggar’s black mourning gown was more tattered than it had been last week, fraying at the sleeves and hem, and her face shone with summer sweat. Every few days for the past month, she’d taken up a spot off to one side of the grand entryway under one of the towering stone lions, one of which had been named Leo Astor and the other Leo Lenox, after two of the library’s founders, John Jacob Astor and James Lenox. Laura’s children had admired them right off, with Harry claiming Lenox as his pet and Pearl doing the same for Astor, neither caring that the sculptures had initially been mocked in the newspapers as a cross between a dachshund and a rabbit. Only last week, Laura had just barely prevented her son from carving his initials into the sinewy rump of Leo Lenox. The beggar woman shifted, finding what shade she could. The miserable-looking child who typically filled her lap was missing. Laura wondered where he was. “Money or food, please, miss. Either will do.” Laura reached into her shopping basket and pulled out two apples. One of the library’s employees would shoo the beggar away soon enough, and she was glad to have caught her in time, even if the act of offering the poor woman assistance was inspired, at least in part, by a ridiculous, superstitious bargain that existed only in Laura’s mind. As if extending a kindness to someone in need would smooth the conversation ahead. “Thank you, miss.” The woman tucked the fruit away in her pockets. “God bless.” Laura hurried up the steps and into Astor Hall, past the dozens of visitors milling about, their voices echoing off the marble steps, the marble floors, the marble walls. Even the decorative bases for the bronze candelabras were made from Carrara stone sliced from the Apuan Alps. The choice kept the building cool on steamy September days like this one, even if in winter it was like walking into an icebox, particularly in the evenings, when the library was closed and the furnaces only lightly fed. ## Books with a similar feel - [The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-underground-library-jennifer-ryan.md) - [Miss Morgan's Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles](https://uncovered.ink/read/miss-morgans-book-brigade-janet-skeslien-charles.md) - [Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid](https://uncovered.ink/read/daisy-jones-and-the-six-taylor-jenkins-reid.md) - [The Forgotten Room by Karen White](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-forgotten-room-karen-white.md) - [Learned by Heart by Emma Donoghue](https://uncovered.ink/read/learned-by-heart-emma-donoghue.md) - [The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester](https://uncovered.ink/read/the-paris-seamstress-natasha-lester.md) --- Source: Uncovered (https://uncovered.ink). A short sample shown for reading and discovery. Rights holders can request removal at https://uncovered.ink/takedown.