The Library of Lost Dollhouses

A Novel

By: Elise Hooper

Narrated by: Emily Rankin, Caroline Hewitt

""This beautiful page-turner kept me reading all night.” —Janet Skeslien Charles, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library

""This one’s an absolute gem.” —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Queen

When a young librarian discovers hidden historic dollhouses in her library, she embarks on an unexpected journey that reveals surprising secrets about the lost miniatures.

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 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 sets out to decipher the secret history of the dollhouses, aiming to salvage her cherished library in the process. Her journey 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, hidden history, but also a future for herself—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.

Hmm?

So many questions.. why the vegetarian diatribe? Useless to the storyline. The author seemed to need to get something off her chest. Lots of loose storylines threads left undone. It felt like she just got tired of telling the story and quit.

Amazing storytelling with a fun twist

As a dollhouse miniatures maker, I had to listen to the book for the dollhouses and came away in love with the actual story! It’s a really fun listen for anyone who likes a good mystery, libraries, and imagination.

Wonderful plot

The only hitch for me as I tried to figure out what the connection would be between Tildy and Cora ent al - I expected they would be related. The actual connection for them was less than exciting.

Lessons learned and courage to be honest to yourself. Secrets are never a good idea.

The love of doll houses in my childhood. I have an artist friend who made some beautiful doll houses. I think it was a clever way that she wove the story and the history of the doll houses. What craftsmanship.

Delightful and captivating novel

This novel combines so many of my favorite things: the role of women in history, compelling mysteries and detective work, libraries and museums, keen research, human connection, optimism, and miniatures. As a miniaturist who builds miniatures to tell stories, I knew I was going to enjoy this novel before I read it based on the subject matter alone. But being unfamiliar with this author prior to reading The Library of Lost Dollhouses, what I did not expect was that this is truly a novel that stands on its own beyond niche interests. Hooper has an incredible gift for telling stories, weaving together threads in different time periods to create a beautiful narrative. I can't wait to read more of her writing!

I listened to the audio version (twice in a row, because it was that enjoyable!) and I loved the voice & style of the narrator.