Daisy Goodwin
496 pages
hard copy edition
From the Publisher:
Be careful what you wish for. Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the twentieth century to seek a titled husband, beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilts’, suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. Nothing is quite as it seems, however: Ivo is withdrawn and secretive, and the English social scene is full of traps and betrayals. Money, Cora soon learns, cannot buy everything, as she must decide what is truly worth the price in her life and her marriage.
Witty, moving, and brilliantly entertaining, Cora’s story marks the debut of a glorious storyteller who brings a fresh new spirit to the world of Edith Wharton and Henry James.
“For daughters of the new American billionaires of the 19th century, it was the ultimate deal: marriage to a cash-strapped British Aristocrat in return for a title and social status. But money didn’t always buy them happiness.” –Daisy Goodwin in The Daily Mail
Review:
One of my best friends loaned me her copy of this book. She enjoyed it and thought I would like it. It sat on my nightstand for far too long before I finally got around to reading it, but it was the perfect book for a read-a-thon weekend.
I really enjoyed the story line of this book. At first I thought it would be a pretty slow book, but pretty soon I was caught up in the life of the characters. There were a couple parts I really loved (like the paragraph I shared yesterday).
Am I the only one who takes pictures of passages that I love?
I really loved the writing on this book, it was so descriptive and it was so easy to see this story in my head. So many details!
The book reminded me a bit of Downton Abbey, but also a bit like the tv show Revenge set in modern day. There is drama and scandal and deceit. Love and money. There are a few love scenes. There are some graphic descriptions, but they are not long and drawn out. I don’t think they were tasteless. But this is NOT a clean regency romance novel if you are looking for that.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending, but I think it ended exactly what really would have happened in real life (if that makes sense).
I would recommend this book and I am looking forward to reading another book by Daisy Goodwin in the future. It was a good book for a lazy weekend.
I’m taking off a half a star, there were some parts that I skimmed, I thought it was a good book and I really enjoyed it, it just wasn’t a hands down favorite. But I think overall, a good book.
