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The Ghost of Madison Avenue
A Christmas Novella in Old New York
In this compelling and poignant story, bestselling author Nancy Bilyeau takes readers to New York City’s Morgan Library in December 1912, when two very different people haunted by lost love come together in an unexpected way.
Helen O’Neill, part of a tight-knit Irish-American family in the Bronx, is only too happy to report to work at the spectacular private library built on Madison Avenue by millionaire financier J. P. Morgan. The head librarian, the brilliant and beautiful Belle da Costa Greene, had hired Helen away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art after she witnessed Helen’s unusual talent with handling artifacts.
Helen soon discovers the Morgan Library is a place like no other, with its secret staircases, magical manuscripts, and mysterious murals. But that’s nothing compared to a person Helen alone sees: a young woman standing on Madison Avenue, looking as if she were keeping watch. In learning the woman’s true link to the Morgan, Helen must face the pain of her own past. She finds herself with a second chance at happiness that could only happen on Christmas Eve—if she has the courage.
In this compelling and poignant story, bestselling author Nancy Bilyeau takes readers to New York City’s Morgan Library in December 1912, when two very different people haunted by lost love come together in an unexpected way.
Helen O’Neill, part of a tight-knit Irish-American family in the Bronx, is only too happy to report to work at the spectacular private library built on Madison Avenue by millionaire financier J. P. Morgan. The head librarian, the brilliant and beautiful Belle da Costa Greene, had hired Helen away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art after she witnessed Helen’s unusual talent with handling artifacts.
Helen soon discovers the Morgan Library is a place like no other, with its secret staircases, magical manuscripts, and mysterious murals. But that’s nothing compared to a person Helen alone sees: a young woman standing on Madison Avenue, looking as if she were keeping watch. In learning the woman’s true link to the Morgan, Helen must face the pain of her own past. She finds herself with a second chance at happiness that could only happen on Christmas Eve—if she has the courage.
108 pages, ebook
First published December 11, 2019
214 people are currently reading
559 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Bilyeau
13 books923 followersNancy Bilyeau loves crafting immersive historical stories, whether it's Jazz Age New York City in "The Orchid Hour," the 18th-century Gothic manors, salons, and porcelain workshops in "The Versailles Formula," or Henry VIII's tumultuous England in "The Crown."
Her new novel is "The Heiress of Northanger Abbey," a sequel to the Jane Austen classic.
A magazine editor who has worked on the staffs of "Rolling Stone," "Good Housekeeping," and "Entertainment Weekly," Nancy draws on her journalism experience to research her books.
For her Genevieve Planche novels--"The Blue", "The Fugitive Colours", and "The Versailles Formula"--she also draws on her heritage to create a Huguenot heroine. Nancy is a descendant of Pierre Billiou, a French Huguenot who immigrated to what was then New Amsterdam (later New York City) in 1661. Pierre's stone house still stands and is the third oldest house in New York State.
Nancy lives with her family in upstate New York and enjoys reading, gardening, cooking, and touring historic houses in the Hudson Valley.
Visit Nancy's website at www.nancybilyeau.com
Her new novel is "The Heiress of Northanger Abbey," a sequel to the Jane Austen classic.
A magazine editor who has worked on the staffs of "Rolling Stone," "Good Housekeeping," and "Entertainment Weekly," Nancy draws on her journalism experience to research her books.
For her Genevieve Planche novels--"The Blue", "The Fugitive Colours", and "The Versailles Formula"--she also draws on her heritage to create a Huguenot heroine. Nancy is a descendant of Pierre Billiou, a French Huguenot who immigrated to what was then New Amsterdam (later New York City) in 1661. Pierre's stone house still stands and is the third oldest house in New York State.
Nancy lives with her family in upstate New York and enjoys reading, gardening, cooking, and touring historic houses in the Hudson Valley.
