The Gilded Edge: Two Audacious Women and the Cyanide Love Triangle That Shook America
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- Create Date：2021-10-21 17:21:12
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Catherine Prendergast
- ISBN：0593182928
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Summary
One of
Book Riot
's 8 Anticipated 2021 Nonfiction Books
The Gilded Edge is a compelling read from start to finish。 Gripping， suspenseful， cinematic。 This is narrative nonfiction at its best。-Lindsey Fitzharris， Bestselling Author of The Butchering Art
Astonishingly well written， painstakingly researched， and set in the evocative locations of earthquake-ravaged San Francisco and the Monterey Peninsula， the true story of two women--a wife and a poet--who learn the high price of sexual and artistic freedom in a vivid depiction of the debauchery of the late Gilded Age
Nora May French and Carrie Sterling arrive at Carmel-by-the-Sea at the turn of the twentieth century with dramatically different ambitions。 Nora， a stunning， brilliant， impulsive writer in her early twenties， seeks artistic recognition and bohemian refuge among the most celebrated counterculturalists of the era。 Carrie， long-suffering wife of real estate developer George Sterling， wants the opposite: a semblance of the stability she thought her advantageous marriage would offer， now that her philandering husband has taken to writing poetry。
After her second abortion， Nora finds herself in a desperate situation but is rescued by an invitation to stay with the Sterlings。 To Carrie's dismay， George and the arrestingly beautiful poetess fall instantly into an affair。 The ensuing love triangle， which ultimately ends with the deaths of all three， is more than just a wild love story and a fascinating forgotten chapter。 It questions why Nora May--in her day a revered poet whose nationally reported suicide gruesomely inspired youths across the country to take their own lives， with her verses in their pockets no less--has been rendered obscure by literary history。 It depicts America at a turning point， as the Gilded Age groans in its death throes and young people， particularly young women， look toward a bright， progressive， more egalitarian future。
In an unfortunately familiar development， this vision proves a mirage。 But women's rage at the scam redefines American progressivism forever。
For readers of Nathalia Holt， Denise Kiernan， and Sonia Purnell， this shocking history with a feminist bite is not to be missed。
The Gilded Edge is a compelling read from start to finish。 Gripping， suspenseful， cinematic。 This is narrative nonfiction at its best。-Lindsey Fitzharris， Bestselling Author of The Butchering Art
Astonishingly well written， painstakingly researched， and set in the evocative locations of earthquake-ravaged San Francisco and the Monterey Peninsula， the true story of two women--a wife and a poet--who learn the high price of sexual and artistic freedom in a vivid depiction of the debauchery of the late Gilded Age
Nora May French and Carrie Sterling arrive at Carmel-by-the-Sea at the turn of the twentieth century with dramatically different ambitions。 Nora， a stunning， brilliant， impulsive writer in her early twenties， seeks artistic recognition and bohemian refuge among the most celebrated counterculturalists of the era。 Carrie， long-suffering wife of real estate developer George Sterling， wants the opposite: a semblance of the stability she thought her advantageous marriage would offer， now that her philandering husband has taken to writing poetry。
After her second abortion， Nora finds herself in a desperate situation but is rescued by an invitation to stay with the Sterlings。 To Carrie's dismay， George and the arrestingly beautiful poetess fall instantly into an affair。 The ensuing love triangle， which ultimately ends with the deaths of all three， is more than just a wild love story and a fascinating forgotten chapter。 It questions why Nora May--in her day a revered poet whose nationally reported suicide gruesomely inspired youths across the country to take their own lives， with her verses in their pockets no less--has been rendered obscure by literary history。 It depicts America at a turning point， as the Gilded Age groans in its death throes and young people， particularly young women， look toward a bright， progressive， more egalitarian future。
In an unfortunately familiar development， this vision proves a mirage。 But women's rage at the scam redefines American progressivism forever。
For readers of Nathalia Holt， Denise Kiernan， and Sonia Purnell， this shocking history with a feminist bite is not to be missed。
Reviews
Emily Rose
，
t*I received this book as a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*Thank you NetGalley， Catherine Prendergast， and Penguin Group Dutton for approving my request for this book。I really enjoyed this book！ I’m not gonna lie， I knew absolutely nothing about the any of the people or events mentioned in this book going in。 I was flying fully by the vibes of the cover and the summary。 The writing was lovely， and it’s very clear that Prendergast did an amazing amount of research， es t*I received this book as a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*Thank you NetGalley， Catherine Prendergast， and Penguin Group Dutton for approving my request for this book。I really enjoyed this book！ I’m not gonna lie， I knew absolutely nothing about the any of the people or events mentioned in this book going in。 I was flying fully by the vibes of the cover and the summary。 The writing was lovely， and it’s very clear that Prendergast did an amazing amount of research， especially considering how poorly documented women of the gilded age are。My only nitpick would be that there was perhaps a bit too much supposition on the feelings of Nora May and Carrie。 The author points that we must fill in the blanks of under documented lives and events， and I can agree to an extent。 There are certain conclusions we can draw based on the accounts of others in the same or similar situations。 However， I find the very detailed statements of action or thought or feeling - especially feeling - to be a bit of a stretch。 It’s easy to superimpose our own reactions and emotions onto others， which can be pretty detrimental to the painting of one’s character。 We tend to be sympathetic to those we can compare to us， but without facts backing these feelings， we are simply making these women into what we want of them， and does that not make us just as bad as the bohemian men that used and then slandered them？For me， it places this book in a weird middle ground where it’s not completely non-fiction， but it’s not historical fiction either。 It’s some highbreed that makes the book very readable， but it also makes me a bit hesitant to accept some of the statements made。 Often， Predergast will later reveal that there is in fact outside information supporting what initially may have first read as a supposition， which can relieve some of the uncertainty but has also left me even more confused as to what is and is not ture。Regardless， this book is so very clearly chock full of information that can’t be found by a casual （or not so casual， if you have a tendency to hyper focus like moi） Google search。 I have to 1000% recommend this book。 It is so clearly a labor of love on Prendergast’s part。 And make no mistake - it was clearly what anyone would consider a labor。 She describes the different libraries and archives she visited; the transcripts she had to make of documents when photographs of documents had a limit placed on them and the frustration of having to dig through collections of papers by men whose names are memorialized despite their work being no more known than women’s。4。5 rounded up to 5 for GoodReads because I honestly adored this read and my only nitpick was also one that honestly served the book's readability and reminded me that these long（ish） dead people were in fact that - people。 Not characters。 Can’t wait to purchase a physical copy for my personal collection。 。。。more
Jennifer
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