Timeless

by Alexandra Monir

  “I’m going to find him,” Michele declared, her heartbeat quickening with anticipation. “I don’t know when or how—but I know I’m going to find him. For both of us.”

  Marion nodded, smoothing her daughter’s hair and giving her a tender smile.

  “It’s time for me to go now, my sweet Michele,” she said softly. “Please know that I will love you always.”

  “I love you too, Mom. Forever,” Michele whispered.

  “I’ll be seeing you,” Marion said with a smile, just before vanishing.

  The next morning, Michele walked up the front steps to school, a spring in her step. For the first time since her arrival in New York, she was ready to live—truly live—in her own time again. She finally felt ready to surrender to the present.

  As she was digging in her bag for her homework assignment, she heard the sound of a late student skidding into the room just as the final bell rang.

  “Class, we have another new transfer student,” Mr. Lewis announced. “Everyone, meet Philip Walker.”

  Michele’s head snapped up in shock.

  Oh—my—God.

  She was too stunned to move a muscle as she locked eyes with the spitting image of a young Philip Walker. Michele realized with a jolt that this was who she had seen by the school office that day when she’d thought she had seen her Philip.

  The new student continued to look at her with those intense sapphire eyes, even as the teacher handed him a folder of class materials. As he reached for the folder, Michele saw it on his finger—the gold signet ring that Philip had given her. The very ring she had lost.

  Michele smiled at him in amazement as Philip’s words echoed in her ears: “I will find a way back to you. No matter what, I promise.”

  TO BE CONTINUED

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  While the story of Timeless is fictional, the world in which the characters live is based in reality. One of the greatest joys for me in writing this book was researching the eras that Michele visits. As I threw myself into studying the Gilded Age, the Roaring Twenties, and the World War II years, I felt almost as if I’d been there, thanks to the amazing resources I had.

  NEW YORK

  I consider New York City the principal player of Timeless, as it is both the backbone of the story and an ever-changing, complex character. My greatest tool in researching the history of this incredible city was simply spending time there, walking the streets where so many walked before me, and visiting the landmarks that are like living tributes to bygone eras. If you too are fascinated by New York history, I highly recommend visiting the New-York Historical Society and the Museum of the City of New York. Additionally, Big Onion Walking Tours offers historical tours of many areas of the city. I took Big Onion’s historical tour of Central Park, which proved valuable to me when it came time to describe the park circa 1910.

  Below are some of the materials I used in my research:

  At the Plaza: An Illustrated History of the World’s Most Famous Hotel, by Curtis Gathje; Central Park, by Edward J. Levine; Inside the Plaza: An Intimate Portrayal of the Ultimate Hotel, by Ward Morehouse III; Gotham Comes of Age: New York Through the Lens of the Byron Company, 1892–1942, by Peter Simmons; On Fifth Avenue: Highlights of Architecture and Cultural History, by Charles J. Ziga and Robin Langley Sommer; The New Amsterdam: The Biography of a Broadway Theater, by Mary C. Henderson; the website for the Drive to Protect the Ladies’ Mile District, www.preserve2.org/ladiesmile/; the official Central Park website, www.centralpark.com; and the great PBS series New York: A Documentary Film, directed by Ric Burns.

  THE WINDSOR MANSION

  Thanks to the incredible Preservation Society of Newport County, we can see just how the New York Four Hundred lived during the Gilded Age. While the Fifth Avenue mansions of Old New York have all sadly been demolished or converted into office buildings, hotels, condos, etc., the spectacular homes owned by these same New York families (the Astors and the Vanderbilts, for example) are fully preserved in Newport, Rhode Island. In fact, the trip that Michele’s class takes to visit the Newport Mansions is based on the trip I took while researching Timeless. I even stayed in the same hotel as Michele and her class, the Hotel Viking.

