The story of Peggy Guggenheim, a woman who had the means to do what she wanted so she did exactly what she wanted.

I was intrigued to learn about Peggy Guggenheim, as I knew nothing about this famous family. Peggy, the daughter of Benjamin, who went down on the Titanic. Her uncle,Solomon, started the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation. Like so many rich and famous people, her life was not as easy as one would imagine. She was unconventional for her day, and struggled in relationships throughout her life. Ms. Godfrey researched this book over a period of ten years, and died before it's completion. Her friend, Leslie Jamison, completed it. I had a difficult time connecting with this book as it seemed disjointed and hard to follow. This also, for me, made it difficult to stay interested. I did get to know something about this woman, but in the end, it wasn't much. She did, eventually, find a life for herself in Venice, and apparently, her art collection there is well known. She seemed extremely sad through most of the book, and searching for something, perhaps her lost father, and I don't think that she ever found what she was looking for. Maybe if Ms. Godfrey had lived to complete the book, it would have been a more organized work. I would like to thank Penguin Random House Canada and Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was not familiar with Peggy and her family so this may not have been as exciting for me, but it definitely was interesting. I didn't realize she had died before the novel was finished but it makes sense. It felt a bit choppy at times and a bit all over the place. There were a lot of characters to keep track of which is always hard and sometimes makes me less engaged. I would still recommend this to my audience and people who are more familiar with her and this family, would probably appreciate it more.

Prior to reading “Peggy” I had very little knowledge of the Guggenheim family. They are ubiquitous with American old money as much as the Astor’s, Vanderbilt’s, and Rockefeller’s.

Marguerite, commonly known as Peggy, led a blazing life and masterful impact on the world of art.

We get a look into her family life from adolescence into adulthood and her lasting legacy decades after her passing.

I am glad I picked this one up and have a new appreciation for the Guggenheim name.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read and review Peggy.

This is a captivating story of Peggy Guggenheim’s life and travels from losing her father at the age of 14 to an abusive husband to her travels in Europe to curating her own museum in Venice. I knew little about the second daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim and Florette Seligman, so every word was intriguing.

Author Rebecca Godfrey presents Peggy’s story from a first person POV. The writing is as engaging as the main character. This story will appeal not only to those interested in art, but also readers looking for strong, independent female characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book. It seemed like it would be interesting, but I only made it through the prologue, because the very beginning of the first "real" chapter was an automatic red flag.

"Peggy" by Rebecca Godfrey is an intriguing novel with strong themes of identity and memory. While the writing is beautifully crafted, the pacing feels uneven at times, which can make it a bit challenging to stay fully engaged. Despite this, the story is compelling and worth the read for those who enjoy reflective and emotional narratives.

This book is an interesting journey into the mind of Peggy Guggenheim. Of course it is fictionalized, but that works well. It almost felt like a biopic in book form for this reason. It spans the vast majority of Guggenheim's life which is much more interesting than you probably would have assumed if you only had a brief knowledge of her previously. You'll most likely find yourself looking up details to see if these things actually happened (most did). Very entertaining overall.

I’ve lost count but I believe I’ve read four biographies of Peggy Guggenheim. And I’m here to tell you that as someone who has read four biographies of Peggy Guggenheim, you absolutely do not need to read four biographies of Peggy Guggenheim. Pick one and read this lovely fictional biography instead, which is rooted in the trust of Peggy’s incredible life but reads like purely enjoyable fiction.

That the author passed away before the book could be completed is heartbreaking, but her co-author did a wonderful job of completing the work, and both deserve credit for a job well done.

Peggy, a true character in real life, makes an excellent fictional character because there’s just so little that had to be invented. The authors took the facts of her life and rounded it out by fleshing out the details and creating dialogue to accompany it, and it feels like both novel and nonfiction at the same time.

It’s hard to write a fictionalized biography without either lionizing or demonizing the central figure in it to create drama, or being so beholden to the facts that it’s essentially just nonfiction with bit of invented dialogue thrown in. This book does a wonderful job of demonstrating that when done right it doesn’t have to suffer from either of those things.

I think this will work for both readers very familiar with Peggy and her life as well as for those who know very little about her. In all, a lovely, evocative tale that brings Peggy’s vibrant personality and rogue’s heart to life.

