The Cloisters

Introduction

The Cloisters (2022) is a debut novel by American writer and art historian Katy Hays. The novel takes place in the real Cloisters museum, part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Marketed as part of the “dark academia” genre, The Cloisters follows an aspiring researcher who discovers an ancient deck of tarot cards and uses them to elevate her academic career. The novel explores themes of destiny and fate, ambition, personal ethics, and gender disparity in the academic community. This guide refers to the 2022 hardcover edition from Bantam.

Plot Summary

Ann Stilwell is a newly graduated researcher heading to New York City for a summer opportunity at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She’s trying to put space between herself and her hometown of Walla Walla, Washington, as a hit-and-run driver recently killed her father. When she arrives in New York City, however, she learns that, due to an administrative error, she’ll be working at the smaller Cloisters museum instead. The head curator, Patrick Roland, is compiling an exhibition on divination. He’s particularly interested in the Renaissance use of tarot cards. Working along with them is another young researcher named Rachel Mondray.

Ann grows closer to Rachel and to the gardener, Leo, with whom she begins an affair. At the Cloisters, Ann discovers evidence of burning candles; she learns that Patrick and Rachel are holding tarot readings at night and trying to tap into their intuition. Ann begins to question her rigid, practical beliefs. Patrick is able to source an old tarot card deck from an unscrupulous antique shop, which he believes may be the missing piece he’s been searching for. However, his friend Aruna thinks they’re a more modern forgery.

While Ann is examining the cards one day, she discovers that they actually consist of two layers—older cards with false fronts attached to them. She keeps her discovery hidden from Patrick, but confides in Rachel. Ann deduces from some of her late father’s records that the deck is connected to an old Italian noble family, and proves the cards were being used for divination earlier than previously believed. The friendship between the women grows, and Ann moves into Rachel’s more comfortable apartment. Rachel even invites her to visit her family home in Long Lake.

Patrick becomes increasingly distressed and holds another tarot reading; this time, he asks Leo to supply them with hallucinogenic herbs from the garden to heighten their otherworldly perception. The next morning, Patrick is found dead.

Ann is no longer certain who to trust. She focuses her energies on composing an article with Rachel about their findings. She feels this article will open new doors in her career. While in the museum’s storage unit, Ann discovers that several pieces are missing; she saw one of them in Leo’s apartment when she spent the night with him. Ann takes her discovery to the police, and Leo is arrested for theft and suspicion of Patrick’s murder. Despite Leo’s admission to theft, Ann isn’t convinced he’s capable of killing someone. She begins to see more signs that point to Rachel’s guilt.

During a second visit to Long Lake, Ann confronts Rachel and Rachel confesses to poisoning Patrick. She explains that Patrick discovered the cards’ false fronts himself, and would have gotten all the credit for their research. Ann admits that she’s right. The next day, Ann returns to the Cloisters and is told that Rachel has died in a boating accident. Ann removes Rachel’s name from the article and publishes it herself. She reflects on the way she sabotaged Rachel’s boat, leaving ensuing events to be decided by fate. She also finally acknowledges her own role as the driver who accidentally killed her father. Ann comes to believe that all these things were predestined and always beyond her control.