  I absolutely recommend visiting beautiful Newport and touring these homes, which are unlike anything you’ll find elsewhere in America. The Windsor Mansion is based on two different Vanderbilt mansions in Newport: Alva Vanderbilt’s Marble House and Alice Vanderbilt’s The Breakers. (The homes were usually attributed to the wives of the family, since they generally ruled society and the home in those days.) Both Marble House and The Breakers were designed by the foremost architect of the late nineteenth century, Richard Morris Hunt. If you decide to visit Newport, stop in at The Breakers to view the inspiration for the Windsors’ Grand Hall, and visit Marble House to see what the impressive exterior of the Windsor Mansion looked like. If you can’t get to Newport anytime soon, the Preservation Society of Newport County (www.newportmansions.org) offers books with wonderful photographs and descriptions of the houses, along with a DVD that takes you into the homes for a glimpse. A&E’s America’s Castles DVD series also includes an excellent episode on the Newport Mansions and the families who owned them.

  Other books that helped me build the Windsor Mansion include Gilded Mansions: Grand Architecture and High Society, by Wayne Craven, and Great Houses of New York: 1880–1930, by Michael C. Kathrens.

  THE NEW YORK FOUR HUNDRED AND THE GILDED AGE

  The book that was most helpful to my understanding of the New York Four Hundred and the reign of Caroline Astor (as described in Chapter Four of Timeless) was A Season of Splendor: The Court of Mrs. Astor in Gilded Age New York, by Greg King. It’s a must-read if you’re interested in this period. I also highly recommend the addictively entertaining and informative biographies and autobiographies of the Four Hundred family members, including: Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: The Story of a Daughter and a Mother in the Gilded Age, by Amanda Mackenzie Stuart; Fortune’s Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt, by Arthur T. Vanderbilt II; King Lehr and the Gilded Age, by Lady Decies; and Sara and Eleanor: The Story of Sara Delano Roosevelt and Her Daughter-in-Law, Eleanor Roosevelt, by Jan Pottker.

  Other books I consulted include Dawn of the Century: 1900–1910, part of the Time-Life Our American Century series, and the novels of Edith Wharton, especially The House of Mirth and The Custom of the Country.

  THE JAZZ AGE AND THE ROARING TWENTIES

  The history of jazz, and how it evolved from ragtime and later developed into rhythm and blues, is a subject I am passionate about. The geniuses involved in creating this music and the fantastic songs they wrote and performed are, in my mind, one of the greatest gifts American history has given us. Jazz, the comprehensive PBS series directed by Ken Burns, gives a full overview of the music and its origins. And simply listening to the greats of the day, such as Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, and Cab Calloway, will send you into that Harlem Renaissance atmosphere.

  Some of the books I recommend to help you immerse yourself in the 1920s are Anything Goes: A Biography of the Roaring Twenties, by Lucy Moore; The Jazz Age: The ’20s, part of Time-Life’s Our American Century series; and the novels of F. Scott Fitzgerald, especially The Great Gatsby. There are also fantastic films that bring this edgy world to life, particularly Francis Ford Coppola’s The Cotton Club, Alan Rudolph’s Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, and Robert Z. Leonard’s The Great Ziegfeld.

  AMERICA AT WAR

  The most emotional parts of the Timeless process for me were researching World War II and writing about the Windsors’ experiences in 1944. It was simultaneously humbling, heartbreaking, and inspiring to read about the sacrifices and strength of Americans back then. Visiting Springwood, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s home in Hyde Park, New York, I felt as if I had been transplanted into the middle of those turbulent years. The incredible Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and
Museum houses exhibits and artifacts that bring FDR and the war years to life.

  I also recommend the following books:

  Decade of Triumph: The ’40s, another Time-Life Our American Century volume; New York in the Forties, by Andreas Feininger (photographs) and John von Hartz (text); Over Here! New York City During World War II, by Lorraine B. Diehl; and Summer at Tiffany, by Marjorie Hart.

  There are countless beautiful films set during World War II, but I want to especially recommend John Cromwell’s wonderful homage to the homefront, Since You Went Away. Another excellent pick is “FDR,” from PBS’s American Experience series.

