The Gallery

Description

It's 1929, and twelve-year-old Martha's troublemaking ways have gotten her kicked out of school. She has no choice but to join her mother and work in the kitchen for the wealthy Sewell family. Everyone says that heiress Rose Sewell is crazy, and Martha agrees - until she realises that Rose, an eccentric who refuses to leave her room, may be trying to communicate with the outside world through the paintings she sends down to the main floor of the house. If Martha's right, then Rose isn't a hermit - she's being kept prisoner in her own home. But by whom...and why? In a household filled with secrets, the answers are not always clear, and no one is quite who they say. It's up to Martha to figure out the truth in order to save Rose, her family - and herself.

Laura Marx Fitzgerald studied art history at Harvard and Cambridge Universities. Her first book for young readers, Under the Egg, won the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association's Middle Grade Book of the Year award. Laura lives in Montclair, New Jersey.

Praise for The Gallery * "This lively and inventive mystery successfully incorporates history, art, and literary classics...readers will certainly be swept up by Martha's pluck and the mystery's many layers."-Booklist, starred review "A solid, fast-moving mystery for historical fiction fans, with nods to art history and mythology."-School Library Journal "Offer this to fans of Blue Balliett who like sophisticated adventures."-Publishers Weekly "Fitzgerald's interest in art and history inform this puzzle of a novel, with Jane Eyre, Sacco and Vanzetti, the dying art of vaudeville, chemistry, and the 1929 stock market crashes all playing roles."-The Horn Book "A rollicking 1920s madcap mystery....Fitzgerald has neatly developed Martha as a perfectly period-appropriate spunky-girl protagonist readers will root for." -Kirkus Reviews "Young teens will enjoy [Martha's] impertinence and determination, and may not even notice that they are learning a little bit about the Sacco and Vanzetti trial and the 1928 presidential election, as well as the stock market crash of 1929." -VOYA Praise for Under the Egg: Under the Egg is the winner of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Best Middle Grade Book of the Year award! "It's really a very compelling read and I don't know how she did it."-Kate DiCamillo on NPR * "A riveting narrative."-Booklist, starred review * "Fans of Konigsburg's From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and Balliett's Chasing Vermeer will thrill at the chance to solve a new mystery centered around art."-Library Media Connection, starred review "Laura Marx Fitzgerald creates the perfect adventure...any girl will love this book."-Girls Life "Uniquely readable, entirely charming, and a pleasure from start to finish. Debuts this good are meant to be discovered."-School Library Journal Fuse 8 Blog "Riveting from start to finish."-BookPage