***Now available to pre-order: The Fugitive Colours, the highly anticipated follow-up to the sweeping historical thriller The Blue.‘Achingly believable’ – Publishers Weekly‘This fast-paced, engrossing novel from Bilyeau… gives readers an up-close and personal view of New York’s Gilded Age’ – Library Journal‘Beautifully written and impeccably researched, Dreamland is a rollicking ride.’ – Fiona … impeccably researched, Dreamland is a rollicking ride.’ – Fiona Davis, bestselling author of The Chelsea Girls ‘A marvelous book!’ – Ellen Marie Wiseman, bestselling author of What she Left Behind and The Life she was Given
‘Bilyeau is at the height of her talents in the immersive and gripping Dreamland’ – Heather Webb, USA Today bestselling author
‘Bilyeau’s thrilling novel plunges deep into Dreamland’s maze of pleasure and menace’ – Marlowe Benn, bestselling author of Relative Fortunes ‘Nancy Bilyeau’s passion for history infuses her books’ – Alison Weir
The year is 1911 when twenty-year-old heiress Peggy Batternberg is invited to spend the summer in America’s Playground.
The invitation to Coney Island is unwelcome. Despite hailing from one of America’s richest families, Peggy would much rather spend the summer working at the Moonrise Bookstore than keeping up appearances with New York City socialites and her snobbish, controlling family.
But soon it transpires that the hedonism of Coney Island affords Peggy the freedom she has been yearning for, and it’s not long before she finds herself in love with a troubled pier-side artist of humble means, whom the Batternberg patriarchs would surely disapprove of. Disapprove they may, but hidden behind their pomposity lurks a web of deceit, betrayal, and deadly secrets. And as bodies begin to mount up amidst the sweltering clamor of Coney Island, it seems the powerful Batternbergs can get away with anything… even murder.
Extravagant, intoxicating, and thumping with suspense, bestselling Nancy Bilyeau’s magnificent Dreamland is a story of corruption, class, and dangerous obsession.
What readers are saying about Dreamland…
”If you enjoyed Downton Abbey and want something from that time, set in the US, but with a delicious murder mystery thrown in, you will love this book.” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I loved everything about this book and I will definitely look for more to read by Bilyeau! I enjoyed the pacing and character development so much and completely got wrapped up in the story.” NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This suspenseful tale has every element of success: murder, deceit, love, corruption, perseverance, obsession, and redemption. A book that will keep you up at night rushing to the end but that will leave you wanting more once you’re finished.” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Nancy Bilyeau’s Dreamland is an irresistible story of a wealthy, determined young woman struggling to be independent in spite of her family’s expectations, all during the hot summer of 1911. It’s a book which sneaks up on you, between the opulent setting and Cony Island’s funky carnival atmosphere, suddenly you realize, you can’t put it down, nor can you wait for dinner to finish, so you can pick it back up again! I thoroughly enjoyed it. A perfect summer’s read.
Wonderfully written and researched. Those bygone days revealed so much corruption and sleaze. Just the type of novel I love to read and in my favorite era. A detailed look into two different worlds, but yet so similar in many ways. Loved it!
How delicious to be drawn into the world of New York City and Coney Island in the year 1911, in a time of great constraint for women, where we are decidedly in the world of the Haves surrounded by the constantly-working Have Nots. Dreamland was an easy read, with murder and romance, and a determined heroine. I enjoyed escaping to its pages on a daily basis. I will read this author again.
Bilyeau is at the height of her talents in the immersive and gripping Dreamland.
Set in 1911, this mystery features a compelling protagonist, 20-year old Peggy Battenberg. She is the eldest daughter of “the richest man in America,” but chafes against the limits imposed by her family and social convention as she is drawn to bohemian characters. She ends up hunting a serial killer while romancing the chief subject. Much of the action takes place in a historically accurate Coney Island and the amusement park of the title. Peggy is a complex, relatable character, headstrong in her clashes with period expectations of women and class.
What Nancy Bilyeau does best is weave terrifically evocative and realistic historical settings into well thought out and gripping mysteries—and she does that in spades with Dreamland. I loved the characters, I was guessing until the end exactly what was going on, and I felt as if I was there, in Coney Island in 1911. A fabulous read. Nancy Bilyeau
Dreamland is an amazing Historical Fiction novel set in New York. Peggy is a twenty-year-old heiress from one of the richest families in America – the Batternbergs. It is the summer of 1911 and Peggy was ordered by her family to vacation in the luxurious beach front Oriental Hotel for a few weeks to accompany her mother and sister. Peggy would much rather work at the Moonrise Bookstore, but as an heiress, a woman of her stature would not even think of working for a living. That was quickly put to end by her controlling family to keep up with appearances among the city’s socialites. Peggy finds more than what she bargained for and gets mixed up with a young migrant, family secrets, and murders.
I loved Bilyeau’s well researched historical fiction writing that transported me right to that amazing time and place. I find it so fascinating on how people vacationed in those days where a hotel stay lasted for a few weeks or the entire summer. I loved how the details of that time were highlighted along with the race, social and class divides, discrimination, and power. This was a delight to read with wonderful characters that I loved and loved to hate. The suspenseful murder mystery component made this read a real page turner for me.
Beautifully written and impeccably researched, Dreamland is a rollicking ride.
