This is the October selection for the Monterey book group, and it's very similar to some of the other fluff we've read lately, although slightly more interesting and slightly better written. We have a struggling family in the south, the mother encourages her beautiful daughter to work in a gambling (and later we learn house of prostitution), meets a wealthy railroad scion, becomes his mistress, and ultimately lives a life of captivity and frustration. A very sad story, really, but interesting to me to read about the wealthy in this post-Civil War time period.
The back cover advertises that Belle (the mistress) lives life on her own terms, but really, she does not. And she gives up her son for five years only because her man's wife demands it? Really odd and hard to believe... And this story is about the Huntington family, and the author claims to have reliable historical sources for much of the story. True or not, it does illustrate the pitfalls of seeking wealth and security through immoral deeds... It was hard to tell where the author stands on some of the thorny issues...Belle ultimately finds "true love" and marries again, but we wonder about that, too. They don't really know each other but feel this electric connection every time they meet? Hmmmm.
The stepdaughter and son turn out to be interesting characters, but we don't learn a lot about them. I felt sorry for Clara, who was obviously sucked in to what would surely be an unhappy marriage. And the unlikely meetings of Belle and "the wife" and all the secrecy surrounding their son...all of it dishonest and weird, really. Yet, it was an interesting story that was mildly entertaining and good fodder for my "read to sleep" habit. I'm definitely ready for something better. Something uplifting, something where the women make better choices!
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