A beautifully written history of Arabella Huntington. I went into this not knowing much about American history of the Gilded Age but I felt I was transported there, the writing was amazing and I felt so connected to the characters. I love that it spanned over her life with different snippets of diaries, news and letters which made everything feel even more real (although I know some liberties were taken). I have nothing bad to say about this as this takes you on such a beautiful journey when reading and I would highly recommend.

Inspired by the true story of Arabella Huntington (the wealthiest woman in the US at one point), this spans her life from age 17 to 63 (1867-1913).

Rising from extreme poverty in Alabama it’s an amazing saga of one woman’s struggle, strength, resilience, determination and cunning to overcome any obstacles and not just survive but conquer.

Belle is a marvel to behold with a brilliance at odds with her humble origins. No details or spoilers, but I cheered for her, cried with her and empathized with her throughout the book. She made no apologies and regretted no actions as she systematically clawed her way up to not only a better life but a fairytale one for her and her family. She was not perfect nor strove to be, but chose to live her life by her own terms.

Filled with larger-than-life characters (many well-known in history) and gorgeous descriptions of the uber wealthy and their extravagant lifestyles in the Gilded Age, it is a beautifully written and well-crafted saga. I loved this book. Recommended.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing the free early arc of An American Beauty for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

I am a history teacher and would like to think of myself as a Gilded Age aficionado, but I never heard of Arabella Huntington. I understand that some liberties were taken as much is not known about her, but what a great read. The author did a really great job of staying true to the time frame and incorporating real life people. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this delightful book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wie der Verlag schon schreibt, handelt es sich hierbei um die wahre Geschichte von Arabella Huntington, die um die vorletzte Jahrhundertwende herum im goldenem amerikanischem Zeitalter zur reichsten Frau des Landes avancieren sollte. Und ich schicke jetzt mal voraus, mir sagte der Name gar nichts, Asche auf mein Haupt, aber ich mag historische Romane, die zu dieser Ära, der „Gilded Age“ spielen, recht gerne und war einfach mal gespannt. Ich schätze mal, in Amerika kennt man die Lady, bzw., den Namen Huntington: Collis Huntington war ein Selfmade-Millionär, der mit der Eisenbahn ein Vermögen gemacht hat, und es gibt wohl -zig Stiftungen, Museen, Straßen etc. seines Namens. Seines und den von Arabella, nehme ich an.
Aber jetzt zu Arabella: auch sie entstammt sehr ärmlichen Verhältnissen, und nach dem Bürgerkrieg ist ihre verwitwete Mutter mit ihren 5 Kindern nach Richmond gezogen und hat dort ein Boardinghouse gekauft. Lief mager bis gar nicht, und wir steigen in den Roman ein, als die Zeiten der Familie so knapp sind, dass der Krämer sie nicht mehr anschreiben lässt. Die Hoffnungen der Familie liegen auf Arabella, die mit ihren knapp 18 Jahren eine Schönheit ist und im lokalen Saloon arbeitet. Ihr Gehaltsscheck unterstützt die Mutter und die Geschwister. Nach einer Razzia in besagter Spielhölle rettet sie einem Kunden vor der Verhaftung – Collis Huntington, der von nun an schwer beeindruckt von ihr ist. 30 Jahre älter als sie, soll er ihr für den Rest seines Lebens verfallen und ich drücke es jetzt mal salopp aus und breche es herunter, er ist für Arabella und ihre gesamte Familie die Fahrkarte in ein besseres Leben. Mit seiner Hilfe starten alle ein neues Leben in New York. Arabella soll lange Jahre die verschwiegene Geliebte sein – denn natürlich hat Collis schon eine Frau und eine Tochter – doch sie schafft es tatsächlich, permanent an seiner Seite zu sein, und am Ende, nachdem die erste Gattin verstirbt, wird sie die offizielle zweite Mrs Huntington.
Was diese Story, bzw. diese Lebensgeschichte so besonders macht, ist tatsächlich der Charakter von Arabella. Sie ist kein dummes hübsches Naivchen, sondern smart und mit eisenhartem Willen. Was sich Arabella vornimmt, das wird passieren. Auch sehr langfristige Projekte werden verwirklicht – irgendwann will sie in der New Yorker High Society ankommen, und das wird passieren. Klar ist: ihr Millionär ist hilfreich, aber Arabella überlegt auch, wie sie selbst investieren kann und clever weiterverkauft. Das hat mir imponiert. Die Dame hatte ehrgeizige Pläne, und wie gesagt, sie wusste sie zu verwirklichen.
Mit Collis verband sie zeitlebens – zumindest impliziert das dieser Roman – eine tiefe Freundschaft und sie kommunizierten auf vielen Ebenen auf Augenhöhe. Von ihrer Seite aus war das zwar keine romantische Liebe, wer hätte das auch gedacht, aber die beiden scheinen sich wirklich geschätzt und geachtet zu haben und waren ein Power-Team. Also ja, das hat mir durchaus gefallen.
Blöd dann halt nur, wenn einem dann wirklich die romantische Liebe über den Weg läuft und man dieser nicht nachgeben kann…..wir sehen, nur eitel Sonnenschein war das Leben nicht.
Ja, soviel mal zum Inhalt.
Mein Leseeindruck: Das war wunderbar flüssig und elegant geschrieben, und auch sehr bildhaft. Die Autorin kennt sich in der Epoche und auch in den beschriebenen Städten sehr gut aus, und hat mich mitgenommen auf eine Zeitreise in Amerikas glamouröse Zeit von sagen wir 1880 – 1930. Die Charaktere waren allesamt sehr gut beschrieben, es gab hier ja durchaus auch noch einiges an Nebenschauplätzen und - charakteren, die alle wunderbar authentisch dargestellt wurden. Insgesamt ein stimmiges Gesellschaftsportrait, das mich fasziniert hat.
Allerdings muss ich sagen, es war mir manchmal schon fast zu viel an Nebenschauplätzen und ausufernden Beschreibungen, sodass es sich manchmal etwas gezogen hat. Manche Passagen fand ich etwas zäh. Die Leben und Befindlichkeiten der vielen Familienmitglieder fand ich ein wenig zu ausufernd beschrieben, beispielweise. Da wäre ich doch lieber bei Arabella geblieben 😉.
Und noch ein paar Sätze zu ihr: das ist mal eine Protagonistin, die einerseits ein sehr spannendes Leben geführt hat und den amerikanischen Traum verwirklicht hat, aber sie polarisiert natürlich. Ich fand viele Dinge an ihr extrem cool, aber vieles hat mich auch ein wenig abgestoßen. Ist Geld wirklich alles? Wieviel wäre ich bereit zu opfern, um meine Träume zu verwirklichen? (Meine persönliche Antwort: augenscheinlich sehr viel weniger als Arabella….okay, ich frage mich nie wieder, warum ich noch keine Millionärin bin 😉).
Also, ein sehr interessantes Buch, gut geschrieben, mit ein paar Längen zwischendurch, aber nichtsdestotrotz eine definitive Leseempfehlung meinerseits!
Herzlichen Dank an den Verlag und an Netgalley für das Rezensionsexemplar!

