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Mountain Brook #3
The Harvard Bride: A Mountain Brook Novel
Katherine Clark's The Harvard Bride begins with the lavish Mountain Brook wedding of Daniel Dobbs and Caroline Elmore, college sweethearts introduced in Clark's second novel, All the Governor's Men. Picking up where the previous novel ended, The Harvard Bride is a wry comedy of manners and portrait of a marriage unfolding against the backdrop of the return of native southerners, with their newly completed Ivy League educations, to the self-contained world of Mountain Brook's "Tiny Kingdom."
As a newlywed Caroline struggles to find her bearings--unwilling to join the Junior League, look for a first house, contemplate motherhood, or even finish her thank-you notes. Even worse, she can't manage to fulfill her calling as a writer or accomplish anything else worthy of her Harvard degree. Meanwhile, Daniel's career as a first-year associate at a powerful law firm is going so well she hardly sees him. The most exciting aspect of the new bride's life is her handsome next-door neighbor, a writer himself and seemingly a kindred spirit. The reappearance of an old school friend--a southern belle bombshell in hot pursuit of all eligible bachelors and potential real estate clients--only adds to Caroline's problems. In her desperation to forge an identity wholly her own, Caroline accepts an unexpected job offer from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, forty-five minutes away from home. But just when she thinks she has succeeded in putting her personal and professional life together, her fragile new existence falls inexplicably apart.
Also featuring the return of larger-than-life Brook-Haven headmaster Norman Laney, The Harvard Bride is at once a social satire and a richly nuanced love story. Caroline's journey of self-discovery takes readers from the jeweled heart of Mountain Brook and Bama's sorority row, into James Agee's Hale County--from the inner sanctums of southern belles into the Deep South rural farmland, where slaves and sharecroppers once toiled. In the South the past often contains the keys to understanding the present and inspiring a better future. As Caroline travels into the heart of the Alabama darkness from which she came, she suddenly comes face to face with what she needs to build a life on her own terms in her native land, if she can summon the courage to make a difficult choice and take a huge risk.
As a newlywed Caroline struggles to find her bearings--unwilling to join the Junior League, look for a first house, contemplate motherhood, or even finish her thank-you notes. Even worse, she can't manage to fulfill her calling as a writer or accomplish anything else worthy of her Harvard degree. Meanwhile, Daniel's career as a first-year associate at a powerful law firm is going so well she hardly sees him. The most exciting aspect of the new bride's life is her handsome next-door neighbor, a writer himself and seemingly a kindred spirit. The reappearance of an old school friend--a southern belle bombshell in hot pursuit of all eligible bachelors and potential real estate clients--only adds to Caroline's problems. In her desperation to forge an identity wholly her own, Caroline accepts an unexpected job offer from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, forty-five minutes away from home. But just when she thinks she has succeeded in putting her personal and professional life together, her fragile new existence falls inexplicably apart.
Also featuring the return of larger-than-life Brook-Haven headmaster Norman Laney, The Harvard Bride is at once a social satire and a richly nuanced love story. Caroline's journey of self-discovery takes readers from the jeweled heart of Mountain Brook and Bama's sorority row, into James Agee's Hale County--from the inner sanctums of southern belles into the Deep South rural farmland, where slaves and sharecroppers once toiled. In the South the past often contains the keys to understanding the present and inspiring a better future. As Caroline travels into the heart of the Alabama darkness from which she came, she suddenly comes face to face with what she needs to build a life on her own terms in her native land, if she can summon the courage to make a difficult choice and take a huge risk.
304 pages, Hardcover
Published September 30, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 23, 2016
Received in exchange for review
While some might call this chick lit, I call it a really good story. Well written and a perfect slice of life in the south, manners, and life in general, I really found this to be a page turner.
The characters were well defined, I really liked reading about Lilly, such an opportunist found no place else but in any state but Alabama. Having lived there a number of years ago, I found nothing amiss.
I did not realize this was part of a series but the story stands alone. It is told with insight in how money v poverty effects our standings in any community but in the southern states it is a way of life between those who have and those who aspire.
I will check out other books by Ms. Clark
While some might call this chick lit, I call it a really good story. Well written and a perfect slice of life in the south, manners, and life in general, I really found this to be a page turner.
The characters were well defined, I really liked reading about Lilly, such an opportunist found no place else but in any state but Alabama. Having lived there a number of years ago, I found nothing amiss.
I did not realize this was part of a series but the story stands alone. It is told with insight in how money v poverty effects our standings in any community but in the southern states it is a way of life between those who have and those who aspire.
I will check out other books by Ms. Clark
November 24, 2016
I simply love her books. This one was particularly good with it's parallel theme of exploring rural Alabama and the challenges facing residents today compared to the privilege of Mountain Brook. Plus it's a love story and I love a good love story. I can't wait for her 4th book!
December 16, 2016
Funny, touching, well-written - social satire at its' best and a love story we can all cheer for. A look at 'the kingdon' of Mountain Brook, Alabama. Third in a series; I hope she continues as I love her characters - especially Norman Laney and now Caroline Elmore and Nick Scully.
May 2, 2018
I liked this book the best of the three Mountain Brook novels I have read so far. I am a sucker for a male hero who loves a woman enough to put her needs and desires before his own.
January 24, 2017
Makes fun of Brookies, want to be Brookies, and has been Brookies. Also a good love story.
January 12, 2017
The Best one yet. Hopefully, the last one will be as good.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews