Past Perfect: Novel

Past Perfect is a spellbinding story of two families living a hundred years apart who come together in time in a startling moment, opening the door to rare friendship and major events in early-twentieth-century history. Sybil and Blake Gregory have established a predictable, well-ordered Manhattan life—she as a cutting-edge design authority and museum consultant, he in high-tech investments—raising their teenagers Andrew and Caroline and six-year-old Charlie. But everything changes when Blake is offered a dream job he can’t resist as CEO of a start-up in San Francisco. He accepts it without consulting his wife and buys a magnificent, irresistibly underpriced historic Pacific Heights mansion as their new home. When they arrive at the elegant mansion filled with tender memories and haunting portraits, an earthquake shocks them, and the original inhabitants appear for a few brief minutes. The past and present suddenly collide, and in the ensuing days, the Gregorys meet the large and lively family who lived there a century ago: distinguished Bertrand Butterfield and his gracious wife Gwyneth, their sons Josiah and little Magnus, daughters Bettina and Lucy, formidable Scottish matriarch Augusta and her eccentric brother Angus. All long since dead. All very much alive in spirit—and visible to the Gregorys and no one else. The two families are delighted to share elegant dinners and warm friendship. They have much to teach each other, as the Gregorys watch the past unfold while living their own modern-day lives. Within these enchanted rooms, it is at once 1917 and a century later, where the Gregorys gratefully realize they have been given a perfect gift—beloved friends and the wisdom to shape their own future with grace from a fascinating past. Past Perfect is Danielle Steel at her bewitching best, a novel for the ages.

Sybil and Blake Gregory, with their teenagers Andrew and Caroline and six-year-old Charlie, have established a predictable, well-ordered Manhattan life. Sybil is a cutting-edge design authority and museum consultant, while Blake is involved in high-tech investments. However, everything changes when Blake is offered a dream job as CEO of a start-up in San Francisco. Without consulting his wife, he buys a historic Pacific Heights mansion as their new home. An earthquake shocks them the night they arrive, and the original inhabitants, who have long since passed, appear to them. The large and lively family who lived there a century ago becomes visible to the Gregorys and no one else, leading to a rare friendship and shared experiences. The two families enjoy elegant dinners and warm friendship, learning from each other and shaping their own future with wisdom from a fascinating past within the enchanted rooms. Past Perfect is a novel for the ages, showcasing Danielle Steel at her bewitching best.

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