3.5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for acces to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

A young woman rises from a life of desitution in Virginia to one day become one of the richest women on 5th Avenue. But who was Arabella (Belle) Huntington?
Loyal daughter? Prostitute? Bigamist?Mistress? Wife? Widow? This historical novelsets out to answers these questions and covers the time period between 1867 to the early 1900s.

I liked this novel but not as much as The Second Mrs Astor Perhaps because this one wasn't quite as gossipy and soapy. I didn't quite feel connected to any of the characters though and for that I feel it waffles half way between a 3 and 4 star.



Expected Publication Date. 25/04/23
Goodreads Review Published. 26/03/23

I absolutely adored this book. The story was well written and obviously well researched. I am so glad there are authors documenting the lives of people who were just out of the spotlight or overshadowed by their partners/spouses.

Arabella Yarrington was a young dance hall girl in Richmond after the Civil War. Her wages were what kept her family from starvation. Collis P. Huntington was a railway tycoon in Richmond on business and met Bella in the Saloon. The attraction was immediate. The drive and ability that Bella exuded impressed Collis and soon he had moved her to New York City. But she wouldn't go without her family.. Here is where the saga of the smart, manipulative, beautiful, and quick witted young woman begins.

I knew about C.P. Huntington and the other men who started the trans-continental railroad before I read this book. They were Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, Mark Hopkins, and Huntington. Being a Northern Californian, these are very familiar names here. They all made millions when the railroad was completed! I was constantly going to Google or Wikipedia to see if the story of Arabella and Collis was true. Much of the book was historically accurate. Brava Ms. Abe!

Fleshing out the book using historical fact and the brilliant use of some historical fiction, made this book very readable. The Gilded Age made some people rich beyond their wildest dreams. Arabella Huntington was able to use her husband's wealth to make personal wealth for herself. She cared not if the aristocrats in NYC liked her or invited her to their soirees. She was an absolutely self-made woman. Yes, she had money from Collis, but she also made amazing rea estate deals for herself. For a time, she was the richest woman in America.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in history; and the Gilded Age. An amazing time. Get settled in a comfy chair, grab some tea in your best Limoges china cup or pour a bit of Claret from your Tiffany Cut Glass and Silver Claret Jug, or just grab a cup of Joe and a glass of red and enjoy a book taking you back to a time that was a tumultuous 30 years in our country's timeline. It changed the US forever.

A wonderful read.

