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Gilded Age

by Claire McMillan (Goodreads Author)

3.06 of 5 stars 3.06 · rating details · 450 ratings · 122 reviews

Intelligent, witty, and poignant, Gilded Age presents a modern Edith Wharton heroine—dramatically beautiful, socially prominent, and just a bit unconventional—whose return to the hothouse of Cleveland society revives rivalries, raises eyebrows, and reveals the tender vulnerabilities of a woman struggling to reconcile her desire for independence and her need for love. ELEAN...more

Hardcover, 244 pages

Published June 12th 2012 by Simon & Schuster (first published January 1st 2012)

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Apr 09, 2013 Nancy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

I can't think of too many things more daunting for a fledgling author than to set yourself up for comparison with Edith Wharton. But, that is what the brave Claire McMillan took on, and I was delighted to receive her book as a First Reads selection.

For any of you that have not read House of Mirth (the original Wharton book that this "reinterprets"), it is totally, absolutely mirthless. Wharton takes a hard look at contemporary society and finds little to like. Ms. McMillan may have been attempti...more

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Dec 17, 2012 Patricia rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Gilded Age borrows heavily from Edith Wharton's novel, The House of Mirth. I'm being charitable when I say "borrows" since some of the characters' names are lifted from Wharton's novel and they have similar temperaments. In McMillan's book, the action takes place in modern-day Cleveland, instead of turn-of-the-century New York City. Most of the characters belong to Cleveland's elite society and those who don't are trying to get in. Jane Austen's novels have had all sorts of things done to th...more Gilded Age borrows heavily from Edith Wharton's novel, The House of Mirth. I'm being charitable when I say "borrows" since some of the characters' names are lifted from Wharton's novel and they have similar temperaments. In McMillan's book, the action takes place in modern-day Cleveland, instead of turn-of-the-century New York City. Most of the characters belong to Cleveland's elite society and those who don't are trying to get in. Jane Austen's novels have had all sorts of things done to them. Why shouldn't Edith Wharton be fair game?

Eleanor (Ellie) Hart, the main character and the focus of Gilded Age , is obviously modeled after Lily Bart. She has recently returned to her hometown of Cleveland, following a disastrous marriage and divorce in New York City. Ellie spent a month in rehab before coming home. An ironclad prenup left her with modest means, so she is determined to find a suitable (i.e. rich) husband in Cleveland.

For the most part, the novel is narrated by Ellie's oldest friend, a pregnant married woman who remains nameless throughout the novel. At first, Nameless is glad to reunite with her beautiful and glamorous friend. Then she becomes wary of Ellie and fears that she might be trying to seduce her husband.

A few chapters are told from Ellie's perspective. This provides an alternative view of events and allows more insight into Ellie's thoughts and motivations. Still she remains an unsympathetic, although a pitiable, character. Lacking the skills and experience that would enable her to find a decent job, but having no motivation to acquire any, she remains rooted in her former patterns of behavior. The only way out of her dilemma is to find a husband rich enough to finance her lifestyle. Through a series of impulsive or ill-advised actions she manages to alienate most of the marriageable men she meets. She is attracted to William Selden, an English professor at Case Western Reserve University, but at heart he is too conventional to accept Ellie's free-spirited and occasionally outrageous behavior.

When Ellie begins a downward spiral, her friends and acquaintances tend to avoid her. Eventually Selden realizes that he is truly in love with Ellie, but by then it's already too late to save her.

Comic relief, such as it is, comes in the form of the unsuitable candidates that Ellie considers while husband-hunting. There is the nature-loving, wealthy vegan whose passion lies in collecting Native American artifacts and the sleazy lawyer who hopes that his money and Ellie's social connections will make them a power couple.

I found Ellie's pronouncements on feminism to be somewhat hypocritical considering her desperation to find a husband instead of trying to make it on her own. But maybe she is just a realist. She criticizes her friend for being in the service of men, because of the friend's role as a wife and mother. I guess the moral of the story is that you shouldn't even try to have it all. Women who are unconventional are feared and/or trashed by their society, which doesn't understand them or know what to do with them.

The real members of Cleveland's elite society will probably try to guess which characters, if any, are based on people they know. I wouldn't even hazard a guess.

