Why we’re excited
The Morris-Jumel Mansion in Washington Heights is a real house, and Fiona Davis builds a dual-timeline story around it. In the nineteenth century, Eliza Jumel climbs from a poor start and sets her sights on Aaron Burr. In 2010, an architect whose developer father fell to his death there starts asking questions.
Davis has turned New York landmarks into fiction before, in The Address (the Dakota) and The Lions of Fifth Avenue (the public library). Anyone who enjoys historical fiction rooted in actual buildings, and women who refused to stay in their assigned place, will find plenty here.
On our most-anticipated list since 21 October 2026. See all the most anticipated books →
What to know about The Jewel of Sugar Hill
We have reviewed one of Fiona Davis’s books so far: The Stolen Queen, which we gave 4.5 out of 5.
It sits at No. 19 on our January 2027 most-anticipated list, which ranks the month's books by how many readers have saved them.
From the publisher
From New York Times bestselling author Fiona Davis, an exhilarating new novel about two women whose obsession with a mansion tucked away in upper Manhattan could change their lives forever.
On the north end of Manhattan lies the oldest house on the the Morris-Jumel Mansion. Built in 1765, it was once part of a 135-acre property that ran from the Harlem River to the Hudson. Today, the mansion is relegated to one city block, where it sits like a regal queen in a garden of lilacs and maples.
In 1800s New York City, Eliza Brown is a woman with ambition, determined to rise above her humble background. When she meets political upstart Aaron Burr, she vows to win his love and break into the high society that shuns her. Eliza’s ultimate secure her future with the purchase of the most beautiful house in Manhattan, in spite of a shadowy figure determined to expose the truth about her sordid past.
In 2010, disgraced architect Abby Dorrance has always aspired to make her family proud. But when her father—a well-known real estate developer—dies from a fall at a haunted, crumbling uptown mansion, Abby gets drawn into the murky circumstances behind his death. As dangerous forces loom, Abby must choose between saving her family’s legacy and fortune, or saving the mansion and losing everything she loves.
The Jewel of Sugar Hill brings to life a notorious woman from America’s infancy who ignored social convention and achieved dizzying success. The result is a sweeping, ambitious story about two scandalous women, two centuries apart, each with an unshakeable belief in her ability to carve space for herself on her own terms.
Description supplied by the publisher.
We haven’t read The Jewel of Sugar Hill yet. When our review goes up, it will replace this page.