Escaping Dreamland: A Novel($16.99Value)

Description

Robert Parrish's childhood obsession with series books like the Hardy Boys and Tom Swift inspired him to become an author. Just as his debut novel becomes a bestseller, his relationship with his girlfriend, Rebecca, begins to fall apart. Robert realizes he must confront his secret demons by fulfilling a youthful promise to solve a mystery surrounding his favorite series--the Tremendous Trio. Guided by twelve tattered books and an unidentified but tantalizing fragment of a story, Robert journeys into the history of the books that changed his life, hoping they can help him once again. His odyssey takes him to 1906 Manhattan, a time of steamboats, boot blacks, and Fifth Avenue mansions, but every discovery he makes only leads to more questions. Robert's quest intertwines with the stories of three young people trying to define their places in the world at the dawn of a new and exciting century. Magda, Gene, and Tom not only write the children's books that Robert will one day love, together they explore the vibrant city on their doorstep, from the Polo Grounds to Coney Island's Dreamland, drawing the reader into the Gilded Age as their own friendships deepen. The connections between the authors, their creations, and Robert's redemptive journey make for a beautifully crafted novel that is an ode to the children's series books of our past, to New York City, and above all, to the power of love and friendship. “This dual-timeline story about the mysteries of children’s literature will inform and delight…The crisp clarity of Lovett’s prose, as well as the way Escaping Dreamland immerses the reader in its historical time and place, reminded me of the novels of Ian McEwan and A. S. Byatt…Like the best children’s literature, this novel will inform and delight adult readers who are nostalgic for the books of their youth.” --Washington Independent Review of Books Escaping Dreamland is a departure from the Lovett canon in that it offers not one coming-of-age tale, but three; not one mystery, but two; not one love story, but four…Few are the authors who have so beautifully captured the Gilded Age of New York as has Lovett here…Escaping Dreamland is a bold and brave novel from Lovett.” --Mountain Times ''The Gilded Age of New York pulses with life as Charlie Lovett cleverly weaves together historical figures and events with the compelling, emotionally layered stories of a trio of young aspiring writers juxtaposed against a struggling, modern-day Manhattan novelist. Lovett navigates skillfully between centuries while exploring interwoven themes of regret, unrequited love, loyalty, and ambition. Not since E. L. Doctorow's Ragtime has this era in New York been so beautifully captured.'' --Liza Nash Taylor, author of Etiquette for Runaways Charlie Lovett is the New York Times bestselling author of four previous novels, including The Bookman's Tale and Escaping Dreamland. His academic writings include Lewis Carroll: Formed by Faith and for children he has written The Book of the Seven Spells and twenty plays that have been seen in over five thousand productions worldwide. A former antiquarian bookseller and avid book collector, he and his wife, Janice, live in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and (when the pandemic allows) in the village of Kingham in England.