Although I grew up in Cleveland and have lived here all of my life, I was born on the wrong side of the tracks, literally, from Shaker Heights. Despite having a good education, I remained an outsider and I never gained access to Cleveland's elite circles, nor do I ever expect to do so. I probably wouldn't have chosen to read this novel if it weren't about Cleveland. Having read it, I found it extremely depressing, both because of Ellie's downfall and the realization that I am still one of the "have-nots" in Cleveland. Maybe it's time to move on. (less)

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Jul 18, 2012 Lindsay Heller rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, chick-lit

The thing about books that are retellings of classics is that it's hard to gauge how good they are. Writing style is easy to decided upon, the story is somewhat more difficult. After all, this is a classic that's stood the test of time. Instead of plot what really needs questioning is how well this modern adaption works against it's predasesor. I think this retelling of Edith Wharton's 'The House of Mirth' worked fairly well. Then again, I'm a little bit biased. I'm from Cleveland and it seems a...more The thing about books that are retellings of classics is that it's hard to gauge how good they are. Writing style is easy to decided upon, the story is somewhat more difficult. After all, this is a classic that's stood the test of time. Instead of plot what really needs questioning is how well this modern adaption works against it's predasesor. I think this retelling of Edith Wharton's 'The House of Mirth' worked fairly well. Then again, I'm a little bit biased. I'm from Cleveland and it seems as though every time someone mentions Cleveland in a book, or any other media outlet for that matter, they are mentioning it in the same breath as polution or economic hardship or sports teams that never win. This may be, actually, the first time I've seen a different side of Cleveland shown. The side of (gasp!) society.

Eleanor (Ellie) Hart has just returned home to Cleveland after her extravagant marriage in New York ended in a very public divorce. As she re-enters society with no skills and no experience for a job, not to mention a lack of drive, Ellie realizes quickly on that she's best suited to the life of having a rich husband. But in an insular society like this it's not always easy to keep one's head above the water and as Ellie woos and sabotages suitor after suitor she starts to wonder if it's not really love that she's looking for. But, between gossip and her old weaknesses it's possible it may be too late.

The main reason I picked up this book was the location. As stated above, I'm a Clevelander. Actually, I'm not far off from the Clevelander she described. The one who leaves for awhile and then comes home. Of course, I didn't come back toting my own Import to marry, but I returned none the less for all the reasons she states. I like the closeness of it. I like being somewhere that I'm known, where I consistently run into people I know, where I know I can get tickets to events and shows I want to see. The fact that's it's affordable is convenient cause even though I've witnessed it first hand on many occassions, I'm not a part of the society she talks about. And this society is perfect for this sort of novel. 'The House of Mirth' took place in New York, as Wharton novels tend to do, but setting this sort of story in modern New York is difficult. Yes, New York society is thrown in the general populace's face, but the fact of the matter is that New York is filled with wealthy people to the point where that sort of society is too big anymore. These aren't the days of calling cards and staying in in the afternoon. These are the days of working whether you need to or not, they are the days of Wall Street and Hedge Funds and, most prevalently and importantly, new money. Now, I'm not saying that Cleveland doesn't have those things, but this is a city where the old families still cling to a certain way of life, a certain social standing, they still all see each other nearly every weekend at whatever event is going and belong to a club made specifically for Cleveland's founders. Honestly, it's closer to the Wharton way than New York is these days. I have this perfect image in my head of Claire McMillian's life. Reading between the lines in her bio it's not particularly difficult to see that she's the import, from California, encountering Cleveland society as a newcomer. She probably looked around, agog, and thought 'My god, it's like a Wharton novel', and decided to make it one.

But even if I had never encountered this world at all I would still have read this book, because she talks about Severence Hall and the art museum. Because when the narrator walks home from Cedar Hill she turns into the neighborhood where I grew up. Because I've been to plenty "farms" in Hunting Valley. Because I know Chagrin Falls and Downtown and the Shaker Lakes. This is pretty much a Clevelander's dream.