Visit Nancy's website at www.nancybilyeau.com
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December 14, 2024A Ghost Story Touching the Heart
I really enjoyed writing an eerie story, and with my longtime love of ghost stories like The Turn of the Screw and of course A Christmas Carol, it was pure pleasure to take a turn at this. I also adore the Morgan Museum and writing about this beautiful and in some ways mysterious place was also a delight. All the research for this book was fun! But for a novella I didn't expect to dive this deep into the main character, Helen O'Neill, and her family, the Connollys, living in an Irish neighborhood in the Bronx in 1912. I got to know Helen and feel for her situation: always feeling like an outsider even within a loving family and losing the one person who accepted her just the way she is, her husband, the "Belfast Boy" Sean O'Neill. I can get emotional when i write but I don't cry, my novels aren't what you'd call weepers. This is the first time I did shed a tear when I wrote an ending for a book.
I really enjoyed writing an eerie story, and with my longtime love of ghost stories like The Turn of the Screw and of course A Christmas Carol, it was pure pleasure to take a turn at this. I also adore the Morgan Museum and writing about this beautiful and in some ways mysterious place was also a delight. All the research for this book was fun! But for a novella I didn't expect to dive this deep into the main character, Helen O'Neill, and her family, the Connollys, living in an Irish neighborhood in the Bronx in 1912. I got to know Helen and feel for her situation: always feeling like an outsider even within a loving family and losing the one person who accepted her just the way she is, her husband, the "Belfast Boy" Sean O'Neill. I can get emotional when i write but I don't cry, my novels aren't what you'd call weepers. This is the first time I did shed a tear when I wrote an ending for a book.
December 11, 2019
What I think is most interesting about this book is that it's about a family, an Irish Amercan family living in the Bronx in 1912 when the Irish were a dominant group in NYC, and all the details are real. It feels like fully developed people in a 100 page book. The descriptions of the Morgan Library are excellent, coming from someone who has been there. The mystery around JP Morgan is very intriguing. But it's the characters of the Connolly family that make this story memorable. The marriage of the main character, Helen, and why she was mourning her Belfast-born husband all these years later, was real.
July 1, 2020
This is a fun novella set in the very early years of 1900 in New York City. Helen works for JP Morgan in his famous library and she has some paranormal abilities which slowly come to light.
I'm sure a whole novel could've been written around this idea, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. It made me tear up at the end, and does have a happy ending.
I'm sure a whole novel could've been written around this idea, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. It made me tear up at the end, and does have a happy ending.
December 14, 2019
Nancy Bilyeau has created a small gem of a Christmas ghost story that can be devoured in one sitting. In 1912, Helen, a grieving widow with uncanny gifts, lands the seemingly perfect job of conserving treasures at the Morgan Library. Yet, her time there fills her with unexplained dread that makes her wonder what’s going on beneath the surface. What awaits her is a transformative brush with the supernatural in the time-honored tradition of A Christmas Carol.
December 13, 2019
Interesting history and enjoyed the characters
December 20, 2019
A nice holiday book. Interesting story involving JP Morgan and his library set at Christmastime, 1912., with a little mystery and a touch of the supernatural.
April 4, 2020
A charming novella from the Gilded Age, NYC featuring a young Irish widow with a gift who ends up working in the very special library set up by J P Morgan.
Christmas theme.
Kindle Unlimited
Christmas theme.
Kindle Unlimited
December 11, 2019
Can’t wait to to read this!!
December 24, 2019
I don't usually read fantasy or ghost stories, but how could I resist something from Nancy Bilyeau written just for this season? This one is sure to be a winner for lovers of this genre, and you can find out why through my review here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2019/12/2...
December 17, 2019
It is 1912 in New York City, and the young widow Helen O'Neill takes the train every morning from her apartment in the Bronx where she lives with her siblings to her work as an antique manuscript expert in the gorgeous library of J.P. Morgan. Unusually gifted, she keeps her grief of the loss of her husband hidden. One day she leaves the library and sees a beautiful young woman standing in only a light dress in the falling snow....and shortly after, comes to realize that the crusty old Morgan also has a painful secret. The only problem is that no one else can see the pale girl....an enchanting story of the newly rising immigrants and the wealthy of old New York which you can read as quickly as you'd watch a film of The Christmas Carol and will also leave you feeling lovely. Has the author reinvented the much adored annual Christmas novella? Curl up for an hour or so with a cup of something lovely and read The Ghost of Madison Avenue this season.
