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Splendor
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The Luxe: Book 4

Splendor (2010) (edit title/settings)

A Luxe Novel

by Anna Godbersen (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

New beginnings. Shocking revelations. Unexpected endings. A spring turns into summer, Elizabeth relishes her new role as a young wife, while her sister, Diana, searches for adventure abroad. But when a surprising clue about their father's death comes to light, the Holland girls wonder... read more

Summary edit see section history

Splendor, the final book of a four part series, is a historical fiction novel filled with ball gowns, scandal and romance. Set in 1900, the book starts out in Cuba, where a wealthy, good-looking young man, by the name of Henry Schoonmaker, is fulfilling military services by steering racing... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Splendor, the final book of a four part series, is a historical fiction novel filled with ball gowns, scandal and romance. Set in 1900, the book starts out in Cuba, where a wealthy, good-looking young man, by the name of Henry Schoonmaker, is fulfilling military services by steering racing boats, thinking of his Manhattan lover, and drinking the days away. Diana, the other half to the dynamic couple, leaves her home in New York, to chase after him. Protected by the lie that she is at finishing school in Paris, she arrives in Cuba and starts a job as a local bar-tender, continuing to search for Henry.
Meanwhile, several sub-plots are unfolding in Manhattan. Elizabeth, Diana's older sister, finds herself a pregnant widow still living in her mothers' house. Although it is far from agreeable, she is offered marriage by an older family friend. With little options left, she accepts. Soon she discovers her marriage wasn't a favor for her family, but an opportunity for her new husband to gain financial advantage from her position. When she confronts him, he continuously subdues her with opium. Concurrently, Henry's wife, Penelope, struggles with their sour marriage, but her main goal is to gain acceptance and envy with the social elite of Manhattan. Carolina Broad,the former Holland ladie's maid, mysteriously made her way to high society, but her hunger for more money, recognition and stability grows with her success.
The author resolves all of the complicated sub-plots at the end of the book. After Henry's father's death and Penelope's very publicized affair, their marriage dissolves. The independent and spirited Diana abruptly turns down Henry's marriage proposal and sets sail for Paris alone. Carolina has everything she wanted, but her web of deceit is uncovered and she is forced to start a new life with the truth known. Elizabeth escapes serious harm, and finally finds happiness and security with her childhood friend.