And this follows 'The House of Mirth' pretty damned well. Ellie Hart is pretty pathetic as far as characters go, her view of life, as a wife, is pretty antiquated. But that's not to say that people like that don't exist, and Lily Bart was always a tragic character anyway. Honestly, there aren't that many people to like in this novel. Ellie is a mess, William Selden makes all sort of terrible decisions and snap judgment, villianess Diana Dorset is pretty dispicable, elder non-gossip Betsey Dorset is a terrible snob, and the narrator judges her friend terribly while flirting with her own infidelity. I could go on. But then again, I've never had a problem with characters that weren't particularly likable. In fact, I think they are fairly necessary at times. It's still possible to root for characters that aren't good people, it's been done plenty of times, and I found myself liking Ellie dispite her ridiculous ideas and actions, I liked Selden even if he couldn't seem to get his head together, I liked the narrator even if her choices would never have been mine.

Strangely, I think my favorite part of this book was the subplot between the narrator and her ex-boyfriend Henry 'Cinco' Van Alstyne V. I know that this was a retelling of Wharton and I know the main subject was Ellie Hart, but I couldn't help myself being a little drawn in by this tiny niblet. The narrator and Cinco dated off and on through their teens and into college but when the narrator proclaimed that she would never return to Cleveland and he never thought of not returning to his ancestral home their relationship fizzled. She repeatedly proclaims that she and Cinco were "never like that" when the subject of them remaining together comes up, but it comes across as completely false. And when it turns out that she did, in fact, return to Cleveland, husband in tow, emotions are somewhat churned. I loved this. I thought it deserved more. But then again, if it had gotten it the subplot would have likely lost it's charm.

Overall, I liked this book for a few reasons. Firstly, it's Cleveland location and secondly, because it fits with the original Wharton, a modern spin on an old story. But, I can appreciate that it wasn't great. It dragged at times, there wasn't really any one to root for and sometimes it took itself a little too seriously. But those are faults I can easily overlook. I liked it and I'd like to see what McMillian tries next, perhaps a story of her own, I'd be interested to read it. (less)

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Jul 13, 2012 Laurie rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Jun 22, 2012 Mindy rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Aug 15, 2012 Alyssa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Definitely got an Edith Wharton vibe, and an amazing quality of timelessness for a book set in current-day Cleveland, Ohio. The main character is a bit of a wimp, but then, it makes sense when you understand her background.

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Jul 15, 2012 Evangeline Holland rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: america, first-person-pov, contemporary-fiction, inspired-by-classics, edith-wharton, women-s-fiction, high-society, cleveland, drug-use

I was drawn to this book because reviews mentioned it was inspired by Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth. Wharton's novel is one of my Top 10 novels of all time, and since I re-read it quite often, I was very interested to see how McMillan would translate its tragedy into the 21st century. Now, I have no clue about Cleveland or its high society, but since the author lives there, I will assume everything she's written about them is accurate. However, it was extremely distracting to see a number o...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars

I never read Wharton's House of Mirth, so I am ill-equipped to compare this updated version to the original. I can, however, comment on the novel as a novel. McMillan tells an interesting tale of Ellie Hart, Cleveland socialite, who returns to her hometown after a messy public divorce and a stint in rehab. There is an awkwardness, though, in the style of this debut novel. The point of view shifts between Ellie and her oldest friend, who lived with Ellie briefly in New York, but married a southe...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Sylvie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Well done...

I often am reluctant to read a "remake" with a contemporary twist but in this case, I am glad I had the chance to pick this book up. Clarie McMillan did justice to Edith Wharton's work while bringing it in the realm of what we know.

The storyline was well crafted, the plot although predictable (if you had read Edith Wharton's works)was intelligent and kept you wanting Eleanor to actually win in this occasion. Adding contemporary details in this case proved to mirror the old in some un...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Christine Rebbert rated it 4 of 5 stars

As the book jacket promises, this is sort of a "House of Mirth" for the new millennium. If you've not read that classic by Edith Wharton, you can still enjoy the book, but you will get that extra dimension from it if you have. Some of the homages are almost too heavy-handed -- Lily Bart? Ellie Hart? -- and to be honest, I felt uneasy with the whole "if you're not married, you might as well be dead" vibe -- especially in this day and age. But this is upper-class moneyed people in Cleveland; maybe...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Catherine rated it 2 of 5 stars

I get how an author would create a junkie for a modern-day version of Lily Bart, but there are a lot of problems with that interpretation. The main objection I have is that McMillan made Lily (called Ellie for this volume) pathetic rather than tragic. I'm being picky about the difference because Lily was utterly honorable, which was part of her descent, and this version of her is only a vague shadow. The book is perhaps too brief to include all the nuances required to prepare a tragedy. It's alm...more