December 16, 2019
A ghost story that touches the heart—that’s precisely what author Nancy Bilyeau has given us with this compelling novella! Helen O’Neill is a wonderful character, a widow still grieving for the husband she lost many years earlier, with talented hands that land her in the sumptuous library of J.P. Morgan. When she encounters an ethereal young woman on the streets of NY, it opens her mind and her heart to the impossible. I loved the family in this book, Helen’s brothers and sisters, as well as her niece Rose who is excited for Christmas. The author packs a lot of emotion, history, and a riveting story in a mere hundred pages! The setting of December 1912 in the heart of NYC gives the book a special ambience—somehow dark but beautiful at the same time.
October 13, 2022
I really loved this story. It is so well written and just a pleasure to read. My book club likes to read a Christmas book in December so I picked up this novella. What a wonderful find! I loved the story, set in the Gilded Age in NYC, with its mixture of history and the otherworld. Once I started to read it, I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this novella.
December 14, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this latest from Nancy Bilyeau. The novella really captures the beauty of the Morgan, which I’ve been to on numerous occasions. I totally got engrossed and read this in one sitting, wanting to know the mystery of the ghost, almost as much as the protagonist Helen. It’s great to also see real people like JP Morgan portrayed. There are a lot of interesting references to and visuals of great art, and Madison Avenue of 1912 really comes alive. It’s not like the Madison Avenue of 2019 where I get my hair cut! Such a fun read! Highly recommended.
December 22, 2019
This is one of those little gems that I come across once in a while. It was such an enjoyable read that just pulled me along. I like to read ghost stories (not gory, scary ones!) as well as mysteries and this one was a bit of both. I liked everything about this book -- the characters, the story, the locale and, of course, the ghosts. Very satisfying ending. I plan to pick up her next book (Dreamland) in January. I am sure I will enjoy it.
January 10, 2020
As a fan of Nancy Bilyeau's previous works, as a New Yorker, and as an admirer of the Morgan Museum, this story pushed all my buttons. I was still smiling after I read the last page.
December 17, 2019
ginger@thebeach
An enjoyable ghost story for Christmas (or any time of year) which takes place at the turn of the century, known as the Gilded Age. A short novella that can be read in one sitting. If this is your first Nancy Bilyeau book, it won't be your last. Her books are well written, well researched and take the reader to a different time. I've enjoyed all of them and highly recommend them.
An enjoyable ghost story for Christmas (or any time of year) which takes place at the turn of the century, known as the Gilded Age. A short novella that can be read in one sitting. If this is your first Nancy Bilyeau book, it won't be your last. Her books are well written, well researched and take the reader to a different time. I've enjoyed all of them and highly recommend them.
December 29, 2020
This was exactly the page turning quick read I wanted for the holidays. The Ghost of Madison Avenue is a holiday ghost story set in the early 1900s. The lead Helen gets a job at the renowned library of JP Morgan. In her December travels to and from work along Madison Ave, she comes in contact with a young woman not dressed for the seasons who (it seems) only she can see.
I really liked how this little novella became more than a ghost story. It's about family, loss, history, art, and an ode to old New York. Having lived in NYC for a few years, I definitely felt some nostalgia feels reading about the hustle and bustle and lights around Christmas ❤
I went with three stars because I was left wanting a bit more by the end. I wanted to see Helen's next meeting with Mr Morgan, or whether her situation at the end of the novella continues, or more with her and the family - especially Sister Bernadette. I did really enjoy this, but the ending felt abrupt. Maybe I just didn't want it to end!
I really liked how this little novella became more than a ghost story. It's about family, loss, history, art, and an ode to old New York. Having lived in NYC for a few years, I definitely felt some nostalgia feels reading about the hustle and bustle and lights around Christmas ❤
I went with three stars because I was left wanting a bit more by the end. I wanted to see Helen's next meeting with Mr Morgan, or whether her situation at the end of the novella continues, or more with her and the family - especially Sister Bernadette. I did really enjoy this, but the ending felt abrupt. Maybe I just didn't want it to end!
