The Luxe, by Anna Godbersen
Godbersen, Anna (2007). The Luxe. NY: HarperCollins. 448 pages.
I was wary of this Alloy Entertainment produced historical fiction novel, if only because the author info. on the jacket flap indicated that a sequel was in the makes. Imagine my surprise when the book actually turned out to be not only good, but almost compulsively readable. It is clear that Godbersen is intending The Luxe to function as a turn-of-the-century “Gossip Girl” and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t work. In fact, the novel plays into all of our contemporary romantic fantasies about life among the upper class in very late 19th century (1899, to be precise) Manhattan and might work even better as a “novel of manners” than the 21st century Gossip Girl series does.
The Luxe follows the Holland sisters–the blond and demure Elizabeth who is hiding a secret and scandalous love, and darkly beautiful Diana, the younger sister who aches for rebellion–the only children in an old-money family who discover their finances are not quite as solid as they thought. In an effort to secure the Hollands’ place in society, Mrs. Holland brokers a marriage deal with the father of Henry Schoonmaker, the good-looking cad-about-town, to marry Liz and Henry, whether the betrothed desire each other or not. Of course, neither are pleased about this arrangement and neither are several other young society maidens, most notably Liz’s frenemy Penelope, and her own sister, Diana, who is rapidly falling for young Hank.
Each chapter opens with either a fictionalized excerpt from the New York society pages, the contents of notes sent between characters, or quotes from nineteenth century books of manners and advice. These set the tone of the novel quite well, and provide both foreshadowing as well as glimpses into 19th century life. It would be nice if there were a bibliography of the books of manners (that is, if these are, indeed, legitimate publications and not fictionalized pieced like the newspaper clippings and notes), though the lack of a reference list doesn’t ruin the novel.
Perhaps because this book was created by Alloy and because it does bear so many traces of “Gossip Girl,” I found myself noting real similarities between the lives of the 19th and 21st century richies. Across centuries, the wealthy sneak smokes, drink expensive champagne, and relish secret and personal communiques. We Victorians, indeed (did anyone get that deliberate Foucault reference?).