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May 16, 2012 Jalynn Patterson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Taken from 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, count...more

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Aug 28, 2012 Liz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not my normal genre on this one. It follows the stories of two old friends in Cleveland. It's a modern story that speaks to an older time (namely the 50's) and an older sensibility. The characters are all flawed in ways that make them very human, but not easy to like. Each person represents a bevy of sins, character flaws, and petty behavior, leading to a conclusion that is equal parts inevitable and sad. It's a good insight into how we treat people and what the reasons are for the less than per...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Terri Tinkel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: female-friends, marriage

This book is supposed to be a new version of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. I've never read the original story. But I did think this was like a modern day Downton Abbey set in Cleveland, Ohio in current times. The "rules" of society and family ties are very apparent. Women are still supposed to marry for social placement. Many of them looked for very old money family connections. Most of them were not happy in the long run. The main character is one of those women. She has friends who try...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Nora Neff rated it 4 of 5 stars

Since House of Mirth was the only Wharton novel that wasn't ruined for me in high school, I gave this book a try. I have to say that the crazy amount of drug use in the book put me off, but I loved the characters. The layers of relationships in the generations really rang true to me, and the on again off again friendship between the main character and her damaged friend just made me sad. This reads a bit like an old novel, but that's on purpose, so it's forgivable. The book was a quick read and...more

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May 18, 2013 *~Sammy~* rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book is about a girl that has been very unlucky in love, and it follows her around as she fights what others think as she try's to find love in Cleveland, Ohio. I also live in the Cleveland area and have many issues about how it is portrayed. Let me get one thing straight; Clevelanders do not come BACK to Cleveland. EVER. We leave, and NEVER look back. Now that that issue is cleared, I thought the story was pretty well-done. The characters were relatable and realistic and I really felt for...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Peebee rated it 3 of 5 stars

OK, I'll admit it -- I'm not a classics reader. If I wasn't required to read it back in high school or college, I haven't been going back in my adult life to pick up all the ones I've missed. (Another confession: I don't like black and white movies either, and while I read some historical fiction, I'm more a fan of contemporary pieces.)

So maybe I'm not the target audience for all these Wharton and Austen modernizations that seem to be proliferating. Preferably, if they're a good story, I won't...more OK, I'll admit it -- I'm not a classics reader. If I wasn't required to read it back in high school or college, I haven't been going back in my adult life to pick up all the ones I've missed. (Another confession: I don't like black and white movies either, and while I read some historical fiction, I'm more a fan of contemporary pieces.)

So maybe I'm not the target audience for all these Wharton and Austen modernizations that seem to be proliferating. Preferably, if they're a good story, I won't even know that they're based on a classic novel that I'm supposed to feel guilty or uncultured about not having read. (Kind of like when I was a kid, my mom would mash up pills into grape jelly and spread it on toast, and as long as it wasn't too grainy, I could choke it down that way.)

This one is based upon Edith Wharton's House of Mirth, which as you probably guessed, I haven't read. That's OK, this one is supposed to be set in modern times. High society in -- wait for it -- Cleveland. Not sure whether the remnants of high society actually do still exist in Cleveland, or whether that's just a plot device, but it was a bit hard to swallow (harder than the medicated grape jelly.) It had the air of general busybodiness that one still expects to see in Southern chick lit, with the requisite concern about family lineage, appearances, and an insularity just shy of inbreeding, but didn't really seem genuine when applied to Cleveland. We never really got to know our poor misunderstood tragic heroine, which was probably deliberate so we never fully felt sad for her, but without that, it was a book about a bunch of people who weren't very nice to each other and who weren't very happy, trying to bring everyone down to their miserable level.