January 24, 2020
This is a beautifully written Christmas ghost story, in the tradition of A Christmas Carol, set in 1912 New York, by Nancy Bilyeau, author of The Blue and Dreamland. Helen O'Neill, a widow in her thirties living with her Irish American family, the Connollys, in the Bronx, works as an art restorer at J.P. Morgan's library. Belle da Costa Greene, the librarian (an amazing woman in real life), hires her away from the Metropolitan Museum because of her incredible gift with her hands. Helen is a deeply lonely woman, and hides her grief from her family.
While walking outside the library on Madison Avenue, Helen sees a young women in old-fashioned clothes, much too light for the New York winter. But the girl vanishes whenever Helen tries to approach her. Only one other person besides Helen can see her: J.P. Morgan himself. Helen begins to believe the girl is a ghost. But why does she appear only to Helen and Morgan? Her search for the answer could cost Helen her job.
The Ghost of Madison Avenue is a beautiful story, and deeply moving. I felt Helen's emotions as I was reading it. Bilyeau brings old New York to life and makes you feel as if you're there. I especially enjoyed the setting in the Morgan Library, because I love that place. I try to go there whenever I visit New York. This is a novella, which can be read in one sitting. I wish we could spend more time with these characters.
While walking outside the library on Madison Avenue, Helen sees a young women in old-fashioned clothes, much too light for the New York winter. But the girl vanishes whenever Helen tries to approach her. Only one other person besides Helen can see her: J.P. Morgan himself. Helen begins to believe the girl is a ghost. But why does she appear only to Helen and Morgan? Her search for the answer could cost Helen her job.
The Ghost of Madison Avenue is a beautiful story, and deeply moving. I felt Helen's emotions as I was reading it. Bilyeau brings old New York to life and makes you feel as if you're there. I especially enjoyed the setting in the Morgan Library, because I love that place. I try to go there whenever I visit New York. This is a novella, which can be read in one sitting. I wish we could spend more time with these characters.
December 15, 2019
A very interesting story that opened my mind to another time
I thought I was going to read this book in one sitting and be done with it. But it didn’t work out that way, and I am thrilled about that! Almost from the first few pages I started seeking more info about the historical characters, the location, the current museum, the history of the library, the people involved directly and indirectly etc. Starting with the amazing true lives of Richard Greener and his daughter Belle Da Costa Greene (their accomplishments are unbelievable. True pioneers of their time!), J.P. Morgan, Amelia Sturges, the artwork of Harry Siddons Mowbray... I read articles, checked Wikipedia (my reading buddy) about a million times, searched for real photographs of these people, paintings and places.
The best feature of reading an ebook is that all the other info is right there... waiting to be accessed. So I was reading a few pages and looking for info about a particular street address, a building, a person, ....
The book itself was totally fun, intriguing and SATISFYING! And it opened a new world for me. I want to know more about the timeline, the history.
I thought I was going to read this book in one sitting and be done with it. But it didn’t work out that way, and I am thrilled about that! Almost from the first few pages I started seeking more info about the historical characters, the location, the current museum, the history of the library, the people involved directly and indirectly etc. Starting with the amazing true lives of Richard Greener and his daughter Belle Da Costa Greene (their accomplishments are unbelievable. True pioneers of their time!), J.P. Morgan, Amelia Sturges, the artwork of Harry Siddons Mowbray... I read articles, checked Wikipedia (my reading buddy) about a million times, searched for real photographs of these people, paintings and places.
The best feature of reading an ebook is that all the other info is right there... waiting to be accessed. So I was reading a few pages and looking for info about a particular street address, a building, a person, ....
The book itself was totally fun, intriguing and SATISFYING! And it opened a new world for me. I want to know more about the timeline, the history.
