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This is another wonderful book by Shana Abe. She paints portraits of the Gilded Age that are both entertaining and accurate. This is the story of ARABELLA HUNTINGTON and her rise from a Faro house in Richmond to becoming one f the wealthiest women in the world.

Belle became the mistress of Collis Huntington, a very wealthy railroad tycoon. Her brilliance allowed her to parlay her position into independent wealth. Belle is the mother of Collis� only son, Archer. Under all the gilt os the heart of a caring mother, daughter and sister who manages to care for her entire family. Sadly, despite her accomplishments, she is always viewed with disdain.

Abe is able to paint incredibly vivid pictures, both about the inner workings of society as well as the outer accoutrements of wealth. It’s clear that Abe has done an incredible amount of research making this a novel of historical fiction and underlying facts.

As a fan of The Gilded Age on HBO, I couldn’t help but make connections to her characters, especially Belle. I highly recommend this to all my readers. I also suggest reading the Author’s Note, which gives the reader additional information and helps contextualize the story. It is also interesting to see how Belle’s philanthropy impacts her world and ours.

Thank you Netgalley for this novel that I truly enjoyed.