'I had a fondness for the Edith Wharton-type of novel,' says Godbersen, a Berkeley, California, native and Barnard graduate. Once Godbersen got the green light for the book idea, she started researching the Gilded Age in New York. Ultimately, she got a lucrative book deal of her own, and this one, The Luxe, became her labor of love, she says. It was a fun thing to do, Godbersen says, and I made a small amount of money. From there she went on to ghostwrite a series of books for teen readers under a pseudonym. Though she reviewed mostly male-oriented books for Esquire, her personal reading on the side included plenty of more girly books. I wrote a review almost every week, Godbersen recalls, and it was a real learning experience. The author of this teen sensation got her start in writing as the assistant to the literary editor at Esquire magazine. And with a first printing of 200,000 for this first entry in a scheduled three-part series, HarperCollins is expecting this clique of characters and their charmed lifestyle to be just as popular. In all, the characters seem remarkably similar to teenagers today or at least the ones we see on Gossip Girls or The Hills. Told in a series of vignettes from the perspectives of several interwoven characters each with his or her own agenda The Luxe follows a young debutante, Elizabeth Holland, as she navigates the world of late 19th-century New York aristocracy, a world filled with backstabbing friends, salacious affairs, strict societal rules and lots of gossip. 'Mystery, romance, jealousy, betrayal, humor, and gorgeous, historically accurate details.Scandalous affairs, decadent parties, steamy rendezvous and scheming friends: In her new novel for young adults, The Luxe, Anna Godbersen captures the essence of Gilded Age New York high society at its most lavish and luxurious. And while the newspapers call Penelope's social-climbing best friend, Carolina Broad, an heiress, her fortune-and her fame-is anything but secure. But despite the glittering diamond ring on Penelope's finger, the newlyweds share little more than scorn for each other.

17 Gramercy Park South.įarther uptown, Henry and Penelope Schoonmaker are the city's most celebrated couple. When Elizabeth refuses to rejoin her sister Diana's side, however, those watching New York's favorite family begin to suspect that all is not as it seems behind the stately doors of No.

Two months after Elizabeth Holland's dramatic homecoming, Manhattan eagerly awaits her return to the pinnacle of society. But sometimes the most practiced smiles hide the most scandalous secrets. In the thrilling third installment of Anna Godbersen's bestselling Luxe series, Manhattan's most envied residents appear to have everything they desire: Wealth. Gossip Girl meets the Gilded Age in this delicious and compelling novel, the third in the New York Times bestselling series from author Anna Godbersen.

The luxe by anna godbersen