Eleanor Hart had made a brilliant marriage in New York, but it ended in a scandalous divorce and thirty days in Sierra Tucson rehab. Now she finds that, despite feminist lip service, she will still need a husband to be socially complete. A woman's sexual reputation matters, and so does her family name. Ellie must navigate the treacherous social terrain where old money meets new: charitable benefits and tequila body shots, inherited diamonds and viper-bite lip piercings, country house weekends and sexting. She finds that her beauty is a powerful tool in this world, but it has its limitations, even liabilities. Through one misstep after another, Ellie mishandles her second act. Her options narrow, her future prospects contract, until she faces a desperate choice.
With a keen eye for detail and a heart big enough to embrace those she observes, Claire McMillan has written an assured and revelatory debut novel about class, gender, and the timeless conundrum of femininity.
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“First-time novelist McMillan reimagines Wharton’s The House of Mirth as a modern story set amid the upper crust of Cleveland instead of New York. The new setting works brilliantly. While the book hews to the original in terms of plot, this is no literary parlor trick: the dialogue is sharp and witty, and the characters inhabit a world of their own making. It’s a tragic comedy that’s alternately hilarious and heartbreaking.”
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RT Book Reviews (4½ stars)