The Dutch House

The Dutch House is the eighth novel of Ann Patchett, an award-winning author of contemporary fiction. Published in 2019, the novel tells the story of what happens to Danny Conroy and his older sister Maeve Conroy when their stepmother, Andrea Smith, expels them from their sumptuous childhood home after the death of their father, Cyril Conroy. Set in the Dutch House—located in the outskirts of Philadelphia—and New York, the novel is literary fiction with fairy-tale elements.

Plot Summary

In Part 1, Danny and Maeve meet Andrea, the new girlfriend of their father, Cyril, a self-made man whose real estate business helped him and his family rise from poverty to wealth. Cyril is divorced from Elna, Danny and Maeve’s mother. Elna left years before to do charity work in India after she couldn’t acclimate to the sudden wealth and living in the Dutch House, a large, overwhelming mansion where the remaining Conroys are living at the start of the novel. Within two years of meeting the Conroy children, Andrea marries Cyril, and her two daughters Norma and Beatrice (called Bright) move into the Dutch House.

In 1963, Cyril dies of a heart attack, and Andrea inherits everything except for an educational trust for the children. Andrea forces Danny to leave the house two weeks after Cyril’s death, forcing Maeve to raise him. Eager to get what little revenge she can by draining the educational trust, Maeve compels Danny to go to an expensive boarding school, pre-med at Columbia, and medical school.

Part 2 covers the lives that Danny and Maeve build in the 1970s and 1980s following their expulsion from the Dutch House. Danny continues pursuing his medical career despite having dreams of following in his father’s footsteps by buying real estate, and Maeve works as an accountant. During these years, the Conroy children spend holidays together. On many of these holidays they drive to the street alongside the Dutch House to sit and talk about their family and their feeling of having been wronged by Andrea.

Danny pursues an on-again, off-again relationship with local girl Celeste Norcross, adds to his real estate holdings, and in 1977 marries Celeste. In the space of two years, Danny and Celeste have two children (May and Kevin). Danny completes medical school but decides to continue building his real estate business, which grows substantially during the 1980s. Maeve has a severe diabetic episode in 1990. Shortly after this episode and seeing Andrea on the front lawn of the Dutch House, the siblings decide to stop surreptitiously visiting the Dutch House because they want to move on from the past.

Part 3 of the novel takes place during the 1990s. In 1993, Maeve has a heart attack. Eager to see her daughter, Elna returns and makes peace with Maeve. Danny refuses to forgive Elna, so their relationship remains tense. Elna eventually forces the Conroy children to visit the Dutch House. They discover that Andrea is suffering from severe dementia and is in Norma’s care. Elna decides to take care of Andrea out of a sense of charity, a decision that causes a rift with Maeve. Maeve eventually dies of a heart attack. By the end of the novel, Danny and Celeste are divorced, and May, who has grown up to be a successful actor, buys the Dutch House. The novel closes with Danny attending a party that May throws at the Dutch House.