I am so excited to show you the gorgeous new cover for "The Social Graces" by Renee Rosen! I have loved her other books and am so excited for this one!
Book details:
THE SOCIAL GRACES by Renee Rosen (Berkley trade paperback; on-sale April 20, 2021)
Pre-order link:
https://bit.ly/3leUzfn
What's the Story?:
Renee Rosen, bestselling author of Park Avenue Summer,
delivers readers a peek behind the curtain at one of the most
remarkable feuds in history: Mrs. Vanderbilt and Mrs. Astor's notorious
battle for control of New York society during
the Gilded Age.
In the glittering world of Manhattan's upper crust,
where wives turn a blind eye to husbands' infidelities, and women have
few rights and even less independence, society is everything. The more
celebrated the hostess, the more powerful
the woman. And none is more powerful than Caroline Astor--the Mrs.
Astor.
But times are changing.
Alva Vanderbilt has recently married into one of America's richest
families. But what good is money when society refuses to acknowledge
you? When it carries on just as it has done for generations? Alva, who
knows what it is to have nothing, will do whatever
it takes to have everything.
Sweeping three decades and based on true events, this gripping novel
follows these two women as they try to outdo and outsmart each other at
every turn. As Caroline comes closer to defeat and Alva closer to
victory, both will make surprising discoveries about
themselves and what's truly at stake.
Q&A with Renee Rosen:
What inspired you to write THE SOCIAL GRACES?
THE SOCIAL GRACES is the story of Alva
Vanderbilt and Caroline Astor vying for control of New York society
during the Gilded Age. That’s my elevator pitch, but it’s also the
story of mothers and daughters, of sisters, of husbands
and wives, of class and examining one’s shifting values.
In terms of inspiration, it was more of a “who”
rather than a “what”. I was brainstorming on new book concepts and my
agent mentioned Consuelo Vanderbilt. Right after that, my editor
suggested doing something in the Gilded Age. So really
it was the two of them who inspired me, and after some preliminary
research on New York in that time period, it was obvious that the
rivalry between Mrs. Astor and Alva Vanderbilt had the makings of a
really interesting novel.
Tell us about what it was like to write the
feuding Mrs. Astor and Mrs. Vanderbilt, two of America’s wealthiest and
most powerful women. Did you relate more to Mrs. Astor, or Mrs.
Vanderbilt?
Bringing Caroline Astor and Alva Vanderbilt to life
on the page was far more challenging than I had anticipated. When I
first started working on the novel, I looked at my cast of characters
and realized I had a group of rather unlikable
people. On the surface, they came across as spoiled, entitled, greedy
and superficial. I knew that if I wanted to engage the reader, I was
going to have to really drill down to find the humanity in these people
and find a reason for us to root for them. Once
I started to see Alva and Caroline as wives, mothers and daughters
themselves, they started to come alive for me. I found myself able to
relate to both of them in different ways and for different reasons. I
related to Caroline reaching the prime of her life
and worried that her youth and significance were slipping away. With
Alva I related to her passion, her drive, her unconventional spirit. In
the end, I’m happy to say that I found them both women to be
fascinating and bewildering characters to work with.
Did you discover anything in your research that surprised you?
I was really surprised by how understated the
knickerbockers (the old money) were early on, before the nouveau riche
began exerting their influence. For example, Caroline Astor and other
society matrons of her ilk found those wonderful
Worth gowns to be very gauche and pretentious. They never wore them and
instead favored more plain gowns. The knickerbockers lived in very
refined, nearly identical townhouses. It wasn’t until Alva Vanderbilt
embarked on her architectural masterpieces (such
as Petit Chateau and Marble House) that the rest of society began
trying to out-build one another with their palatial mansions. The same
goes for their extravagant entertaining. It wasn’t until the new money
began throwing such elaborate and outlandish balls
that the knickerbockers felt they needed to compete and became a matter
of keeping up with the Joneses.
If THE SOCIAL GRACES was made into a movie, who would you choose to cast as your two leading ladies?
Such a fun question! I think Kathy Bates would be a
fabulous Mrs. Astor and I could see Julia Garner bringing Alva to life.
After seeing her portrayal of Ruth Langmore in
Ozark as well as a few other performances, I’m convinced she’d be brilliant in any part she plays.
Want to win your own copy of "The Social Graces?" Enter here!
