New York, 1899. It is Christmastime, and all of New York's polite society is mourning the loss of the young socialite and debutante Elizabeth Holland. Well, everyone except for her sister Diana Holland and "best friend" Penelope Hayes, who are the only ones who know the truth -- that Elizabeth had staged her own death so that she could escape to California and be with her true love, her former coachman Will Keller. Elizabeth had been set to marry Mr. Henry Schoonmaker, former rogue and son of an aspiring New York mayor, ready to sacrifice her great love in order to save her family from certain financial ruin and social disgrace. That all soon changed when she discovered that Henry and Diana were secretly seeing each other and had developed feelings for one another (this all happened in The Luxe), and so a plan was set into motion. Now that her main rival is out of her way, new money and social climber Penelope Hayes will do everything to get Henry into the altar. Speaking of social climbers, Lina Broud, former maid at the Holland home, is still enjoying her small fortune obtained by supplying information to Miss Hayes and is going about town posing as an heiress visiting from the west. She even makes the gossip columns. But what's going to happen to her when her money -- and therefore her luck -- runs out? Overcome with guilt, Henry, who doesn't know Elizabeth is alive and happy in California, refuses to continue his liaison with Diana. He wishes to marry Diana, but it would be improper. Meanwhile, Mrs. Holland is holding on to Diana as her last hope to regain fortune by introducing her only daughter to every rich suitor in the city. Welcome to New York circa the turn-of-the-twentieth-century, where the rich, beautiful and scheming go from lovers to betrotheds and friends turn into rivals.
Rumors is an entertaining sequel to The Luxe. It has the same lustrous language and somewhat melodramatic style. As you read it, you can't help but be reminded of soap operas like Dynasty and The Young and the Restless. There is romance, gossip, intrigue, beauty and gorgeous descriptions of wardrobe and home décor. Old New York is described well and you do get a sense of the time period in spite of some glaring anachronisms. (Though the author takes care of bringing up propriety and mores of the times, the girls in this series are very loose when it comes to giving in their virginity or walking about town without a chaperone.) I like the star-crossed romance between Diana and Henry, and Penelope is definitely a fictional version of Consuelo Vanderbilt. Elizabeth and Will are also great, and there is a twist at the end that will move you very much if you come to care about these characters the way I have done. The only storyline I do not like is the one centered on Lina Broud. I know this is a somewhat campy series, but the way Lina passes off as a lady of quality, and the things that transpire with Tristan the conning Lord & Taylor salesman, Mr. Longhorn and her deal with Penelope are too contrived and far-fetched for my taste. Other than that, I enjoyed Rumors very much and look forward to reading Envy. The future of these young characters is uncertain, and I for one can't wait to see what happens next.
