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Fame and Fortune
Four wealthy women living in Beverly Hills, all past their youth--Peach, Grace, Maggie, and Laura--find their comfortable, well-ordered lives threatened by ambition, jealousy, violence, and love
432 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 3, 2024
This was Kate Coscarelli's first novel. It's 432 pages of drama among the following four female friends, plus a small mystery of an attempt on Peach Malone’s life at a Milan, Italy airport introduced in Chapter 1 – solved by the end of the novel:
(1) Maggie Hammond, launching a career in interior design, against approval of her husband, Kirk
(2) Kitty “Peach” O’Hara Malone, recently widowed & left with sizable trust, searching for new soulmate in life
(3) Grace Gable, owner of “Amazing Grace’s”, a high-end hair salon, with MANY hidden secrets in reaching the height of career
(4) Laura Austin, homemaker wife to a physician Dr. Jim Austin, but Dr. Austin finds life more interesting with movie star
IDIOMS:
Chapter 44, Maggie was “hoisted on her own petard” (harmed by her own planning)
Chapter 52, Peach’s first male-friend Jason, an actor, “tread the boards” (perform on stage)
Chapter 52, THE SHADOW, a popular 1930’s radio show, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” The line became part of the American idiom.
TRIVIA-NEW-TO-ME:
Chapter 52, "Gallic shrug" was made by Pierre, Peach’s second male-friend. A Gallic shrug is a subtle gesture that conveys meaning without words.
Chapter 51, Maggie reminds Laura of William Shakespeare’s line about the tide being taken at its flood. The actual quote from Julius Caesar is: “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.” The quote is a metaphor suggesting that people must recognize and seize opportunities in life.
OVERLOOKED EDIT: Chapter 30, Maggie Hammond felt as though her neck was destined for Madame LaFarge’s guillotine. It was Madame DeFarge, fictional character in Charles Dickens’ A TALE OF TWO CITIES, who knitted as she sat by the guillotine. I'm surprised editors of FAME AND FORTUNE did not caught the name mis-spelled.
(1) Maggie Hammond, launching a career in interior design, against approval of her husband, Kirk
(2) Kitty “Peach” O’Hara Malone, recently widowed & left with sizable trust, searching for new soulmate in life
(3) Grace Gable, owner of “Amazing Grace’s”, a high-end hair salon, with MANY hidden secrets in reaching the height of career
(4) Laura Austin, homemaker wife to a physician Dr. Jim Austin, but Dr. Austin finds life more interesting with movie star
IDIOMS:
Chapter 44, Maggie was “hoisted on her own petard” (harmed by her own planning)
Chapter 52, Peach’s first male-friend Jason, an actor, “tread the boards” (perform on stage)
Chapter 52, THE SHADOW, a popular 1930’s radio show, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” The line became part of the American idiom.
TRIVIA-NEW-TO-ME:
Chapter 52, "Gallic shrug" was made by Pierre, Peach’s second male-friend. A Gallic shrug is a subtle gesture that conveys meaning without words.
Chapter 51, Maggie reminds Laura of William Shakespeare’s line about the tide being taken at its flood. The actual quote from Julius Caesar is: “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.” The quote is a metaphor suggesting that people must recognize and seize opportunities in life.
OVERLOOKED EDIT: Chapter 30, Maggie Hammond felt as though her neck was destined for Madame LaFarge’s guillotine. It was Madame DeFarge, fictional character in Charles Dickens’ A TALE OF TWO CITIES, who knitted as she sat by the guillotine. I'm surprised editors of FAME AND FORTUNE did not caught the name mis-spelled.
February 21, 2019
Fluffy beach read.
February 6, 2022
Surprisingly good for a bad book
January 31, 2017
Much creativity and charm is evident throughout Coscarelli's unique proses. The structuring of the episodes though took on much surrealism that one can be fully reassured that it is indeed a fiction built upon fabricated sparks. Overall, this is one of those books one could finish reading over a Sunday brunch. The extent of enjoyment nevertheless would largely depend on the reader's interest in gauging themes pertaining to feminine psychology.
March 1, 2016
Fame & Fortune, Kate Coscarelli, PB-B @ 85, 1987. A novel about true love in Beverly Hills. Okay.
June 26, 2018
Found this one among my mother's old books. It's not bad, but it's not amazing either. Was a bit hard to learn all the characters in the beginning, and to understand/sort out the relationships between them. Besides that it's an easy chick-lit read about 4 wealthy american ladies. Probably a perfect "vacay read".
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews