RUMORS: A Luxe Novel
Anna Godbersen
HarperTeen
Historical Romance
ISBN: 9780061345692
432 pages

• Read an Excerpt
• Author Interview –– December 2007

Rumor has it that Elizabeth Holland did not actually die in the carriage accident just before her wedding. The failure of her body to appear after her supposed drowning in the East River has all of New York society wondering if one of the city's most beloved socialites is still alive. Though her family and friends still mourn her as though she is dead, Elizabeth lives on in the popular press, leading people to scrutinize those who were nearest to her while she was living.

Her sister Diana is watched most closely, forcing the feisty younger sibling to mend her wild ways and behave according to the strictures of society. It's widely speculated that Elizabeth's engagement to society scion Henry Schoonmaker was an attempt to repair the Holland family fortune and Schoonmaker's rakish reputation. But Diana refuses to give away any secrets she can sell. Gossip columnist Davis Bernard has become a more lucrative connection than the many suitors who court her favor as the last remaining daughter of one of New York's oldest families.

Elizabeth's best friend, Penelope Hayes, has prospered since --- and some might say because of --- Elizabeth's disappearance. Penelope has adopted Elizabeth's mannerisms, reputation and friends. She will pay any price to get Elizabeth's fiance for herself. What Penelope doesn't realize is that Henry has a secret of his own --- he is in love with Elizabeth's sister Diana.

Anna Godbersen's RUMORS returns readers to the glittering world of turn-of-the-century New York. Those who enjoyed the intrigue and scandal of THE LUXE will not be disappointed by the sequel, which --- as its title implies --- revolves around the price of keeping secrets, and the fortunes that can be made or lost upon their revelation. 

One of the most interesting developments in the second book is the emergence of a wider range of characters all attempting to prosper off the fortunes and follies of the rich. Elizabeth's envious and duplicitous maid, Lina Broud, returns as a self-styled Western mining heiress, Carolina Broad. With the help of her shopkeeper friend Tristan and Carey Lewis Longhorn --- an older gentleman who wishes to bankroll her extravagant lifestyle --- Lina is poised to storm the upper echelons of society. Neither of these men are deceived about Lina's origins, but they both see how they can use her ambitions to their ends. Lina becomes Carolina through the exchange and leverage of information, most of it about the family she used to serve.

While Lina moves up the social ladder, several of Godbersen's characters teeter on the edge of scandal and disgrace. Will the Holland family collapse under the pressures of money and reputation? Has Penelope finally gone too far in her pursuit of having everything she wants? Will Lina be able to successfully pass herself off as a young woman of breeding and wealth?

Not to be outdone by the disappearance of a major character at the end of the first novel, RUMORS features a death and two weddings, along with another cliffhanger that promises further books in this tantalizing series. Godbersen's deliciously outrageous --- and transcontinental --- plot is tempered by a close attention to historical details, an extensive vocabulary and an evident love for her subject. Her characters and themes deepen in this second installment of the series without losing the sensational appeal of the first.

    --- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood

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