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Editorial content for Gilded Age
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
2012 is the 150th anniversary of Edith Wharton's birth, but she sure seems as timely as ever, thanks to a crop of new books being published this year. There's a novel (THE AGE OF DESIRE by Jennie Fields) based on the life of Wharton herself, and two debuts offer creative modern-day re-imaginings of her most famous works: THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, reset amid London's Jewish community in Francesca Segal's THE INNOCENTS, and THE HOUSE OF MIRTH, imaginatively (and more than a little surprisingly) set in Cleveland's wealthy society in Claire McMillan's GILDED AGE. Read More
Teaser
Eleanor Hart had made a brilliant marriage in New York, but it ended in a scandalous divorce and 30 days in rehab. Now she finds that she will still need a husband to be socially complete. However, through one misstep after another, Ellie mishandles her second act. Her options narrow and future prospects contract, until she faces a desperate choice.
Promo
Eleanor Hart had made a brilliant marriage in New York, but it ended in a scandalous divorce and 30 days in rehab. Now she finds that she will still need a husband to be socially complete. However, through one misstep after another, Ellie mishandles her second act. Her options narrow and future prospects contract, until she faces a desperate choice.
About the Book
Eleanor Hart had made a brilliant marriage in New York, but it ended in a scandalous divorce and thirty days in Sierra Tucson rehab. Now she finds that, despite feminist lip service, she will still need a husband to be socially complete. A woman’s sexual reputation matters, and so does her family name. Ellie must navigate the treacherous social terrain where old money meets new: charitable benefits and tequila body shots, inherited diamonds and viper-bite lip piercings, country house weekends and sexting. She finds that her beauty is a powerful tool in this world, but it has its limitations, even liabilities. Through one misstep after another, Ellie mishandles her second act. Her options narrow, her future prospects contract, until she faces a desperate choice.
With a keen eye for the perfect detail and a heart big enough to embrace those she observes, Claire McMillan has written an assured and revelatory debut novel about class, gender, and the timeless conundrum of femininity.