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This book is a historical fiction novel that was inspired by Arabella Huntington. Arabella was once known as the rich woman in America. The story follows Arabella’s life from when she is around 17 and meets the much older (and married) Collis Huntington. The two met at the illegal gambling parlor in which Arabella was employed in Virginia. Collis, a railroad baron, was a self man mutimillionaire who fell head over heals for Arabella. Arabella was a smart young woman who was a good match for Collis. She had the intelligence to use the relationship the two had formed to not only help herself out of poverty but her mother and siblings as well. She lived by her own rules and was extremely loyal to her family. She was able to earn her own wealth and place in society after years of being the other woman through her smarts, style, taste, and behavior.

I really enjoyed learning about a time in history I know little about and a woman who followed her own rules and saved herself and her family. Arabella stands out among females in any book/ movie I have heard about in the gilded age. She did not settle for a live in poverty, she was intelligent, and self motivated to ensure she would not end up destitute again. She didn’t just depend on a man to support her she made sure she has money and property that was hers no matter if she had a man in her life or not. She was a strong female in a time where most women had little say in their lives.

If you enjoy books about the gilded age, historical fiction based on real women, or the struggles from poverty to wealth this is a book for you.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and I have not been influenced by anyone.