The Keeper of Happy Endings

The Keeper of Happy Endings is a 2021 novel by Barbara Davis that follows the stories of Soline Roussel, a Parisian dressmaker, and Rory Grant, an aspiring gallery owner, as their lives intertwine in mysterious ways in two time periods: Paris in the early 1940s and Boston in the mid-1980s. It is historical fiction with subgenres in mystery and romance. Davis uses alternating perspectives and a dual timeline, with each chapter told from either Rory’s perspective in third-person limited point of view or Soline’s in first person. The Keeper of Happy Endings explores themes such as Magic and Emotions, Grief, Loss, and Restoration, and Community and Healing.

This guide references the Lake Union Publishing paperback first edition of the novel.

Content Warning: This guide discusses anti-gay bias, antisemitism, emotional abuse, and child death.

Plot Summary

The Keeper of Happy Endings begins with Soline Roussel reflecting on her life as she goes through an old dress box of mementos; it contains a dress, a stack of letters, and a shaving kit. She recalls the life she left behind in German-occupied Paris during World War II, remarking on how different she is now in the face of many tragic losses.