Welcome to another Bookish Friday, in which we share excerpts from books…and connect with other bloggers who do the same.
Let’s begin the celebration by sharing Book Beginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader; and let’s showcase The Friday 56 with Freda’s Voice.
To join in, just grab a book and share the opening lines…along with any thoughts you wish to give us; then turn to page 56D and excerpt anything on the page.
Then give us the title of the book, so others can add it to their lists! What a great way to spend a Friday!
Today’s feature is a book I have had since October 2018:
A Well-Behaved Woman, by Therese Anne Fowler…
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Book Beginning: When they asked her about the Vanderbilts and Belmonts, about their celebrations and depredations, the mansions and balls, the lawsuits, the betrayals, the rifts—when they asked why she did the extreme things she’d done, Alva said it all began simply: Once there was a desperate young woman whose mother was dead and whose father was dying almost as quickly as his money was running out. It was 1874.
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Friday 56: Alva stopped to let a fish cart pass in front of her. She was so weary, and so hungry, and her troubles seemed to be multiplying by the minute.
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Synopsis: Alva Smith, her southern family destitute after the Civil War, married into one of America’s great Gilded Age dynasties: the newly wealthy but socially shunned Vanderbilts. Ignored by New York’s old-money circles and determined to win respect, she designed and built nine mansions, hosted grand balls, and arranged for her daughter to marry a duke. But Alva also defied convention for women of her time, asserting power within her marriage and becoming a leader in the women’s suffrage movement.
With a nod to Jane Austen and Edith Wharton, in A Well-Behaved Woman Therese Anne Fowler paints a glittering world of enormous wealth contrasted against desperate poverty, of social ambition and social scorn, of friendship and betrayal, and an unforgettable story of a remarkable woman. Meet Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont, living proof that history is made by those who know the rules—and how to break them.
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Would you keep reading?
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That beginning is spectacular. It makes me want to read more. Enjoy your current read!
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Thanks, Breana, I am looking forward to it.
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I love stories set during the Gilded Age. And how fitting to read this particular novel during the year that we are celebrating the Suffrage Centennial.
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Thanks, Catherine, and yes, it is very fitting to read this book now.
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Sounds good. I like stories that including people I know like the Vanderbilts. Happy weekend!
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I do, too, Freda.
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This sounds good. Those excerpts are intriguing.
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Thanks, Yvonne, here’s hoping it is a good one.
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It sounds excellent! I would definitely read it. In fact, I will try to find it.
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Thanks, Gilion, I hope to enjoy it soon.
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Snippets are great and they make we want to read more. Must have been a fascinating life of hers. It goes on my wish list.
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Yes, I think so, too, Lisbeth…
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This sounds like an interesting study of wealth–contrasting the post-Civil War south with the north.
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I think so, too, Allison.
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This book sounds very good.
I hope you enjoy it!
Stay safe!
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I hope so, too, Linda.
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That’s such a great opener. I definitely want to check this out. I love books set during the Gilded Age. Thanks for sharing! Hope you have an awesome weekend! 🙂
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Thanks, Ashley, I am drawn into it, too.
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I love that opening! I would definitely keep reading. I hope you are enjoying it. Have a great weekend, Laurel-Rain.
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Thanks, Wendy, I am eager to read this one.
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The social contrasts make me think of The great Gatsby, and the references to Jane Austen and Edith Wharton are appealing ^^
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Thanks, Izabel, a definite connection in style and settings.
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After reading this post I went over to the library to add to my wish list and discovered I already had it there!
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Thanks, Jackie, I hope we love it!
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I read this book when it was published and enjoyed it very much. Mind you, you’re not going to always like some of the characters, but you’ll understand why they act the way they do, even when you don’t like what they’re doing! It is a good read, and I’d like to read her book about Zelda Fitzgerald (as in F. Scott…).
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Thanks, Davida, and I loved Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Enjoy!
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