  TIME-TRAVEL THEORIES

  As Caissie tells Michele, Albert Einstein did indeed believe that time travel was possible. In fact, he proved that one could feasibly travel to the future! For more information on this thrilling topic, see this page from PBS’s Nova website: pbs.org/wgbh/nova/time/think.html.

  Most books on Einstein discuss his theories pertaining to time. From among the many, I recommend Einstein 1905: The Standard of Greatness, by John S. Rigden. Who knows—maybe within the next hundred years, time travelers like Michele will walk among us.

  For more notes and recommendations, please visit my website at alexandramonir.com.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This project has been a true labor of love, and I have many people I wish to thank.

  First, to the Delacorte Press editor who believed in my story and gave me the opportunity of a lifetime: Stephanie Lane Elliott, I am so grateful to you! You and Krista Vitola are the dream team. Many thanks to you both for making this such a wonderful experience.

  To my incredible agent, Andy McNicol at William Morris Endeavor, who encouraged me to write Timeless back when I first came up with the idea: This wouldn’t have happened without you, and I thank you so much!

  Thank you to my publisher, Beverly Horowitz. It’s an honor to be one of your authors! And to the brilliant copyeditor Jennifer Black, thank you so much.

  Many thanks to Brooke and Howard Kaufman, my management team at HK. Howard, I’m so grateful for your guidance and support over the years. Brooke, thank you for being my honorary big sister, manager, and great friend all wrapped into one!

  Seth Jaret, I feel so lucky to be represented by you. Thank you for believing in me from the start, and for helping me navigate the biz.

  Michael Bearden, thank you for bringing your incredible musicianship to the Timeless songs. Working with you is a thrill and an honor!

  Charlie Walk, you’ve been an amazing mentor to me. Thank you for pushing my writing, and for sending me to William Morris.

  Heather Holley and Rob Hoffman, I’m grateful to you both for collaborating with me on songs that have led to many opportunities. Heather, thank you for your amazing musicianship that always brings out the best in me, and for your wonderful friendship.

  Many thanks to the New York Public Library for letting me use the Frederick Lewis Allen Room for my writing and research.

  Thank you to Chad Michael Ward and Angela Carlino for the beautiful cover art. Neal Preston, thank you for lending your art to my author photo.

  Special thanks to Eric Reid and Laurie Pozmantier at WME, Chad Christopher at SMGSB, and everyone at Random House who is involved with Timeless.

  I’d also like to acknowledge my incredible circle of family and friends, who have all cheered on this project. First and foremost to my father, Shon: You’ve had the biggest impact on my life, and I am both humbled and inspired by you. Your support and belief in me is what gave my dream wings, and I thank you, with all my heart, for everything.

  To my mother, ZaZa: You’re my best friend in the world and it’s our relationship that inspired the closeness between Michele and the women in her family. I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve given me.

  Arian, thank you for your valuable feedback on this project, and for your love and support. I’m so lucky to be your sister!

  Papa, thank you for all the imaginative stories you told us as kids. They made me want to become a storyteller myself.

  Many thanks to Stacie Surabian and Marise Freitas for helping with my projects over the years and for being like family to me. Thank you to my incredible mentors and friends Maury Yeston, Karen McCullah-Lutz & Kirsten Smith, and Greg Brill.

  Mia Antonelli, thank you for being the most wonderful friend a girl could ask for, and for always being there for me. Chris Robertiello, thank you for all the laughter and inspiring moments.

  Gratitude and love to my grandparents, aunts and uncles in Southern and Northern California and my close friends Roxane Cohanim, Ami McCartt, Adriana Ameri, Kirsten Guenther, Sai Mokhtari and Rita J. King. And I can’t forget little Honey, my special companion during the long hours of writing!

  To the memory of an incredible woman: my grandmother and namesake, Monir Vakili. I always wished I could have met her, and it was this desire that led me to write about Michele meeting her relatives from the past.

  And of course, thank you to the readers! I hope you enjoyed Timeless.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  A singer/songwriter and first-time novelist, ALEXANDRA MONIR divides her time between Los Angeles and New York. For the original music, news, and more on Timeless, visit her website at alexandramonir.com.

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