When a mystifying machine is discovered beneath the venerable Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C., the process of uncovering its puzzling provenance and purpose soon mirrors the story of its creation in Nick Allen Brown's Beneath the Estate. During a necessary renovation, workers break through a wall in the Biltmore's basement and find a contraption of levers, gears, and other mechanisms. Daniel Garrison, a professor of medieval and Renaissance studies, arrives to examine the machine and observes telltale indications of Leonardo da Vinci's influence. As Daniel investigates, a second storyline unfolds: in 1906, George Vanderbilt commissions an obscure Italian inventor, Antonio Andolini, to build the machine in secret at the Biltmore as a birthday gift for his wife, Edith.
The tandem tales of Daniel in the present day and Antonio more than a century earlier reveal not only the enigma of the machine but also the mysteries of the human heart, both to touching effect. Brown crafts winsome romances for each protagonist: Daniel falls for Penny Bradlee, a harried Biltmore kitchen worker who is struggling to care for her father, a veteran with severe PTSD, while Antonio forms a connection with Ann Phillips, an unassuming, intelligent housemaid who learns Italian so she can converse with the alluring inventor.
Brown's cheery cast of characters keeps the plot humming with entertaining acts of mischief that move the narrative toward its enchanting reveal. Complete with Da Vinci Code-esque adventures and a bounty of historical insights, Beneath the Estate is an enjoyable and worthwhile read. --Peggy Kurkowski, book reviewer and copywriter in Denver