Rare Objects - Softcover

A captivating new work of historical fiction from the New York Times bestselling author of The Perfume Collector, in which two unlikely friends meet in desperate circumstances, bound by a shared secret...

Boston, 1932—Maeve Fanning is a first-generation Irish immigrant, born and raised among the poor families of Boston’s North End. Clever, capable and as headstrong as her red hair suggests, she’s determined to better herself despite the overwhelming hardships of the Great Depression. However, Maeve also has a dangerous fondness for strange men and bootleg gin—a rebellious appetite for experience that finds her spiralling downward. Soon Maeve becomes an unwilling patient in a remote psychiatric hospital, where she strikes up a friendship with an enigmatic young woman.

Once out, armed with a bottle of bleach and a few white lies, Maeve finally lands a job at an eccentric antiques shop catering to Boston’s wealthiest and most peculiar collectors. The shop is a haven of the obscure and incredible, providing unique access into the world of America’s social elite. While delivering a purchase to the wealthy Van der Laar family, Maeve is introduced to beautiful socialite Diana Van der Laar—only to discover she’s the same young woman from the hospital.

Reunited with the charming but increasingly unstable Diana and pursued by her attractive brother James, Maeve becomes more and more entwined with the Van der Laar family—a connection that pulls her deep into a world of moral ambiguity, deceit and, ultimately, betrayal. Bewitched by their wealth and desperate to leave her past behind, Maeve is forced to unearth her true values and discover just how far she’s willing to go to reinvent herself.

A rich, universal story of ambition, transformation, desire and betrayal, Rare Objects is acclaimed writer Kathleen Tessaro’s finest work to date.

Maeve Fanning, who was raised in Boston’s North End by her widowed Irish mother, is determined to better herself despite the hardships of the Great Depression. However, she also has a dangerous fondness for strange men and bootleg gin—and a rebellious appetite for experience that leads to a downward spiral in New York City, including an involuntary admission to a remote psychiatric hospital upstate.

Upon her release, Maeve returns to Boston and lands a job at an antiques shop catering to the city’s wealthiest and most peculiar collectors. Run by an elusive English archeologist, the shop is a haven for the obscure and incredible, supplying one-of-a-kind artifacts to its customers while providing Maeve with unique access to New England’s social elite. While delivering a purchase to a wealthy family, Maeve is introduced to beautiful and charming socialite Diana Van der Laar—and recognizes her from the hospital.

Reunited with the increasingly unstable Diana and pursued by Diana’s brother James, Maeve becomes more entwined with the Van der Laar family. Bewitched by the family’s wealth and power, and desperate to leave her own past behind, Maeve is forced to confront just how far she’s willing to go to reinvent herself.