A Nostalgic, Gripping Fiona Davis Novel Based in NYC…

A singular timeline with a thriller vibe is a slight change from previous novels, but Fiona Davis upped her game with these added elements of excitement along with her special touches we know and love. Centering around a NYC landmark, in this case Radio City Music Hall, in the 1950s, The Spectacular follows Marion, a dancer pursuing a job as a NYC Rockette, her sister Judy, an office manager, and their father, Simon, a widower who’s traditional ideas of success for his daughters differs from Marion’s ambitions. Lots of excitement and interest is derived from the NYC Bomber, the search for the killer that became the first case using social profiling, the history of the Rockettes and the challenges of Parkinsons Disease, all making for an engaging, exciting and wonderful read! The Spectacular is my new favorite book by Fiona Davis and I highly recommend it!

Book Nation Book Club had a great night talking with Fiona Davis about her writing success, this new book, Parkinson’s, theatre and more.

Video recording and written Q & A below!

Q & A with Fiona Davis

Q:  What perked your interest in NYC and how did you come up with the idea to focus on landmarks?

A: I’ve always loved old buildings, and I think that stems from family trips to England to visit relatives when I was a little girl. We’d stop at various castles and ruins to break up long road trips, and I couldn’t help imagining what life was like back in the Middle Ages, or the 1800s. New York has been my home for over thirty years and there are a ton of great landmarks, filled with secrets and ghosts, so it felt natural for me to mine them for settings and inspirations for plots.

Q:  Can you give us a brief synopsis of The Spectacular?

A: It takes place at Radio City Music Hall in the 1950s, from the point of view of a woman named Marion who wants to be a Rockette, even though her family is dead set against it. She auditions and makes the cut, but then, for very personal reasons, gets caught up in the hunt for a man called the Big Apple Bomber, who’s been setting bombs in iconic New York City buildings, including Radio City. (And is based on a real bomber). Marion teams up with an introverted, brilliant psychiatrist named Peter to help track him down. It’s a mix of thriller, romance, and historical fiction, with a glamorous backstage glimpse at Radio City.

Q:  How did you get the idea to write about Radio City? Can you tell us what the shows were like in the 1950s?

A: The idea came from a reader, a former Rockette who reached out to me to suggest Radio City. Sandy is in her 80s and shared some of her wonderful memories from when she danced there in the late 1950s/early 1960s, and I was hooked. Back then, Radio City was a film house, showing four movies a day. If you bought a ticket to a movie, you also got to watch the stage show, which include the Rockettes, a ballet corps, and a chorale ensemble. 

Q:  Is Marion based on anyone specific?

A: Marion is based on Vera-Ellen, a movie star who started as a Rockette but never quite fit in: she was bigger than life and had a hard time adjusting to the precise technique of the kick line. Her story echoes some of the themes I’m interested in exploring: what is the cost of suppressing one’s own creativity or individuality for the good of the greater whole, whether in a dance troupe, a corporation, or a community? When do you pull back and work as a team, and when to you have to stand up and make your voice heard?

Q:  In the book you shared some tidbits about the Rockettes, their schedules and rituals.  How much of what you wrote about it based on truth and can you recap for us, based on your research, what it was like to be a Rockette in the 50s?

A: All of the schedules and rituals in the book came straight from my interviews with former Rockettes. It was really tough! You showed up around ten in the morning, performed four shows late into the night, which involved doing around 600 kicks per day. If there was a new movie coming in, you had to rehearse and learn the number for that movie, and those rehearsals were squeezed in between the shows you were already doing. You worked for three or four weeks straight before you got a week off.

Q:  The founder of the Rockettes created a special sisterhood for these talented and independent women who were really just young girls – can you tell us about him?

A: Russell Markert founded the Rockettes in 1925 in St. Louis, and was the choreographer and director until he retired in 1971. He was very much loved by the dancers, a true father figure, and stepped in to help them (or reassure skittish parents) often. Because of Russell, they had a safe place to learn how to be in the world, making their own money and living independently. Every Rockette I interviewed spoke fondly of his kindness and fairness.

Q:  Peter is a stand up guy and makes some decisions he thinks are best for both himself and Marion.  (Spoiler Alert – most people will have read the book though) Had you always planned for them to reconnect in the end or did that happen later in the process?

A: I always knew they had to meet again at the end, as what they went through was too harrowing for the book not to have a happy ending. I wanted them to meet up and realize the mistakes they’d made – as well as the assumptions they’d made – when they were young, and be able to move forward.

Q:  I didn’t know anything about the NYC bomber until The Spectacular; how did you first learn about him?

A: As I was researching the 1950s, I came upon several articles that mentioned the Mad Bomber, who terrorized the city for 16 years, setting off 33 bombs in iconic landmarks and injuring 15 people, some of them seriously. It turns out the police used criminal profiling for the first time in order to catch him, and I thought it would be a fun way to bring a touch of the thriller genre into the book, something I hadn’t played around with before. I love finding a real-life anchor for each story, and the Mad Bomber one was surprising in many ways.

Q:  What have you read that you loved lately?

A: I’m devouring A Most Agreeable Murder, by Julia Seales. It’s a fun take on Regency romance, with a touch of Agatha Christie mixed in. I find I’m laughing out loud on every page, it’s an absolute treat.

Q:  What is the next project?  Will you ever stray from NYC?

A: I’m currently working on a book set at the Met Museum, which holds so many great possibilities as a location. I would love to go to London and set a book there, so you never know…

Q:  As a former actress I assume you go to theatre often – there are a lot of theatre buffs here who live close to NYC and would love to know what you recommend?

A: I love going to the theater – and I know you do, too! Recently, I’ve enjoyed Summer, 1976 and King James, both at Manhattan Theatre Club. I hope to see Here Lies Love once it hits Broadway as well. If you like to sing along, check out A Beautiful Noise, the Neil Diamond musical. Great choreography, great acting, and the songs take on a whole new resonance.