The world knows Peggy Guggenheim as a heiress and art collector but she was so much more than that. She was born to two Jewish dynasties, in New York City. She grows up with money and her 2 sisters. Then her father dies on the Titanic and it changes everything. She goes from living in luxury to having to live within their means, and going to school with more middle class people. Her love of art, personal freedom, and individually begins to grow which sets her on her path to Europe. Where she becomes, a wife, a mother, and most importantly a supporter of art, and artist that leave a mork on the art world forever.

This was a very lovely read. I have never been a huge art buff, and I did know that there was at least one museum in the world named the Guggenheim. There was a lot I didn't know about the influential person Peggy was and this was a great start to learning more about her. The author did a wonderful job and balancing Peggy's flaws while still making me love her. She was so unapologetically herself and I related to her in so many ways. The writing was great, and it kept me interested.

I wanted to love this historical fiction novel based on the life of Peggy Guggenheim. I was not familiar with Peggy, an heiress, confined by society, who became a world renowned art collector. The novel was primarily researched and written by Ms Godfrey, before her untimely death in 2022. Her author friend, Ms Jamison was tasked with completing the novel. It was clear to me where the writing styles differed and made the overall reading experience feel disjointed. I also struggled with Peggy herself, as she is not an entirely sympathetic character. She is haunted by the death of her beloved father on the Titanic and feels cursed. She stays in an abusive marriage and neglects her children and closest family members. Ultimately she comes to live her bohemian life on her own terms and is successful in her pursuit of the arts. 3⭐️/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

The remarkable story of American heiress Peggy Guggenheim, born at the end of the 19th century but who developed such a keen artistic eye that she amassed one of the world’s greatest modern art collections. This is a true historical novel in all its fascinating detail of life on turn-of-the-century Park Avenue, then Peggy’s life as a young woman working in a famed bookshop in the East Village, before heading to Europe and life in a circle of artists and writers. (This should include trigger warnings about the physical brutality of life with her oafish, so-called poet husband.) The reader gets a real sense of the person behind the legend, a strong woman who (eventually) knew her own mind and was ahead of her time.

Though much of the book was finished, Godfrey unfortunately died before she could complete it. Though Leslie Jamison finished it following notes and a plan Godfrey left behind, there’s a sense of attenuation at the end of the book, with some of the life and energy missing as events move to what fells like a rushed, far less detailed conclusion.

The remarkable story of American heiress Peggy Guggenheim, born at the end of the 19th century but who developed such a keen artistic eye that she amassed one of the world’s greatest modern art collections. This is a true historical novel in all its fascinating detail of life on turn-of-the-century Park Avenue, then Peggy’s life as a young woman working in a famed bookshop in the East Village, before heading to Europe and life in a circle of artists and writers. (This should include trigger warnings about the physical brutality of life with her oafish, so-called poet husband.) The reader gets a real sense of the person behind the legend, a strong woman who (eventually) knew her own mind and was ahead of her time.

Though much of the book was finished, Godfrey unfortunately died before she could complete it. Leslie Jamison finished it following notes and a plan Godfrey left behind, but there’s a sense of attenuation at the end of the book, with some of the life and energy missing as events move to what fells like a rushed, far less detailed conclusion.

This is an intriguing, fictional look into the life of socialite Peggy Guggenheim, daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim who died on the Titanic. Her avid interest in surrealism art may have been because her own life was so surrealistic. She had lovers and she had loss. She lived her life under the impression that she was cursed. She used her wealth to support the arts, but it never seemed to fill a whole she felt in her heart. I truly enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

Fascinating exploration inside the life and experiences of an heiress. The author delved deep into Peggy's emotions for a comprehensive story that captured her struggles. An enjoyable and informative read!

This is a DNF for me.

Peggy is a historical fiction novel about Peggy Guggenheim, someone who I know little about, and unfortunately, reading this book hasn’t made me any more interested in learning about her.

Like other reviews have mentioned, the writing can be difficult to get through. There’s a lot of shifting timelines, which you might not immediately pick up on due to the stream-of-conscious writing and the frequent lack of quotation marks (which isn’t always done consistently). Sometimes it feels like a thought is written with the intention of being profound, but it just falls flat like an incomplete sentence. Other times it’s difficult to separate what actually happens in real life versus what is only taking place in the MC’s mind, which makes it hard to connect to any of the characters and care about what happens to them.

Readers who might enjoy this book are ones already interested in the life of Peggy Guggenheim and who enjoy a stream-of-conscious writing style.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Peggy by Rebecca Godfrey is available now wherever books are sold.

I did not know much about Peggy Guggenheim or her family. It seems she was always a bit of a rebel and a champion of the arts. This look into her life is fascinating. