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It’s the summer of 1911, and Peggy Batternberg belongs to one of the richest families in America. Her uncle informs her that she will be spending the summer with her mother, sister and brother at the Oriental Hotel near Coney Island. She would much rather continue working during the summer at her job at a bookstore, which she was lucky her family allowed her to do, but she can’t really refuse her uncle’s requests. Plus, her younger sister is engaged to a man from another very wealthy family and her future is riding on this summer, so Peggy goes along with the plan.
Peggy yearns for freedom and the ability to choose the kind of life she’d like, but she must spend her days playing her role of wealthy socialite, eating fine food and being attended on by those in the lower classes. At night, however, she manages to slip away to the working-man’s playground of Coney Island. She meets an artist whose work catches her attention but who is an immigrant with little to his name, and as they manage to sneak away to spend time together, she falls for him. But both get caught up in the murders that are happening right on the beach. Because of her history with both her sister’s fiancé and her cousin, Peggy is nervous about what each may be involved with or guilty of — but the incredibly rich can get away with anything.
Dreamland is a mystery, an exploration of class, and a period piece that immerses readers in the bygone days of New York City. It was fun to explore through Peggy’s eyes the attractions of Coney Island and almost smell and taste the foods sold there, and it was fascinating to contrast the luxurious lives of the rich (even while realizing today most of us have it better in some respects during heat waves because even the rich then didn’t have air conditioning and had to sweat it out with everyone else) with the lives of average workers. The book is excellent historical fiction, and it’s a satisfying mystery as well. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Rated: Mild. Language includes occasional instances of mild profanity. Sexual content includes some kissing scenes and one where it goes a bit further than kissing; some references to murder victims having been raped; references to men having mistresses. Violence includes murders but few details; a man having been beaten up by police; some peril.
* I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
