The Gilded Age was one of the period dramas of 2022- it kicked off the year for many of us. However, it was a truncated season due to the pandemic and left all of us wanting more of this glamorous period in history. (Or should I say, a glamorous period for some…) Although Arabella Huntington did not appear in the show by name, her story was part of the inspiration. Luckily, we have a new novel of her life to keep us entertained while we wait for a new season of The Gilded Age. Today’s Book Bite is all about An American Beauty by Shana Abe.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC and an Advanced Listening Copy in exchange for an honest review.
An American Beauty, Shana Abe
1867, Richmond, Virginia: Though she wears the same low-cut purple gown that is the uniform of all the girls who work at Worsham’s gambling parlor, Arabella stands apart. It’s not merely her statuesque beauty and practiced charm. Even at seventeen, Arabella possesses an unyielding grit, and a resolve to escape her background of struggle and poverty.
Collis Huntington, railroad baron and self-made multimillionaire, is drawn to Arabella from their first meeting. Collis is married and thirty years her senior, yet they are well-matched in temperament, and flirtation rapidly escalates into an affair. With Collis’s help, Arabella eventually moves to New York, posing as a genteel, well-to-do Southern widow. Using Collis’s seed money and her own shrewd investing instincts, she begins to amass a fortune.
Their relationship is an open secret, and no one is surprised when Collis marries Arabella after his wife’s death. But “The Four Hundred”—the elite circle that includes the Astors and Vanderbilts—have their rules. Arabella must earn her place in Society—not just through her vast wealth, but with taste, style, and impeccable behavior. There are some who suspect the scandalous truth, and will blackmail her for it. And then there is another threat—an unexpected, impossible romance that will test her ambition, her loyalties, and her heart . . .
Why You Should Read This…
This book was a slow start for me, it took me several chapters to get a feeling for Arabella as a character. However, once I did, this book flew by for me. I am relatively familiar with Gilded Age New York and the 400, but much less with those trying to enter it (vs those born into it). This was an engaging look at an extremely stratified society that still allowed for social mobility, and Abe really gives that a human face.
I also think that Abe set herself a gargantuan task as an author to feature the “other woman” as her protagonist, a task that most authors struggle with. However, I think that pairing the “other woman” with the legitimate daughter as contrasting viewpoints only further helped to bring this story to life. Yes, it made it a little difficult to listen to/read at some points because it is hard not to get emotional, but I think that that is the sign of a wonderful book.
Is An American Beauty on your to-read list?
Cheers,
The Historian
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