Characters edit see section history

  • Henry Schoonmaker: A self-centered son of one of Manhattan's wealthiest politicians, Henry Schoonmaker is in the midst of an unhappy marriage, and often sneaks out to be with his paramour, Diana. He is presently married.
  • Diana Holland: A frisky, free-spirited daughter of a recently destitute, but prominent family, Diana is the younger sister of Elizabeth Holland. She is desperately in love with Henry, but is constantly doubting him, as he is married and appears to be in love with his present wife.
  • Elizabeth Holland: Proper and well-mannered daughter of a recently destitute prominent family as well as the older sister of Diana Holland, she finds herself in a bad situation when her unknown husband is shot down unknowingly and she finds herself pregnant but without a husband--until Mr. Snowden offers to help.
  • Carolina "Lina" Broud/Broad: Ambitious ladies' maid that finds an opportunity for wealth and fame, and stops at nothing to accomplish her goals.
  • Penelope Hayes Schoonmaker: At 18 year's of age, Penelope Hayes is new money. Her style is garish and behavior quite presumptuous but she still is one of Manhattan's most beautiful women (which she loves being reminded of repeatedly by her close friend Buck). Penelope is quite resourceful at getting whatever she wants and will stop at nothing to get what she most desires. She is said to be Elizabeth's true best friend but isn't much of a friend at all. She is now Henry's wife. A narcissistic, beautiful, young socialite with an evil twist.
  • Leland Bouchard: A love interest of Carolina Broud.
  • Snowden Trapp Cairns: An old business partner of Mr. Holland; he saves the Holland family from financial ruin and social disgrace by marrying Elizabeth and giving monetary donations to her family.
  • Claire Broad: Carolina's sister and a maid who used to work for the Holland family.
  • Isabelle Schoonmaker: She is the young wife of William Schoonmaker, making her the stepmother of Henry.
  • Mrs. Schmidt: The housekeeper of the Cairns.
  • William Sackhouse Schoonmaker: Father of Henry Schoonmaker and a prosperous man in many areas of expertise.
  • Edith Holland: The Holland girls Aunt
  • Frederick: He is the Prince of Bavaria. He is an unusually tall man whose skin shimmers with luxury and royalty.
  • Tristan Wrigley: A young and handsome salesman at Lord & Taylor department store who charms the upper class ladies, not only as a job requirement but he also has his own reasons for doing so. He blackmailed Carolina and was her "first kiss".
  • Madame Bristede: She was the dressmaker that Leland had chosen to make Carolina's wedding gown.
  • Olivia Bouchard: She is Leland's sister.
  • Colonel Copper: He is Henry's commanding officer.
  • Adelaide Wetmore Newbold: She was just newly wed to Reginald Newbold.
  • Agnes Jones: She often claims that she was best friends with Elizabeth. She no longer has any money and her father threw himself over the Brooklyn bridge.
  • Amos Vreewold: One of Manhattan's bachelors. He often competed with Nicholas to be Elizabeth's partner at the dance floor.
  • Portia TIlt: She was from out west and just recently moved to New York with her husband.
  • Isaac Phillips Buck: He has a distant relation to the old Buck clan, or so he says. He is the loyal friend of Penelope, and New York's best party planner.
  • Señora Conrad: The mother of Prince Frederick's fiancee.
  • Eleanor Wetmore: Add a description of this character.
  • Conrad: He is the Schoonmakers' butler.
  • Prudence Schoonmaker: Henry's younger sister. She fancied herself as an intellectual. This is why she hardly talks to anyone and always wears black.
  • Robber: Penelope's Boston Terrier.
  • Louisa Gansevoort Holland: The mother of Elizabeth and Diana. She had always seemed fearsome and remote, and only become harder and more intractable since her husband's death.
  • Lucy Carr: The wraith-like divorcee friend of Isabelle Schoonmaker.
  • Lispenard Bradley: A famous painter in the novel.
  • Reginald Newbold: He was just wed to Adelaide Wetmore Newbold.
  • James de Ford: He is Isabelle's brother.
  • Mrs. Bouchard: She is Leland's mother.
  • Hilda: She is the Bouchards' maid.
  • Everett Bouchard: He is Leland's wealthy father.
  • Katy Bouchard: She is Leland's sister.
  • Peter: He is Katy's husband and Leland's brother-in-law.
  • Beatrice Bouchard: She is Leland's younger sister.
  • John Bouchard: He is Leland's younger brother.
  • Harold Bouchard: He is Leland's other younger brother.
  • Jeremiah Lawrence: He is William Schoonmaker's lawyer.
  • Mrs. Olin Vreewold: She is Amos's mother.
  • Jenny Livingston: She is an old maid.
  • Davis Barnard: He is a gossip column writer under the pseudonym, "Gamesome Gallant" and a friend of Diana.
  • Teddy Cutting: Teddy is Henry Schoonmaker's loyal best friend, and has watched with hilarity at Henry flirt with almost all of Manhattan's socialites, but Teddy knows when certain lines shouldn't be crossed. He is known for being so lighthearted and for proposing twice to Elizabeth.
  • George Grass: He is a writer and a friend of Davis Barnard.
  • Gemma Newbold: She is Reginald's sister and she fancies Teddy.
  • Peter: The Schoonmakers' driver.
  • Gretchen: She is the Hollands' new maid.
  • Mr. Cullen: He is the concierge of New Netherland hotel.
Show all 50 characters
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Quotes edit see section history

