The Gilded Years: A Novel

The Gilded Years: A Novel

SOON TO BE ADAPTED FOR FILM in A White Lie, a TriStar major motion picture, starring and produced by Zendaya in collaboration with Reese Witherspoonâ€™s Hello Sunshine.

â€œTanabe immerses the reader in a world of romance and manners, but also leaves you gripping the edge of your seatâ€¦An elegant and extremely gratifying imagining of one remarkable woman's life.â€ â€”USA TODAY

â€œBased on the true story of the first African-American woman to ever go to Vassar College. The catch? No one knew she was African-Americanâ€¦Think: â€œGatsbyâ€ meets college meets an impressive beach read." â€”theSkimm

An Us Weekly â€œSizzling Summer Readâ€ * A Time Summer Read

Passing meets The House of Mirth in this â€œutterly captivatingâ€ (Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of The Kitchen House) historical novel based on the true story of Anita Hemmings, the first black student to attend Vassar, who successfully passed as whiteâ€”until she let herself grow too attached to the wrong person.

Since childhood, Anita Hemmings has longed to attend the countryâ€™s most exclusive school for women, Vassar College. Now, a bright, beautiful senior in the class of 1897, she is hiding a secret that would have banned her from admission: Anita is the only African-American student ever to attend Vassar. With her olive complexion and dark hair, this daughter of a janitor and descendant of slaves has successfully passed as white, but now finds herself rooming with Louise â€œLottieâ€ Taylor, the scion of one of New Yorkâ€™s most prominent families.

Though Anita has kept herself at a distance from her classmates, Lottieâ€™s sphere of influence is inescapable, her energy irresistible, and the two become fast friends. Pulled into her elite world, Anita learns what itâ€™s like to be treated as a wealthy, educated white womanâ€”the person everyone believes her to beâ€”and even finds herself in a heady romance with a moneyed Harvard student. Itâ€™s only when Lottie becomes infatuated with Anitaâ€™s brother, Frederick, whose skin is almost as light as his sisterâ€™s, that the situation becomes particularly perilous. And as Anitaâ€™s college graduation looms, those closest to her will be the ones to dangerously threaten her secret.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of the Gilded Age, an era when old money traditions collided with modern ideas, Tanabe has written an unputdownable and emotionally compelling story of hope, sacrifice, and betrayalâ€”and a gripping account of how one woman dared to risk everything for the chance at a better life.
Country USA
Brand Washington Square Press
Manufacturer Atria Books
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9781501110450
ReleaseDate 2016-06-07
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781501110450

Country	USA
Brand	Washington Square Press
Manufacturer	Atria Books
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9781501110450
ReleaseDate	2016-06-07
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781501110450

The Gilded Years: A Novel

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