The Lions of Fifth Avenue

As Laura and Harry play catch in Bryant Park, her thoughts drift to Amelia and her partner, Jessie. She finds their relationship even more provocative than the robust political debates of the Heterodoxy Club. She then heads to Columbia where she meets her thesis advisor, Dr. Wakeman. She fears he may steal her idea for his own byline, so she pitches a decoy story before mentioning the Heterodoxy Club. He approves the choice.

Two weeks later, Laura attends another Heterodoxy Club meeting. She takes furtive notes, marveling at the diversity of the women’s stories. Afterward, she stops by Amelia’s apartment again, more at ease now with her relationship, although she doesn’t know how to explain her interest to Jack.

One day, Edwin Gaillard questions Laura about her family’s finances, implying that Jack may be the book thief. He tells her that the apartment is currently being searched. The police find nothing, but when Gaillard and his men leave, Laura asks, “Tell me now. What’s going on, Jack? The truth this time” (152).

After the search, Laura and Jack argue. She is angry that he hasn’t kept her informed (as two more first editions are missing), and he is upset about her time away from home. Their competing career aspirations are a constant source of conflict. Laura’s mother arrives to babysit, while Jack works on his novel and Laura on her thesis.

That evening, Amelia escorts Laura to a meeting of bohemian activists. Amelia once again cautions Laura about writing violating the privacy of the Heterodoxy Club, although Laura notes how Amelia has pushed boundaries herself, and takes her friend’s warning with a grain of salt. At the meeting, they meet Frank Tannenbaum, an activist for the poor; Amelia invites Laura to a protest march that evening, and she agrees.

They head downtown, and Tannenbaum addresses a crowd of several hundred unemployed men, whipping them into a frenzy with his fiery rhetoric. They approach a church, asking for food and shelter—expecting to be denied and thereby exposing the church’s hypocrisy. As they surround the church, the police show up, beating protesters and sending the crowd into a panic. Laura and Amelia escape into a dark alley and then catch a taxi back to Amelia’s apartment. Despite the chaos and fear, Laura feels “alive.” Back at the library, she works through the night, chronicling the events of the evening. Dr. Wakeman gives her “top marks.”

Eager to share her success with Amelia, Laura heads downtown. She sees Amelia and Jessie sharing a passionate kiss, and feels jealous. She reminds herself of Jack, her children, her life as a wife, mother, and student, and knows to keep her attraction to Amelia a secret.

Sadie and Nick investigate a bookstore, with Sadie playing the role of a rare book collector. At their final stop, the owner brings out The Scarlett Letter and the Virginia Woolfe diary, both items stolen from the library. Nick advises her to come back the next day since the seller will want cash (and they can return with the police).

The next day, Sadie and Nick sit in a coffee shop across the street from the bookstore. When the police arrive, Sadie enters and arranges the purchase of the books, at which point the police burst in and arrest the owner.

The stolen books are returned to the Berg Collection, and as Nick becomes a regular presence at the library (keeping Sadie updated on the investigation), she values his friendship, something she’s missed since her divorce. He informs her that they may never find the culprit since the bookstore owner hasn’t named names.

One evening, Sadie and Nick meet by chance at Lincoln Center where an ad hoc dance event is taking place. He invites her to the dance floor. They stop at a diner afterward, chat, and as they part ways, Sadie is uncertain about the nature of their relationship. The next day, she is in the cage, reading Surviving Spinsterhood: The Joys of Living Alone when Nick calls to her. Embarrassed by the book, she tucks it into her bag, but he sees and calls her out. Now, she fears their “friendship” is just a ruse so he can spy on her.