Now I'm aware that the world is full of those people -- then and now -- but do I like to read about them? Not really. Not even with modernly salacious details about their affairs and sex lives that the classics only hinted at (at least most of them did, I'm told -- otherwise they were banned and removed from public view (oops, that still happens)). This book got decent reviews, but for me, it ended up being neither modern nor classic.(less)

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Nov 23, 2012 Lady Magic rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, guilty-pleasures

As I have not read Edith Wharton’s The House Of Mirth, of which this is apparently a faithful modern adaptation, I cannot comment on the novel’s success to this end (although, I am a Wharton fan, and the former will be going on my to-read list!) I also cannot comment on the veracity of McMillan’s portrayal of Cleveland society. However, that said, I did thoroughly enjoy this debut novel on its own merits. Though I realize most elements of the story were probably copiously borrowed from Ms. Whart...more

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Mar 28, 2013 Julie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Julie by: GR & BR

Shelves: fiction, audio

I listened to the audio version of this book. I'm not sure I would have finished it if I had read the hard copy, but because of the excellent reader of the audio, I kept going. As the title implies, the title is kind of a riff on the old "Gilded Age" of women looking to marry money back in the 1890s, but this tale takes place in the present day. The story is about two well-to-do young women who take different paths. One marries and is expecting a baby. The other (Ellie) is a party girl who comes...more

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Sep 27, 2012 Ivana rated it 4 of 5 stars

*somewhere between 3 and 4...*

I've spent the last few months submerged deeply in The House of Mirth, the topic of my MA thesis. So when I saw that there was a modern retelling...well, lets just say I haven't pined for a book this strongly in a long time. Apart from the fact that I had to figure out how to get my hands on it (because there was a whole month until it was published), I had to part with my biases and try to separate McMillan from Wharton, and Cleveland from New York. I didn't know w...more *somewhere between 3 and 4...*

I've spent the last few months submerged deeply in The House of Mirth, the topic of my MA thesis. So when I saw that there was a modern retelling...well, lets just say I haven't pined for a book this strongly in a long time. Apart from the fact that I had to figure out how to get my hands on it (because there was a whole month until it was published), I had to part with my biases and try to separate McMillan from Wharton, and Cleveland from New York. I didn't know what to make of a setting like Cleveland mansions and country clubs and imagined that it would resemble Big Rich Texas. Plus, does the idea that women need to marry in order to be successful stand the test of time?

McMillan builds her story around the premise of House of Mirth with slight deviations; a young divorced woman, a trendsetter whose star is slowly fading, returns home to Cleveland. She is broke and without means to provide for herself. So she tries to do what all her girlfriends did: find a nice rich guy and get married. But her "flightiness" gets in her way; Ellie can't decide whether to follow her heart or her head. I won't discuss the plot here, because it would ruin both Gilded Age and House of Mirth. I'll just say that I loved most of the solutions that McMillan came up with to implement some of Wharton's ideas into the present time. While sticking closely to the core ideas of House of Mirth, McMillan also manages to shine through as a very talented writer with a distinct voice of her own.

Ellie and Lily Bart possess basically the same traits, but Ellie lacks Lily's complexity of character that make her "such an interesting study". Mostly, these were down to the broader context of The House of Mirth that Gilded Age doesn't have. (See how I can't stop quoting Wharton? Occupational hazard, I tell ya). I found it hard to sympathize with a girl whose sole purpose in life is marriage and who is lazy (yes, lazy, and I stand behind it) to go out and make a living for herself. While I could (to some extent) understand the forces behind Lily's reluctance to work, I didn't feel that it is justified with Ellie. Not in the circumstances of today. The saddest part is, I know that there are people like that out there, and this is not on McMillan's account. But I just wanted to grab Ellie by her shoulders and shake some common sense into her.

I'm trying to figure out how I would feel about Gilded Age if I hadn't read The House of Mirth. It is entertaining and well-written, there are many interesting and colorful characters, but I'm not sure that the story is what you would call grabbing. Looking back, I don't think that the novel benefited from a narrator that is not Ellie. I totally forgot the narrator's name, if it's ever mentioned. Or if it had to be someone else than Ellie, then anyone other than this supposed-to-be-close-friend but is more concerned with her married ex while she herself has a husband a a small child. The narrator's questioning of her own marriage often led into (for me) unnecessary digressions. Some crucial moments of Ellie's life are therefore overlooked, and only recounted and commented on later.

In conclusion, I can't say that Gilded Age was disappointing. It's not bad, but I wasn't swooned either. I guess the best part of it-staying close to House of Mirth, turned out what I disliked most. The marriage and leisure plot just didn't work for me. If you're a Wharton fan, do check it out.

