She Walks in Beauty

By Siri Mitchell

Description:

For a young society woman seeking a favorable marriage, so much depends on her social season debut. Clara Carter has been given one goal: secure the affections of the city's most eligible bachelor. Debuting means plenty of work--there are corsets to be fitted, dances to master, manners to perfect. Her training soon pays off, however, as celebrity's spotlight turns Clara into a society-page darling.
Yet Clara soon wonders if this is the life she really wants. Especially when she learns her best friend has also set her sights on Franklin De Vries. When a man appears who seems to love her simply for who she is and gossip backlash turns ugly, Clara realizes it's not just her marriage at stake--the future of her family depends on how she plays the game.

Book Takeaway:

Society will tell you who you are and how to be until you decide for yourself who you are and how you want to be.

Why the author wrote this book:

The more I read about corsets and late-Victorian culture, the more their problems seemed to mirror ours: celebrity culture, use of distorted models in advertising, commitment to a single standard of beauty.