  • ““Now it was Elizabeth who had to look away. The sight of Teddy’s earnest eyes, the sincerity with which all of him addressed her now, was too much. It caused a tide of emotion within her; it created almost too much feeling. She wanted to tell him nothing but yes, but her sense of propriety, never flagging, reminded her there were a few more things he deserved to be told.” –Page 366”
    Elizabeth Holland
  • “"If there were onlookers, neither she nor Henry would have ever known. 'It not that I care what they say, and I know you do not. But I don't want to live in a place where all I can here is the whispering about what a little tramp I am. They don't matter so much, except that they are New York, the people we would have to dine with over and over again, and their way of thinking is so impoverished, and being among them makes me sad... I want to go to Paris'" -Page 376”
    Diana Holland
  • “"'I wish you had told me from the beginning. Or once we had gotten to know each other a little.' His hands gripped her, and squeezed. Then he let them go. 'But that you called yourself an only child, when you have a sister. That you pursued Longhorn's friendship for financial gain- even if only in a small way. That you grew up right here, so close to me,and thought you could conceal the fact over a whole lifetime together. You lied to me for too long, and I don't believe that I'll ever be able to forgive you for that.'"”
    Leeland Bouchard
  • “"What a wreck we've made of everything"”
    Penelope
  • “"When we were in Florida" she went on, crying and laughing at once "I wanted to kiss you so badly"”
    Elizabeth
  • “There were a hundred things she wanted to tell him, but all of a sudden, in her rush of words, she realized there was only one that mattered 'I love you'”
    Elizabeth
  • “For many couples the golden splendor of a marriage occurs after the love has been lost.”
  • “New York will always be there, but it grows stranger every day, and staying put will not make it stay the same.”
  • “I thought of you so frequently--it quite surprised me.”
    Leland Bouchard (Referring to Carolina Broad)
  • “Fashion was vicious, it moved quickly.”
  • “A gentleman travels to become hale and experienced; a lady travels to complete her hat collection, and must be mindful she does not rub up against too much of the world.”
    Mrs. L. A. M. Breckinridge, The Laws of Being in Well-Mannered Circles
  • “Tempting as it may be, you must never allow your daughters to chaperone or discipline one another. Such arrangements have always proved a recipe for mischief.”
    Mrs. Hamilton W. Breedfelt, Collected Columns on Raising Young Ladies of Character, 1899
  • “Elizabeth: Do you love him? | Diana: Yes. Oh, yes, sometimes so much, it hurts. ♥”
  • “The living are made of nothing but flaws. The dead, with each passing day in the afterlife, become more and more impeccable to those who remain earthbound.”
    Maeve de Jong, Love and Other Follies of the Great Families of Old New York
  • “Gossip is just a tool to distract people who have nothing better to do from feeling jealous of those few of us still remaining with noble hearts.”
    George Grass
  • “A girl who has lost her reputation will, eventually, be let back into the fold of society's little gatherings and grand showy parties, but she will never be allowed to forget her transgression, lest younger girls fail to understand her cautionary tale and be tempted to repeat her mistakes.”
    Mrs. Hamilton W. Breedfelt, Collected Columns on Raising Young Ladies of Character, 1899
  • “She would mend her broken heart, only to find it broke easily again. Different men loved differently, she would discover, and every one would leave her a little older, a little wiser, and with more feeling to translate into the pages of her notebooks.”
    Diana Holland
Show all 17 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

New York, Cuba

First Sentence edit see section history

Fifty years ago, every American girl wanted to be a European princess.

Table of Contents edit see section history

Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thiety-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Epilogue

Acknowledgements
About the Author
Other Book by Anna Godbersen
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher

Glossary edit see section history

  • ebullient: cheerful and full of energy; exuberant
  • execrable: extremely bad or unpleasant; abominable
  • doyenne: a woman who is the most respected or prominent person in a particular field
  • flaneur: an aimless idler; loafer

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 4 of 4 in The Luxe. (standard series)

Preceded by Envy.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Anna Godbersen (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Karen Pearson (Photographer)
  2. Andrea C. Uva (Designer)
  3. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. (Publisher)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: HarperCollins
Country: United States of America
Publication Date: June 29, 2010
ISBN: 0061626333
Page Count: 416

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • The Luxe
  • Rumors
  • Envy

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