An American Beauty, by Shana Abe, is an engrossing historical fiction novel that follows the tumultuous life of Arabella Huntington. This one was a must-read for me as I was already familiar with a more current part of this family's history and wanted to see how everything tied together. It's well-researched and very readable, Abe has done it again! Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Books, for providing me with an ARC ebook of An American Beauty in exchange for my honest review.

This beautiful story releases in April and it should be a huge success. The story is a historical fiction tale about the mistress of railroad tycoon Collis Huntington, set during the Gilded Age in the US. At one point in time after, Collis’ death, Arabella Huntington was the richest woman in the US. This was a beautiful story of love and survival.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The “American Dream” is based on the notion that, with hard work and grit, one can succeed. For many years, the success was about men and, of course, there were all of those “robber barons” with names like Carnegie and Morgan. But, what about women? Could they make their way up? Yes, sometimes with the right marriage and maybe sometimes with that same grit. How will Arabella achieve this?

Here is an historical novel about a young woman who was working in a gambling parlor when she caught the eye of a wealthy railroad baron. The two became involved in an affair and Collis Harrington helps Arabella to move to New York and establish a new life there.

What happens to these two forms the basis for this novel that is grounded in some truth historically. Will Arabella achieve all that she wants, especially if this includes wanting social acceptance and not just money? Read this one to find out. An American Beauty may put readers in mind of The Gilded Age mini series but that is no bad thing. It is a book with which to relax and maybe dream.

Many thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.

Arabella Huntington was the epitome of a wealthy woman in Gilded Age America. She embodied the rags-to-riches American Dream, managing to rise from the ashes and poverty of post-Civil War Virginia to the ostentatious glamour of New York City.

'An American Beauty' is inspired by this incredible woman who, as a teenager, managed to captivate Railway Baron Collis Huntington's heart. Despite already being married, Collis was unprepared to give up his relationship with Belle, keeping her as, 'a shadow wife...just beyond society's golden sun, pinned at the brink of propriety at the whim and courtesy of a generous man.' However, Belle isn't simply content to spend her lover's money, living lavishly and supporting her family, she wants to make something of herself on her own and embarks on property investment and development. What also becomes apparent, is, despite all the monetary and tangible gains she receives, she leads a somewhat lonely and self-sacrificed life supporting others.

Shana Abe tells Belle's story through a few 'voices' as well as a smattering of journal entries, letters, and newspaper articles. Although in some ways this helped give robustness, I found it a bit disjointed and jarring to the overall flow. Ultimately though, I really enjoyed reading 'An American Beauty'. I was beguiled by the extreme lavishness and opulence of the Gilded Age, as well as learning about such a prominent and charitable woman who was sidelined by polite society due to her disregard for social norms. I would happily recommend this to historical fiction aficionados who enjoy full immersion into another era where money is no object.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and to Netgalley for a chance to read and review this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review. One of my favorite time periods is the Gilded Age and this novel did not disappoint with the vivid descriptions. Arabella Huntington was a fascinating character who rose to become one of the richest in America, known as a collector of real estate and fine art, as well as a major philanthropist.

"Amidst the opulent glamor and vicious social circles of Gilded Age New York, this stunning biographical historical novel by the New York Times bestselling author of The Second Mrs. Astor conjures the true rags-to-riches story of Arabella Huntington - a woman whose great beauty was surpassed only by her exceptional business acumen, grit, and artistic eye, and who defied the constraints of her era to become the wealthiest self-made woman in America.

1867, Richmond, Virginia: Though she wears the same low-cut purple gown that is the uniform of all the girls who work at Worsham's gambling parlor, Arabella stands apart. It's not merely her statuesque beauty and practiced charm. Even at seventeen, Arabella possesses an unyielding grit, and a resolve to escape her background of struggle and poverty.

Collis Huntington, railroad baron and self-made multimillionaire, is drawn to Arabella from their first meeting. Collis is married and thirty years her senior, yet they are well-matched in temperament, and flirtation rapidly escalates into an affair. With Collis's help, Arabella eventually moves to New York, posing as a genteel, well-to-do Southern widow. Using Collis's seed money and her own shrewd investing instincts, she begins to amass a fortune.

Their relationship is an open secret, and no one is surprised when Collis marries Arabella after his wife's death. But "The Four Hundred" - the elite circle that includes the Astors and Vanderbilts - have their rules. Arabella must earn her place in Society - not just through her vast wealth, but with taste, style, and impeccable behavior. There are some who suspect the scandalous truth, and will blackmail her for it. And then there is another threat - an unexpected, impossible romance that will test her ambition, her loyalties, and her heart...

An American Beauty brings to vivid life the glitter and drama of a captivating chapter in history - and a remarkable woman who lived by her own rules."

I'm a bit Gilded Age obsessed at the moment...

