Just Jennifer

Astor Place Vintage by Stephanie Lehmann (Touchstone Books, June 2013)

Manhattan vintage clothing store owner, almost 40-year-old Amanda Rosenblum has gone to the home of 98-year-old Jane Kelly who is divesting herself of her possessions, including trunk loads of vintage clothing.  Sewn into a muff, Amanda finds a turn of the 20^th century journal written by Olive Westcott, who was raised by an upper-class widowed father who was killed shortly after he lost everything in the stock market leaving Olive to fend for herself as she faces many prejudices and challenges trying to become a self-supporting, independent woman as a department store buyer.  Olive’s story is interspersed with Amanda’s modern day life as Amanda faces the possible loss of her beloved East Village building, her reluctance to let her married lover Jeff go and the need to gain her own independence, both financially and emotionally.  As Amanda becomes immersed in Olive’s story, she begins to trace Olive’s history through Manhattan, combining Amanda’s love of history with her new fascination with Olive.  When Olive’s story takes a surprising turn, Amanda finds herself in a position to help not only her business, but her personal life if she can summon the courage from within.  A charming story filled with details from early 20^th century Manhattan, mingling them with the modern day city.