A decade ago, I would have been all over THE LUXE like a bad rash. That's when I was going through my fascination with the Victorian and Edwardian Eras. Roughly, that's between the ascension of Queen Victoria in the early 1800s to the death of her son, King Edward VII in 1900. This is also called the Gilded Age because the Industrial Revolution was making a lot of people very rich. THE LUXE is set in 1999. To give you some perspective, the Titanic sunk in 1912. Of course, I was more interested in what the nannies and lady's maids were doing. Besides reading TO MARRY AN ENGLISH LORD, I also read THE UNNATURAL HISTORY OF THE NANNY and the biography of Lady Astor's personal maid. The LUXE heroine, Elizabeth, does have a lady's maid, in fact, and the only mother figure who seemed to have loved her was her nanny, the mother of her true love, Will. This is all historically consistant. In a time and place when people married for money, they were often detached from their children. Anyway, I've moved on to Ancient History in my historical fascinations. THE LUXE was a nice trip down memory lane.
.
The young people I know read Fantasy and some Science Fiction. The ones who do read Historicals don't seem crazy about the mushy ones, but I could be wrong there. Maybe they'll like this one. None of them I've asked like the Gossip Girls at all, so that's not a good comparison to use here. Like I said in my pre-Christmas preview of the LUXE, there is nookie going on in this novel and no mention of contraception, which was, in fact, available during that time period. This is fine for adults, but I'm hesitant to recommend it to teens unless I know they know better. A lot of fourteen year olds do know better, of course, but there are just as many naive seventeen year olds who don't. The venereal disease and pregnancy rates support that. The journey to love can be a dangerous one. A person really must know how to protect her or himself.
.
I would put the love scenes at 'Mildly Sensual' on the Heat Level graph. You'll know what's going on, but it happens between the pages. You won't 'see' it happening between the sheets, or in the barn or wherever. This makes me think this would be a wonderful novel for readers who love Historical Romance, but are sick of having to skip over graphic sex scenes. I know there are lot of you out there and you're hesitant to buy new as a result. If that's true and you loved the movie TITANIC with Leonardo diCaprio, then THE LUXE will be a safe buy for you. To me, it's a Historical Romance novel. The heroine just happens to be eighteen years old is all. There's nothing in it a mature woman can't relate to or enjoy.
.
THE LUXE starts out with the heroine's funeral. You might be going 'huh? But, it works. Ms. Godbersen's writing style kept me locked in as she took the story from there into the events which led up to it. In case you're worried the requisite Happily Ever After is missing, don't worry. It's not. Although, it's not entirely what you'll expect either.
.
In any case, we go from the funeral back to the beginning of the events which led to it. Elizabeth has just returned home and is at that age when young ladies of the Gilded Age are paraded around society in the hopes of snagging a wealthy and well-connected husband. Love is desired, but not necessary. This is normal for her world and her conniving 'best friend' and envious younger sister is all for it. But, Elizabeth harbors a secret love for Will.
.
Elizabeth's family is American nobility. Her high profile family goes back generations. Unfortunately and unknown to anyone, her family is on the brink of financial disaster. The matriarch, therefore, is especially adament that Elizabeth marry extremely well. Being a well-brought up girl, extremely well-mannered, and beautiful, Elizabeth goes along with this and immediately snags the most eligible bachelor in town, Henry.
.
In a time when marriage was for money and/or political advantage, it wasn't unusual for married people to keep lovers on the side to fulfill their true needs. Even so, the thought of sharing a bed with Henry while really wanting to be with Will, her true love, is unsettling for Elizabeth. As one expect, Will isn't particularly keen on the idea either. Much conspiring and manipulating ensues around the couple, from their friends to Elizabeth's mother and all of society.
.
THE LUXE is set Manhatten. If you've ever been curious or fascinated about historic New York, this is also a good novel for you. The period details are well-researched.
No comments:
Post a Comment