Each week this summer we've recommended a can't-put-down tome as part of our Summer Beach Reads column, and we've generally focused on brand spankin' new releases like Maggie Stiefvater's heartbreaking "Forever" and Melissa de la Cruz's magical "Witches of East End". But today, for your warm-weather pleasure, we're going back. Way back to 2007 to extol the virtues of Anna Godbersen's Victorian intrigue "The Luxe."
And for good reason. As you may have heard (or read on Hollywood Crush!), the juicy novel is headed to the big screen, imagined as a "young 'Moulin Rouge'" by "Gossip Girl" creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage. And with four books in Anna's intriguing series, you better start now if you want to have them all devoured before the flick bustles into theaters.
It's no spoiler to tell you "The Luxe" opens on (seemingly) well-to-do Manhattan socialite Elizabeth Holland's funeral, following a mysterious carriage crash that threw the young debutante into the icy Hudson River, never to be found. The story then flashes back weeks earlier to explain the unfortunate turn of events and introduce readers to a cast of simply captivating characters.
There's Elizabeth's younger sister Diana—a rebellious romantic whom we meet when she makes out with a stranger in a coat closet at a party. (So scandalous for 1899!) Then there's Elizabeth's conniving "best friend" Penelope Hayes—a new money beauty who would like nothing more than to marry extremely eligible bachelor Henry Schoonmaker. But, of course, drama isn't the sole province of the rich and fabulous. You'll also meet Lina Broud—Elizabeth's moody maid who dreams of bigger and better things (including a life with stable boy William).
It would probably take a complicated Venn Diagram to accurately explain how each character overlaps romantically (not to mention it might give too much of the story away!), but suffice it to say, these teens are just as incestuous as their modern-day Upper East Side counterparts. Blair and Serena who?
Have you read "The Luxe"? Are you excited for the big-screen adaptation? Tell us in the comments and on Twitter!
** Hollywood Crush Twitter