(less)

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Aug 02, 2012 Mara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, contemporary

Full disclosure, I am a non-native Clevelander living across the street from Shaker Heights, which is where the Audis live. In fact, it's hard for me to jog around Lower Shaker Lake now and not think about this novel, which tried really hard to ruin everything I like about Shaker Heights. Also, it's possible that I stuck with this novel simply because it was so Cleveland, because I'm not much a fan of retelling classics in the modern era, nor am I a fan of rampant sexism, of which this book boas...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-fiction

The author wants you to know that this book is set in Cleveland and is about people who are from Cleveland. And did I mention that all the action takes place in Cleveland? The Cleveland society folks are hard on other Clevelanders but they do love Cleveland. Cleveland is an awesome place. So if you want to read a book that uses the word "Cleveland" somewhere between 3-10 times per chapter, read this book about Cleveland's high-society people in Cleveland.

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Jan 03, 2013 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: library

If one takes Wharton as a model for a book, there is always going to be that feeling of repressed emotions, heaving bodices and words left unspoken but read into. All fine and well and makes for a well-manner read but I feel it makes it bloodless and stifling at times and maddeningly nonsensical as the omniscient reader. This is a thin book. More of a novella and less a novel and while it is a quick read, feels slight and the ending predictable.

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Jul 16, 2012 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-general-fiction

This really was probably better than just OK, but it was depressing and I don't love depressing, so it only gets 2 stars.

It's apparently inspired by Edith Wharton's "House of Mirth." I haven't read that, so I cannot speak to the likeness.

This modern take follows the downward spiral of social climber Ellie Hart who wants both love and economic freedom. When she discovers she may not be able to have that (at least not in the completely self-absorbed way in which she wants it), she starts down a pa...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Brianna Wright rated it 1 of 5 stars

Didn't read the entire book flap before beginning this so it's my own fault for expecting something completely different. I don't typically read books set in modern time, I prefer historical novels, and I thought, based on the title and a quick skim that this book fell under that heading. It didn't. So I read the first chapter, skimmed through it a bit, and then read the last few pages, and I'm glad that's all the time I spent on it. Not my cup of tea.

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Aug 06, 2012 False Millennium rated it 1 of 5 stars

Since Edith Wharton has been a personal muse since I was sixteen when my friend Cheryl (older) said (after reading "The Age of Innocence," "You know...you ARE Ellen Olensky." And she robbed from several Wharton books, not just "House of Mirth." I would have re-written Ellie's history here and given her a chance--the chance Lily Bart couldn't possibly acquire. Others may like it. But for me? Don't mess with my Wharton.

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Jul 09, 2012 Charla rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book, a high society tragic tale set in Cleveland. It certainly had some flaws but it lived up to the "a more literary beach read" description I saw (and which prompted me to pick up the book in the first place). I confess I have not read any Wharton so I am unable to make any comparisons. The story was engaging, albeit sad. However, one could tell immediately that Eleanor Hart was on a bad trajectory in her life from the start. The question for me was how many other people's live...more

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May 13, 2013 Diana Donnelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a Goodreads win. I have never read "The House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton so I cannot make a comparison. I thought the book was well written and I enjoyed the story. It's about relationships and the harm we can do to one another through gossip . The characters became real to me . I usually prefer the happy endings but realize that isn't always the way life is. If this was the author's first novel I do hope she'll write another.

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Aug 27, 2012 Kim Serediak rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was very excited to have won this novel and "house of mirth" ( which I have not read yet ). A beautiful cover, a hint at the era I love, I couldn't wait to read this book. I quickly found the first person narrative kind of confusing - it gave the impression that she had either been spying or had intimate knowledge of the other characters feelings/motives. Aside from this, the story was good, predictable, but definetly held my attention.

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Jun 25, 2012 Tegan Mae rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: library, crazy-train, depressing

It was interesting seeing a different side of Cleveland. I knew all of the places that were mentioned, some right by me(!), but from the perspective of one of the wealthy instead of the broke post-college student. Not quite what I expected, but I did enjoy it more than I thought I would once it was finished. Going to have to go pick up an Edith Wharton book now, it's been awhile.

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About Claire McMillan

I grew up in and around Pasadena, California, but for some reason people always ask if I grew up in Philadelphia. I am a recovering attorney, having practiced complex corporate litigation in San Francisco for six years. I now live on my husband's family's farm outside of Cleveland with our two kids.
I am fond of Alber Elbaz, Pappy Van Winkle, Morrissey, almond anything, darts, Sharon Jones, Mayer H...more

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Gilded Age

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