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"If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it"
- Toni Morrison
All About Me
A founding editor of the Berkely Wellness Newsletter, Deborah Chase is the author of 12 books including "The Medically Based No-Nonsense Beauty Book" (Alfred Knopf), "Extend Your Life Diet" (Pocket Books), "Fruit Acids for Fabulous Skin" ( St Martin’s Press), "Every Bride is Beautiful" (Morrow), "Terms of Adornment" (HarperCollins) and with her husband, Dr Neil Schachter, co-author of "Life and Breath" and
"The Good Doctor’s guide to Colds and Flu" (Harper). Her books have been a selection of Book of the Month Club and her articles have appeared in Ladies Home Journal, Self, Glamour, Redbook, Family Circle, Parents, and Good Housekeeping.
A graduate of Bronx High School of Science and a winner of the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, she earned a degree at New York University with a duel major in journalism and history.
She grew up in a family filled with art and antiques. On the high end her uncle, William Lincer, lead violist at the New York Philharmonic, was an art lover whose collection was sold at Sotheby’s. On the low end, her father, writer Allen Chase took her to flea markets and estate sales. Her father sparked a lifelong fascination with tales of lost treasures that ranged from plundered Egyptian tombs to trainloads
of stolen Nazis art. It was this love of history and antiques that inspired her first novel, "Georgia’s Folly".
A native New Yorker, she spends weekends at an upstate home where a big kitchen and an endless supply of flea markets indulge her duel passions for cooking and collecting.
My HP Books
For fans of "Antiques Roadshow" and "American Pickers" - this is the one for you!
Beginning at a cluttered flea market and ending at a glittering art auction, Georgia’s Folly tells the compelling story that blends past and present and the search for a valuable and illusive antique. Chloe Bishop grew up in foster care. She loves shopping at flea markets, picking up family heirlooms like old pottery or vintage furniture to fill in for the family and home she never had. As Chloe walks through the Brooklyn Flea Market, she stumbles upon the diary of Miss Georgia Potter, a young woman who had lived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Civil War. The yellowed pages reveal the impact of the war on daily life and spotlights the role of women including Harriet Tubman, Clara Barton and Louisa May Alcott. Like Chloe, Georgia Potter was a passionate collector and her diary lists her collection of valuable antiques—including the Holy Grail of 18th century furniture—a Chippendale settee. Well versed in antiques, Chloe is aware that There are only five known examples and a sixth settee would be worth more than $4 million.
Chloe immediately contacts Ben Thompson, the man who sold her the diary. Ben is a picker who drives his RV across America, searching for collectibles to sell to dealers. He is estranged from his wealthy, prominent family who cringe at his chosen career. Ben agrees to take her along to search for the valuable and iconic settee. As Ben and Chloe head to Gettysburg, they are unaware that Gregor Petrov, a shady antiques dealer and Harrison Kent, a respected but unscrupulous art expert are trailing them.
The search for the settee takes Chloe and Ben on fast paced journey from the Gettysburg battlefields to the 18th century street of artisans in Philadelphia to a historic mansion on the banks of the Hudson River. Traveling together in the small RV, Ben and Chloe draw closer. In the confines of the RV, embroiled in an unimaginable quest, Chloe confides that she is also in search for the father she never knew while Ben struggles to explain his complicated family to a woman who never had one.
In a thrilling ending, the rare Chippendale settee is not Chloe’s only valuable discovery.
Book Excerpt
Chole Bishop felt her pulse quicken as she walked to the jumbled tables at the Brooklyn Flea market. Under the soaring arches of the massive bridge, the piles of pottery, jewelry and tacks of vintage clothing sparkled with the promise of discovery. Every time she walked into a thrift shop or flea market, she remembered stories of the discovery of a long-lost Picasso or a rhinestone ring turned out to be a flawless diamond. But she really wasn’t treasure hunting—she just loved finding what she called “pieces of history.”
She never knew what she was going to find, but she knew it when she saw it. And there it was, as if it had been patiently waiting for her. Next to a vintage tin sign for motor oil and under a cracked ironstone pitcher, she could see the trim edges of a ladies lap desk. Chloe smiled to herself. I have always wanted ne and here it is under the arches of the Brooklyn Bridge. She walked over to the table, gently removed the pitcher and placed it on the table.
The lap desk was clearly not a family heirloom. It was a very basic lap desk with a faded, stained finish. She opened the lap desk and smiled to see the worn well-worn, blue felt padding. The top and bottom offlaps were intact- a great sign for a well-used lap top more than 150 years old. Two small partitions on the bottom were stained from the ink bottles they once held. The bottom section was empty except for two vintage ladies hair pins but the top lid was jammed. A lady often kept personal letters there and Chloe was instantly curious. What secret romances could the lap desk hold?
Book Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Truly exceptional split-time gem!
Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2024
This mesmerizing story takes place in two different time frames—the Civil War era and present day. Chloe Bishop is a history teacher who has always been fascinated with flea markets, especially items related to family heirlooms . . . most likely because she was placed in foster care and yearns for the family she never knew. When Chloe discovers the diary of Georgia Potter—another overzealous collector who lived in Gettysburg during the Civil War—hidden in a nineteenth-century ladies’ lap desk she picks up at the Brooklyn Flea Market, she is immediately smitten. Ben Thompson is a picker who originally found the lap desk that Chloe bought, and together, they embark on a wild and frantic adventure in search of an original Chippendale settee that Georgia mentions in her diary. The chase is on! This story is cleverly crafted with each chapter beginning with an excerpt from Georgia’s Diary, then followed by the happenings of the present day. There is plenty of intrigue, suspense, and mystery to hold your interest from start to finish. Love and family bonds also play an integral role as well. The plot is well constructed with multiple twists and turns, the pacing is superb, the spot-on characters are unique and excellently portrayed, and the writing is stellar. You will even find three recipes at the end of the book that are mentioned in the story. This is a definite must-read. Five stars!!!
*****
5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical fiction at its best
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2024
I absolutely loved the characters, story line and historical events sprinkled throughout. It kept me reading and reading. Really enjoyed it as a genealogist and historian. Civil War is my favorite time period. Can't wait for another book by this author.
