An American beauty
Abé, Shana2023
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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 parlour, 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 behaviour. 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 . . An American Beauty brings to vivid life the glitter and drama of a captivating chapter in history--and a remarkable woman who lived by her own rules.
An American beauty / Shana Abé.
Abé, Shana, author
New York, NY : Kensington Publishing Corp., [2023]©2023
374 pages ; 21 cm
"A novel of the gilded age"--Front cover.
9781496739421 (pbk)9781496739421
813.6
PS3551.B329
English
Huntington, Collis Potter, 1821-1900 -- FictionHuntington, Arabella Duval, 1850 or 1851-1924 -- FictionUpper class -- FictionBusinesspeople -- FictionSecrecy -- FictionMay-December romances -- FictionNew York (N.Y.) -- History -- 19th century -- FictionNew York (N.Y.) -- History -- 20th century -- FictionRomance fictionHistorical fictionBiographical fiction
544622
Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
---|---|---|---|
Brighton Library | Adult Fiction - General | ABE | Onloan - Due: 24 Oct 2024 |