Thank you NetGalley, Shana Abe, and Kensington for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This is a really interesting book about someone I previously didn’t know anything about. It was entertaining and I liked how it was set up, showing Arabella Huntington’s life through different POV’s. Her story was fascinating and you can tell that a lot of research went into the story. Despite this, it was a bit slow in places for me, which can happen with historical fiction books. This might be just a personal issue though and I do still recommend the book! I’m glad that I got to learn more about someone new.

Mesmerizing from the very first page. Shana Abe has created and captured the voice of a siren for her main character Arabella Huntington. The story of Arabella's rise from poverty in Richmond, Virginia before and after the Civil War and eventually becoming the richest woman in America is at the center of Abe's latest novel An American Beauty, but this isn't the typical cliched story of a beautiful woman marrying a wealthy man. Based on the true story of Arabella Huntington's life, Abe presents the story of a truly remarkable woman who knew her own mind and was determined to live life according to her own rules in a time when women were confined to very strict social expectations. Arabella flaunted convention and was despised by other women for her choices, but stayed true to herself and to those she loved.

Abe casts a spell that hooks the reader from the very first page. The characters jump off the page fully formed and dynamic creating a thoroughly enjoyable read start to finish.

An American Beauty, by Shana Abe, carries the reader back to the last half of the 19th Century, "The Gilded Age." It tells the fictionalized version of the rags to riches story of Bella Huntington, the second wife of Collis Huntington the railroad magnum. She became the mistress of Collis when she was in her late teens or early twenties and rose from poverty in Richmond, just after the Civil War, to have a lovely home in Manhattan. Bella was like two sides of a coin. She was cold-hearted enough to get what she needed and wanted, but loved her family fiercely.

Even though this is the story of a mistress and her lover, there are no explicit sexual scenes. Bella was a real person who did what she thought she must to survive herself and help her family. It is a story of wealth beyond my imagination. It was an interesting read. I was able to read an ARC on #NetGalley.

“An American Beauty” tells the story of Arabella Huntington, the mistress and then wife of Collis Huntington, a wealthy railroad magnate during the Gilded Age. The book begins in Richmond, Virginia in 1867, just two years after the Civil War, when Richmond was still suffering the effects of the devastation wrought during the war. Arabella lives with her widowed mother and her sisters and brothers in a shabby boarding house run by her mother. Arabella’s income as a “Champagne Girl” in a Faro House barely keeps her family from starvation and ruin. While playing the piano at the Faro House, Arabella meets Collis Huntington, who is immediately bewitched by her and soon afterward moves Arabella and her family to New York, where Huntington keeps Arabella as his mistress.

With deftly chosen words, the author manages to paint a vivid picture of place and time, including post war Richmond, and Gilded Age New York. The characters are well-drawn, particularly Arabella, with her unabashed and unrepentant acceptance of her actions, for which most in society judged her harshly. At times the novel did feel somewhat long, however, the many different settings described in the book, including private rail cars, the wilds of Yosemite as well as opulent New York City mansions kept my interest in the story. If the reader approaches the book with the understanding that it is a somewhat detailed accounting of Arabella Huntington’s life, from 1867 to 1902, filled with exquisite prose, one can overlook its somewhat lengthy nature.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A true Cinderella / rags-to-riches story, An American Beauty follows 17-year-old Arabella from post-Civil War Richmond, VA where she is a champagne girl in a faro club (gambling and brothel) to becoming the mistress of Collis Huntington, a self-made railroad tycoon. Filled with detail from three POVs (Arabella, her mother and Collis' daughter), this fascinating historical novel focuses on the true story of a woman who rose to become one of the richest in America, known as a collector of real estate and fine art, as well as a major philanthropist.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of An American Beauty, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Tremendously readable historical fiction! I was pulled into this one immediately and read it over two days.

Reading hangover followed - worth it.

Based on truth as well as rumors, the author wove An American Beauty together beautifully. You know when you’re reading a book that’s super interesting and you keep at it and at it because you need to - that’s how this one was for me. This was my first book by Ms. Abe and that needs to change; I’m really looking forward to reading more of her work.

Recommended!



Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the DRC!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for the opportunity to read An American Beauty by Shana Abe. I had not heard of Arabella Huntington before reading to s book, but having loved Ms. Abe's previous work, i had no doubt that it would be meticulously and well-written. I could not put it down, and read it straight to through in one sitting. What a fascinating woman!

I received this advance reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. What a pleasure it was to read this captivating story about a real woman that lived the life she wanted on her own terms. I read this novel in about 24 hours -- extremely enjoyable and the Arabella made for an exceptional protagonist. But the author really grabbed me with Arabella's frankness and absolute bravery in the face of poverty. As someone who has lived a tough life myself, with hard choices no one should be forced to make, I really resonated with this character & the excellent writing. Please read and enjoy it for yourself!!