Aside from a few historical inaccuracies (the biggest being that Dreamland burned down in May of 1911 but this story takes place months after that) I was drawn into the vivid time period and this wonderful place. The descriptions were lovely and the murder mystery was engaging. The young, unmarried Peggy Batternberg lives life according to her own wants and desires, despite the pressures of her prominent family and society expectations. These are always the best heroines. Peggy falls for a Serbian artist named Stefan who soon becomes the prime suspect for a string of murders that plague the boardwalk hotel area. She searches for the real killer to free her new love in a well-paced mystery. I enjoyed the book and the characters and would read more about them if they returned. Maybe it was the time period or the setting, but I was swept into the story with sadness when it ended.
I just returned from a fun-filled time in New York City during 1911 on the Coney Island playground; but oh my, was it a ride! The book, “Dreamland” was a lengthy read for me as it had a slow build to the main story-line. I did enjoy that the story started out in a bookstore, then an exciting of surprise grabbed me; exploding into a gripping book of mystery and suspense.
Peggy, an American Heiress, is loving her life working in the Moonrise Bookstore; where no one knows her background. But, things take an interesting turn when she is “collected” by her controlling family to join them for the summer in New York City. Peggy’s journey will keep you gripping the pages to see how she handles the stickiest situations.
This is my first book by Nancy Bilyea, and she certainly has caught my attention. The book shows Nancy did her research when writing “Dreamland.” I recommend this book to those wanting to go away to “a city on the water” or wanting to “hear the sounds of piano and horns and flutes…as if a lid has been opened on a giant’s music box.”
~This book was given to me through a giveaway by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.~
In its heyday, Coney Island must have been an unbelievable experience. This story takes us to pre-WWI Brooklyn—1911 to be exact—where three grand hotels sit uncomfortably at the far end of the Island, trying to maintain their formal lifestyle while the lively and brassy amusement park intrudes on both eyes and ears. There’s no getting away from the riff-raff, but at the same time there’s no doubt that some of the more unconventional aristocrats are drawn by the excitement and stimulation of this newfangled attraction. How can our intrepid heroine resist? Speaking of unconventional: our protagonist, the free-spirited Peggy, is heiress to a fortune while her remaining family (her father is dead) is definitely on the decline. She wants none of their lifestyle but is browbeat into spending the summer at one of the grand hotels with the whole clan—cousins and all—courtesy of a wealthy man who is expected to marry her sister. This anticipated union will make the fortune of her beleaguered family. The only problem is that the prospective bridegroom happens to be a former boyfriend who rejected her in a most humiliating manner, and she wants nothing further to do with him. What a mess!
Nonetheless, Peggy goes along but soon regrets her participation in this horrendous family reunion. True to form, after an argument she charges off on her own into Dreamland, one of the three self-enclosed amusement parks of Coney Island. There she meets a fascinating Serbian artist named Stefan and—lo and behold—falls for him the very first night. Of course, he is of a different class socially and there’s no way she can introduce him to her family. But that’s not the worst of her problems. Trouble stalks them as three different women are murdered in suspiciously compromising circumstances, and the police immediately suspect her new friend, arresting him at the first opportunity. After all, weren’t Serbs all anarchists? It seems that Peggy was the only one convinced enough of Stefan’s innocence to follow up on other possibilities—alone. She took a lot of chances and put herself into many dangerous situations. I have to say, to me she acted more like a late 20th century woman than an early 20th century woman. But who knows how much an heiress can get away with? The murder mystery was not too difficult to figure out, but it didn’t really matter. Dreamland was the star of the book and our players the supporting cast. It was fun to visit and spend some time there.
A thinly-veiled story of Peggy Guggenheim. Great atmosphere and conflict of the classes in in early 20th century New York. A fun read.
For those who enjoy a richly detailed story that deeply dives into interpersonal relationships, you will likely enjoy this story. Although there are multiple murders in this story, the mystery part is deeply woven into the story where the reader is flirting around the edges until a vortex forms and pulls you into the core of the matter.
Loved the book. Writer makes the setting real to the reader. Characters are well described. Love, mystery and intrigue.
The Battenbergs are old money New Yorkers in 1911 when this story takes place. A life of privilege and entitlement defines them. Except for Peggy, who just doesn’t fit in. She is working in an independent bookstore called Moonrise until her Uncle David yanks her back into her family’s world. Throughout the book, the contrast between the super rich and the poor is obvious, but most of the wealthy characters are blind to all but their own pleasures. It is this blindness that leads to murder, attempted murder and betrayal. Oddly this book didn’t become a murder mystery until almost three quarters of the way through, which makes it unique and infinitely more interesting. Add in the generational changes and attitudes of Peggy and her cousins, and the book takes on a depth of meaning.
I realized when I finished this book that I had read another of my favorites this year by the same author, She does a great job of blending a seemingly small piece of history and puts it in a larger historical context and imbues it with great characters and period details within a compelling plotline.
Very entertaining.
In her historical novel, Dreamland, author Nancy Bilyeau artfully immerses the reader in a world of glamour, glitz, mystery, and murder. Set against the backdrop of Coney Island in 1911, Dreamland holds a magnifying glass to the lives of the wealthy, and the gaping chasm between the privileged class and the poor. Rich in historical detail, the novel is populated by beautifully drawn— sometimes flawed characters. With its page-turning doses of romance, intrigue, family secrets, prejudice, and redemption, Dreamland is an exciting read.
Easy to read Victorian time period murder mystery . Interesting developed characters and there is romance, but without being sappy. Well written and have included other books by this author in my reading queues.
This was a very good book set during WWII in a circus. Very interesting, entertaining and informative