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Loading... A Lady of Good Family: A Novelby Jeanne Mackin
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour from the publisher via NetGalley and rated it 4 out of 5 Stars. A mixture of literary fiction and historical romance, A Lady of Good Family by Jeanne Mackin, tells the story of real life landscape architect Beatrix Jones Farrand. Written in third person narrative, Ms. Mackin’s tale paints a picture of both America and Europe as both continents experience the last days of the Gilded Age, the ramping up of the Women’s Rights movement and the never ending battle between “old money” and the “Nouveau Riche”. Clearly a lover of gardening herself, Ms. Mackin’s descriptions of the gardens and landscaping Beatrix Jones Farrand would have visited, studied and eventually designed herself, remind me of the simple beauty and peace one can find when working with plants. I believe Ms. Mackin does a good job introducing us, via reflection by a secondary character, to the young woman Beatrix Jones could have been during the time the story takes place; a young woman from a rich upper class society expected to marry but unwilling to do so. A “handsome”, well-educated and liberated woman, Beatrix is a study in contrasts. While she comes from old money, and a coveted social standing, she’s very aware of the how the world is changing and refuses to be tied down to a traditional role like many of the women she knows. Ms. Mackin’s easy to follow writing style made it very easy to connect with Breatrix and to root for her to be able to forge her own path. Ms. Mackin’s secondary characters are very well developed and I really enjoyed getting to know Beatrix’s mother Mary (aka Minnie), who devoted her life to “giving back to the world” to make up for her failing marriage, her aunt Edith Wharton, a writer I have to admit I’ve never read, and the fictional narrator and confidant of all three women, “Daisy Winters”, the only woman who had a loving and truly functional marriage, though it too had issues. I also thought Ms. Mackin did a good job developing Amerigo Marrismo, the young Italian gentleman Beatrix meets and becomes attracted to while visiting the Villa Borghese Gardens while in Rome. The attraction Beatrix and Amerigo begin to experience, which develops over chance encounters, is unfortunately soon offset by the conflict in the paths they want their lives to take and the interference of another wealthy American woman. Will Beatrix choose to put her plans for landscape design and professional gardening aside for a future with Amerigo or will the different paths their lives are taking tear them apart before too much emotional damage can be done? And if Beatrix walks away, who will she become? You’ll have to read A Lady of Good Standing to find out. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of Ms. Mackin’s work in the future. no reviews | add a review
From the author of The Beautiful American comes a richly imagined, beautifully written novel about historical figure Beatrix Farrand, one of the first female landscape architects. Raised among wealth and privilege during America's fabled Gilded Age, a niece of famous novelist Edith Wharton and a friend to literary great Henry James, Beatrix Farrand is expected to marry, and marry well. But as a young woman traveling through Europe with her mother and aunt, she already knows that gardens are her true passion. How this highborn woman with unconventional views escapes the dictates of society to become the most celebrated female landscape designer in the country is the story of her unique determination to create beauty and serenity while remaining true to herself. Beatrix's journey begins at the age of twenty-three in the Borghese Gardens of Rome, where she meets beguiling Amerigo Massimo, an Italian gentleman of sensitivity and charm--a man unlike any she has known before.... No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Not only that I could not tell one character from another they all seemed so flat, even Edith Wharton, so I never understood what was going on or why....
Odd thing is I really enjoyed the Schiaparelli book I read by her.... ( )