April 29, 2020
First things first. When I finally get my bearings in NYC, I plan on purchasing the city pass so I can haunt the Morgan Library myself. JP Morgan, you lucky old schmuck. What a dreamy library you have! OK. I was interested in the historical details of Morgan's library but this novella doesn't dig very deep. Bella da Costa Greene, Morgan's librarian, has a minor role, which is unfortunate. The stories she could tell! Literally. And, honestly...I was much more interested in Belle than I was in Bilyeau's main character, Helen. She was bland. Vanilla. I'm not being mean. That's how she's written.
Helen is less than average but possesses extraordinary talent. Her mother referred to her as aes sidhe, an old Irish term for supernatural, as in fae coexisting with the human world. Basically, she's got the magic touch. She's damn good with her hands. Somehow this aes sidhe mythology is tied to the spirit world. Helen isn't so blah after all. I guess.
Thing is, I still found her boring. Helen was rather weird and unlikable. Borderline creepy. I liked portions of the story though. Just not enough.
Helen is less than average but possesses extraordinary talent. Her mother referred to her as aes sidhe, an old Irish term for supernatural, as in fae coexisting with the human world. Basically, she's got the magic touch. She's damn good with her hands. Somehow this aes sidhe mythology is tied to the spirit world. Helen isn't so blah after all. I guess.
Thing is, I still found her boring. Helen was rather weird and unlikable. Borderline creepy. I liked portions of the story though. Just not enough.
December 29, 2019
Helen O'Neill has a gift, a lightness and quickness about her hands that seems otherworldly--a great contrast to the heaviness in her heart over her lost husband. When her talent for restoring artifacts is observed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Helen is whisked away to work at J.P. Morgan's personal library. The ornate building with its precious manuscripts is awe-inspiring, but even more jaw-dropping is the mysterious young woman who keeps appearing on Madison Avenue outside. Wearing an old-fashioned gown in the dead of winter, the girl seems invisible to everyone besides Helen. Who could she be? What connection does she have to J.P. Morgan? And what exactly is she wanting to communicate to Helen?
This Christmas novella is technically a ghost story, but it's no more in the vein of "horror" than Dickens' Christmas Carol. Richly atmospheric, the story displays middle-aged Helen, with all her past sorrows and present concerns, in the bustling world of 1912 New York. This is the perfect novella for a short and satisfying holiday read.
This Christmas novella is technically a ghost story, but it's no more in the vein of "horror" than Dickens' Christmas Carol. Richly atmospheric, the story displays middle-aged Helen, with all her past sorrows and present concerns, in the bustling world of 1912 New York. This is the perfect novella for a short and satisfying holiday read.
December 31, 2019
A Perfect Story for the Holiday Season
Once again Nancy Bilyeau brings characters alive who give us a peek into history, this time taking us back to Christmas 1912 New York, through the eyes of Helen O'Neill. Helen, a young widow with an unusual gift, ends up working in JP Morgan's private library, a world away from her Irish roots. Unexpectedly, Helen discovers she and Morgan himself share a bond of help from the unseen world in transforming their individual grief for partners lost. Filled with rich imagery surrounding the world of privilege against the emotional challenges and complexities of a close-knit Irish immigrant family, The Ghost of Madison Avenue is a wonderful read that warms the heart, this holiday season and any other time of the year.
Once again Nancy Bilyeau brings characters alive who give us a peek into history, this time taking us back to Christmas 1912 New York, through the eyes of Helen O'Neill. Helen, a young widow with an unusual gift, ends up working in JP Morgan's private library, a world away from her Irish roots. Unexpectedly, Helen discovers she and Morgan himself share a bond of help from the unseen world in transforming their individual grief for partners lost. Filled with rich imagery surrounding the world of privilege against the emotional challenges and complexities of a close-knit Irish immigrant family, The Ghost of Madison Avenue is a wonderful read that warms the heart, this holiday season and any other time of the year.
December 15, 2019
FICTION, MYSTERY
Helen O'Neill, a young Irish American widow living with her family in the Bronx has been offered the job of a lifetime. Stolen away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to work at J.P. Morgan's private library, for her skilled hands, in "reading" what restorations are needed on artifacts. But with her Irish background the child Helen received hints from her mother that she had a gift - from the faeries - to hide it so that she was never exploited. The story occurs at Christmas time in the early 1900's and feels very Dickensian in it's telling. Well developed novella, that I couldn't put down!! Christianity and Paganism collide in a story of love and self acceptance.
