Gilded Age: A Novel [Hardcover]

Claire McMillan (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 12, 2012

Intelligent, witty, and poignant, Gilded Age presents a modern Edith Wharton heroine—dramatically beautiful, socially prominent, and just a bit unconventional—whose return to the hothouse of Cleveland society revives rivalries, raises eyebrows, and reveals the tender vulnerabilities of a woman struggling to reconcile her desire for independence and her need for love.

ELEANOR HART had made a brilliant marriage in New York, but it ended in a scandalous divorce and thirty days in Sierra Tucson rehab. Now she finds that, despite feminist lip service, she will still need a husband to be socially complete. A woman’s sexual reputation matters, and so does her family name. Ellie must navigate the treacherous social terrain where old money meets new: charitable benefits and tequila body shots, inherited diamonds and viper-bite lip piercings, country house weekends and sexting. She finds that her beauty is a powerful tool in this world, but it has its limitations, even liabilities. Through one misstep after another, Ellie mishandles her second act. Her options narrow, her future prospects contract, until she faces a desperate choice.

With a keen eye for the perfect detail and a heart big enough to embrace those she observes, Claire McMillan has written an assured and revelatory debut novel about class, gender, and the timeless conundrum of femininity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Looking for a beach read with a touch of literary pedigree? . . . [A] rich romp of a read.”—Elle

"Great fun, an over-the-top social farce, like Gossip Girl for grown people."—Boston Globe

"McMillan, a facile writer who excels at natural dialogue, is deft at bringing character 'types' like Ellie and her professor-swain to life. Readers needn't care about Cleveland aristocracy to enjoy this book. . . . Ellie Hart's conundrum seduces us . . . studded with intriguing and accurate morsels, set among the city's old-money WASP conventions, updated with sexting and tequila body shots. More than a century after The House of Mirth, McMillan demonstrates that human nature's tendency to judge and shun is still with us."—The Cleveland Plain Dealer

“McMillan reimagines Wharton’s The House of Mirth as a modern story set amid the upper crust of Cleveland instead of New York. The new setting works brilliantly. While the book hews to the original in terms of plot, this is no literary parlor trick: The dialogue is sharp and witty, and the characters inhabit a world of their own making. It’s a tragic comedy that’s alternately hilarious and heartbreaking.”—Romantic Times

“A hard-edged look at the . . . elite of modern-day Cleveland . . . While the novel tips its hat to House of Mirth, a simple comparison doesn’t do McMillan justice.”—Publishers Weekly

“McMillan cleverly uses Wharton’s classic novel to draw parallels between the social mores of two starkly different centuries. . . . An engrossing first novel.”—Library Journal

“Marvelous . . . it is McMillan’s deft touch with the complexities of male-female relationships that . . . give Gilded Age real depth. . . . As a stand-alone novel this works in every sense.”—Portland Book Review

"With a keen eye for the perfect detail and a heart big enough to embrace those she observes, Claire McMillan has written an assured and revelatory debut novel about class, gender, and the timeless conundrum of femininity."—Bookreporter.com

“Entertaining and thought-provoking . . . mature and deft. . . . An engrossing reinterpretation of Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth.”—ShelfAwareness.com

“If Edith Wharton had lived in the contemporary Midwest, here is the novel she would have written. From the dowager who pins a half million dollars in diamonds on her fleece vest to the native son burdened by a decaying family estate, Claire McMillan gets it all right as she spins an intelligent and engrossing story of class, feminism, and beautiful but doomed Ellie Hart.”—Susan Rebecca White, author of A Soft Place to Land

About the Author

Claire McMillan grew up in Pasadena, California and now lives in Cleveland on her husband’s family’s farm with their three children. She practiced law until 2003 and then received her MFA in creative writing from Bennington College. This is her first novel.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1 edition (June 12, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451640471
• ISBN-13: 978-1451640472
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #330,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Sadly disappointing.... June 18, 2012

By Literaryxplorer

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was very much looking forward to reading this novel: Edith Wharton's "House Of Mirth" reset in contemporary Clevland. What a great premise! I'm from Clevland, knew the social milieu there quite well, have love-hate feelings about the place. Alas, I was sorely disappointed. This is, I suppose, a novel of manners...but the depiction of upper end Cleveland society didn't hold my interest, and many of the secondary characters, lacking definition, ended up being just names on the page. Another major (to me) failing was that even when the author set scenes in locations I know well (Cedar-Fairmount; The Cleveland Art Museum; etc.) I found her descriptions flat. I still think she had a powerful idea, and that with a lot more work could have made something quite fine. This is a first novel and so much can be forgiven. Thus I rate it three stars; otherwise I'd have given in two. But I was bored and I believe others will be as well. Still, for all my disappointment, I wish this author luck.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "INTELLIGENT, ENGROSSING, COMPELLING!" June 26, 2012

By Geraldine Ahearn TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

The author delivers a captivating story about a woman who becomes confused about her own identity and her place in the world as she strives for success and love. The main character draws you right in, the setting is perfect, and the story grabs your attention in the very beginning. Interesting and dramatic on social morals and values, marriage and divorce, class, and feminism. Beautifully written and very Enjoyable. Highly Recommended!

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars superb modernization of The House of Mirth June 12, 2012

By Harriet Klausner #1 HALL OF FAME

Format:Hardcover

Eleanor Hart returns to Cleveland when her Manhattan-based marriage ended in divorce. Rumors abound that the beautiful chic Ellie stopped on her way home for a thirty day stay at Sierra Tucson, a noted rehab center.

Ellie still has her magnetic control of men who are attracted to her like bees buzzing around honey. Her best friend quickly realizes when they meet at the opera for the first time since Ellie cane home that she remains as self-indulged as always. Knowing Ellie has no money, her BFF suggests she marry a rich suitor like wealthy ambulance chasing lawyer Randall Leforte. As Ellie makes the rounds of Cleveland's in-bred acrimonious affluent, she seems to always return to case Reserve Western University English professor William Selden.

This is a superb modernization of The House of Mirth that makes a case that women may claim they have come a long way since the early twentieth century of the Edith Wharton novel, but realistically have not gotten very far as a woman's societal standing has not altered that much. Though sexual views seem antiquated yet ironically timely with the Vagina War, Ellie's unnamed BFF provides a strong sharp condemnation of society that assaults women who choose to break out of their pre-determined by DNA caste.

Harriet Klausner