Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.

Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr. Ballantine Book, Penguin Random House, 2013. Nonfiction, Adult.


W.A. Clark helped establish Las Vegas. Clark County is named for him. He was, at best, a senator and copper magnate. At worst, he was controversial. Even Mark Twain railed against him! His first wife died. He married again and had two daughters in that marriage. When he died, the children from both marriages stood to inherit literally fortunes.


This book is really the story of his youngest child, Huguette. She lived to be 104. She had mansions in California, Connecticut, and New York City, but she seldom lived in any of them or went to visit. The last decades of her life were spent in a hospital room in New York City, but she was not really sick. She gave away millions. After her death, many people tried to prove that she was senile.  You will come to your own conclusion after reading this tale!


Well researched and with contributions by a family member who often talked by phone with Huguette, this tale will pique your curiosity, challenge how you think about the elderly, and make you think about the values of extreme wealth in new ways.

The Promise: A Novel by Ann Weisgarber

                           

The Promise: A Novel by Ann Weisgarber. Skyhorse Publishing,

                            2013, 2014.  Fiction

Talented young pianist Catherine Wainwright of Dayton, Ohio has been                    seen at the theatre in Columbus with her cousin's husband. Her

reputation is ruined.  She is uncertain what to do until she writes to                           childhood friend, Oscar Williams, who is now a widower with a small son and living in Galveston, Texas. It's 1900, and Catherine  jumps at the chance to start over when Oscar proposes.  Nan Ogden, a neighbor on the island, promised Oscar's first wife that  she would take care of little Andre. She now keeps house and cooks for the newly formed family, but does not understand the city ways of Catherine. Of course, readers know that a storm is coming. Who will survive? What will happen?

Starry Night by Isabel Gillies

 Starry Night: A Novel by Isabel Gillies. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2014.
                             Young Adult, Fiction


While young adults may love this story of wealthy teens in New York City, some adults will quake at the sex and drug opportunities presented to the characters. The novel reads smoothly and builds slowly. Central to the first half of the story is the big opening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that will be curated by the father of Wren, an artistic, smart teen. Wren's family and her friends are the players in the book. The teens are invited to the opening and what happens that night sets the stage for the rest of the tale. Wren thinks she has met the boy of her dreams.  Nolan, the heartthrob guy, is a little older, plays in a band, and may not be as wonderful as he seems. Her friend Farah thinks it's cool when a grown-up artist singles her out for his attention. Girls meet boys, boys breaks girls' hearts, life goes on...but this will be a book that teens will want to read!

The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin.

            

          The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin. St. Martin's Press, an imprint of Headline Publishing Group, 2014. Fiction   

What a refreshing twist in that the fortune hunter is a man, not a woman! Set in 1875 and beyond, this tale will satisfy Downton Abbeyish fans and those who like a well written romantic novel. Bay Middleton is the handsome, but untitled, military horseman of the title.  Will plain, but wealthy, young Charlotte Baird capture his heart or is he only after her money? When the Empress of Austria, Elizabeth (Sisi), comes to England, her expert riding skills require an equally talented riding partner. Bay is suggested by none other than Earl Spencer himself. (Queen Victoria also makes an appearance as herself.) Of course, she is married, has grown children, and is definitely several social notches above even Charlotte and her friends. Lush details of fancy balls and elegant hunts  provide the backdrops for the emotional ebb and flow.  When Bay enters the Grand National race, both women show up to watch and the adventure is neatly tied up in a satisfying conclusion.