Helen O'Neill, a young Irish American widow living with her family in the Bronx has been offered the job of a lifetime. Stolen away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to work at J.P. Morgan's private library, for her skilled hands, in "reading" what restorations are needed on artifacts. But with her Irish background the child Helen received hints from her mother that she had a gift - from the faeries - to hide it so that she was never exploited. The story occurs at Christmas time in the early 1900's and feels very Dickensian in it's telling. Well developed novella, that I couldn't put down!! Christianity and Paganism collide in a story of love and self acceptance.
January 4, 2020
I read Nancy Bilyeau's Joanna Stafford trilogy a few years ago and enjoyed it so much I anticipated enjoying this novella. I was not disappointed. The world-buildng of 1912 Manhattan, its trains, its neighborhoods, the then newly-opening Morgan Library--marvelously done. Characters are complex and very real: Helen, the protagonist, compares herself less than favorably to Bella, so endearingly. The widowed Helena could be an extraordinary woman, but is instead told to hide what could make her extraordinary. That very quality forms a centerpiece of the plot.
The entire story was so intriguing that I kept turning pages to the end.
Ms Bilyeau makes wonderful use of her research and her crafting of setting and place. One can not only smell the Connolly family dinners, but taste them as well. One can hear a bit of Irish old-country lilt in the voices.
This is a wonderful story about family, loss, waking up each day after, and more than one kind of "What If?"
If you think you know "ghost stories" you may be richly rewarded to find a new twist on that theme.
Highly more than greatly recommended.
The entire story was so intriguing that I kept turning pages to the end.
Ms Bilyeau makes wonderful use of her research and her crafting of setting and place. One can not only smell the Connolly family dinners, but taste them as well. One can hear a bit of Irish old-country lilt in the voices.
This is a wonderful story about family, loss, waking up each day after, and more than one kind of "What If?"
If you think you know "ghost stories" you may be richly rewarded to find a new twist on that theme.
Highly more than greatly recommended.
January 14, 2020
Nancy Bilyeau’s novella, The Ghost of Madison Ave, is delightful story which takes place in the Morgan library in New York City at the turn of the century. Historically fascinating and meticulously researched, the book tells the story of a young woman working in the private library of J.P. Morgan. Although I read it in one sitting, the story has stayed with me and I found myself going back to read passages. There is fascinating content not not only the library but living in New York City in the 1900s as a woman.
January 13, 2020
Really liked the Gilded Age/ Morgan Library setting. Wish this had been a longer story in the telling, because there were a lot of moving parts. I would have liked to linger on the events of the later part of the story, though the flashback format does a good job of creating the suspenseful mood right away.
March 29, 2020
This was a fabulous ghost story that had my full attention from the very start. I couldn't put it down as I tried to unravel the mystery of what Helen had seen. I loved the conclusion and found the author's note at the end of the book to be very informative. I'm already looking forward to Bilyeau's next book.
December 26, 2019
The Christmas Ghost
I thought this was such a great novella. I loved the characters and plot of the story. Once I got started it was hard to put down. Reading the author's note it was interesting to read that Helen's employer J.P. Morgan was a real person. Now I want to learn more about him.
I thought this was such a great novella. I loved the characters and plot of the story. Once I got started it was hard to put down. Reading the author's note it was interesting to read that Helen's employer J.P. Morgan was a real person. Now I want to learn more about him.
December 29, 2019
Absolutely loved following Helen O’Neill's story while she worked at JP Morgan's library . I found myself going back and forth to see what the area looks like now versus how it was in 1912. What a wonderful journey. I'm excited to begin The Blue and Dreamland. I've also enjoyed the Joanna Stafford trilogy as well.
March 19, 2020
The setting is 1912 New York City, the main historical character J.P. Morgan. The main character (fictional) is a woman with strange powers, desperately masquerading as ordinary. I heard about this freebie on a mystery list, but it isn't a mystery, it's a novella about grief and mourning.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews