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Today, "L'Âge d'or (The Social Graces)" by Renée Rosen, published on March 10, 2022 by Éditions Belfond.
Emily Café Powell, contributor to the 20 Minutes
Books reading group
, recommends
L'Âge d'or (The Social Graces)
by Renée Rosen, published on March 10, 2022 by Éditions Belfond.
His favorite quote:
It's the start of something.
But we don't know what that thing is yet.
Why this book?
Because it is a brilliantly conducted historical novel,
which plunges us into a delicately outdated late 19th century New York atmosphere, from masked balls to nine-course dinners, from horse-drawn carriage rides to seaside promenades... pitiless description of the way of life of the "happy people of the world"!
Because it is a story with an undeniable feminist message:
as the plot progresses, the reader witnesses a draft of female emancipation.
Wealthy women of the time shaped the rules of life in society to establish their power.
This is something they master, under the nose and beard of their husbands.
At the end of the novel also arise the suffragette movement, social issues, and the gradual emergence of divorce as a means of breaking free from patriarchy.
Fascinating!
Because Renée Rosen brilliantly mixes proven historical facts and fiction,
embroidering when necessary.
The plot is therefore both realistic and entertaining, producing a novel whose pages seem to turn by themselves!
Because you will fall in love with this novel
if you already diligently follow Julian Fellowes' new series,
The Gilded Age
.
Are you a history buff, do you like to follow the escapades, love affairs, successes and failures of the powerful of this world?
Do not hesitate !
The essentials in 2 minutes
The plot.
Caroline Astor has reigned over New York good society for two decades when Alva Vanderbilt appears, determined to steal her crown.
The confrontation between the two women will last thirty years!
Characters.
On the one hand, the powerful Caroline Astor is the closest thing to a royal figure in New York.
On the other, Alva Vanderbilt shines with her long teeth: ambitious and daring, she will never stop fighting to open the doors of good society...
Places.
It is a New York that has now disappeared that is revealed under the expert pen of Renée Rosen, who brilliantly describes the flamboyant palaces that dotted 5th Avenue.
Take your bathing suit, the novel will also take you to Newport, the resort of New York's elite!
The time.
The novel immerses us in the "Gilded Age", from 1875 to 1908. A time of contrast, in full upheaval, which sees, little by little, the advent of the modern era.
The author.
Renée Rosen is experienced in the art of the historical novel.
His previous novel translated into French, Park Avenue Summer, has already been very noticed!
This book was read with
admiration, both for the talent of the author and for the tenacity of the female characters.
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Book sheet 20 Minutes
Books
Novel
Story
new York
Feminism
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