High in the sky!

Grace of the Empire State by Gemma Tizzard      

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All I could think of was that iconic photo of workers sitting on a steel girder way above New York as the Empire State building was being built.

It’s after the Wall Street  crash and finding work is difficult. Grace O’Connell and Patrick her twin are fortunate. He’s employed on the Empire State, as part of a four man crew, placing beams and riveting them together. Grace is employed as a dancer. She’d previously trained as a tight rope walker and dancer in the circus her father had sent her to for training.

Only when Pat injures his arm , and the club Grace works at closes down, the obvious, despite Grace’s fears, happens. (The problem is the other men would lose their jobs without the full team.) Thus Grace’s dilemma. It’s a cutthroat world.

Grace takes her brother’s place, dressing as a man.

There’s danger—of being exposed, of falling, and other complications. One workman has it in for her brother and Grace bears the brunt of his aggression.

We’re introduced to a variety of characters, one being a fellow dancer Edie who tries her hand at Marathon Dancing. Needless to say in these scenes all I could think of was the movie They Shoot Horses Don't They.

A very different story with action taking place high in the sky, above the streets of New York, filled with the desperation of the times.

I was glued!

A Galley ARC via NetGalley.                                              

Many thanks to the author and publisher.