Gilded [Paperback]

Catherine Karp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2002

Catherine Karp's Hollywood Discovery Award-winning debut novel delves inside the late-19th-century home of Philip Brandenberg, a popular Massachusetts mayor who firmly believes in the Victorian notion that women are second-class citizens. His wife, Emma, college educated and twenty-three years his junior, longs to escape her controlling and often-violent husband--yet society and fear keep her in her place.

GILDED opens in the summer of 1897, five years into the turbulent marriage, when a heightening women's rights movement, a few wayward friends, and a hatmaker who loves his lady customers far too intimately will all lead the young Mrs. Brandenberg to a marvelous discovery:

LIBERATION...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Emma's spirited resilience and increasing self-awareness give her great depth, and make Gilded a fascinating read." -- Lise Hull, Inscriptions Magazine

"I was entranced by Emma, who is a strong, well-written, and well-rounded character...5 stars out of 5." -- Kara Wolf, Sime~Gen Historical Reviews

"The love triangle creates conflict which builds to a juggernaut of suspense..." -- Marcia K. Matthews, The Historical Novels Review

[Gilded] opens with the emotional impact of a runaway train and ends in a way that will satisfy the heart. -- Romantic Times BOOKclub, November 2002

From the Author

I set Gilded in the 1890s because the decade was a time of such tremendous change in America. The century was coming to an end, and the rural world of the early 1800s was being replaced by technological marvels such as electric lights, automobiles, phonographs, telephones, and even motion pictures. Moreover, it was a time of transition for American females. By 1896, four states had given women the vote. Furthermore, more and more females were entering the workplace and earning their own living, which brought about a revolutionary new concept: a woman could now marry for love instead of out of necessity and security.

This emergence of a "new woman" is the central conflict in Gilded. Mayor Philip Brandenberg, 47, was raised with the traditional belief that women are the weaker sex, scientifically proven to be fit for only domestic duties. His wife, Emma, 24, was college educated and brought up to believe she is "an amazing girl living in an amazing time." The novel opens in 1897, five years into the marriage, when the conflicted couple reaches a boiling point --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 306 pages
• Publisher: Coachlight Pr (August 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971679002
• ISBN-13: 978-0971679009
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,950,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Remarkable First Novel, December 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Gilded (Paperback)

Catherine Karp's debut novel is a fascinating journey to a former era. The novel explores the life of Emma Brandenberg and her friends as they search for independence in a time when women were expected to stay in the shadows behind their husbands. The details about the common aspects of life in the 1890's demonstrates a great deal of careful research by the author. The plot is exciting and unexpected at times. It is one of those novels that you just can not put down as you long to know what will become of Emma in her struggle for liberation from her overbearing husband. The reader becomes inspired by the strength and passion of Emma. This novel not only shows you the life of Emma but delves into the structure of society in the 1890's. Several controversial topics emerge in the novel that are still present in society today. I have read the novel several times now, but at each reading I still find myself engaged by the vivd descriptions of life in the 1890's, delighted by the personalities of the characters, and touched by the sensitivity of the story. I happily anticipate future novels from this promising new author.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Materfully recreates the romance of the era, February 2, 2003

By 

"stoms10" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gilded (Paperback)

Married to the Hollybrook mayor, Emma Brandenberg has everything she could
possibly want--a lovely home, the latest fashions, and a life of social
prominence. Or does she? Secrets are tucked away and hidden behind the
public Victorian persona. Forced to abandon her college education upon
becoming Philip's wife, Emma is stifled in her gilded cage. Her only
outlet is a close circle of friends, but they have secrets of their own.

The quiet New England town is transformed when Ash's Fine Parisian
Millinery sets up for business. The hatmaker's shop, along with the
handsome proprietor, Freddie Ash, becomes the rage of the town. Formerly
bored ladies of leisure leave the hat shop with contented smiles upon
their faces. But Freddie's scandalous behavior is a diversion for the real
secret hidden beneath Victorian propriety. The ever popular mayor abuses
his wife.

During a time when there was nowhere to seek shelter, Emma turns to
Freddie in her darkest moments. Although humanly flawed, Freddie guides
Emma along the path to independence and love. GILDED is about manipulation
and spousal abuse, as well as the frightening terrors that go with it. It
is also about strength and courage, yet it subtly reminds us that
preceding the peak of the suffrage movement, brave women fought for rights
that present day women often take for granted.

Karp masterfully recreates the romance of the era through tearooms, the
first electric light bulbs, and the horseless carriage, while creating a
whirlwind plot that keeps readers guessing until the end. I highly
recommend this book to romantics and historical fiction fans.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exciting, emotional, reaching novel, September 14, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gilded (Paperback)

Winner of the Hollywood Discovery Award, Catherine Karp's Gilded is an superbly written and highly recommended novel set in 1890's America. Emma Brandenberg is struggling against her abusive husband Philip and a Massachusetts culture that perceives women to be subject to men and incapable of governing their own lives or make their own life-choices. The movement for women's liberation and its intersection with the fate of one woman trapped in a turbulent and unhappy marriage from the substance of an exciting, emotional, reaching novel carrying a message that is as dramatically relevant today as were the events that background the story more than 100 years ago.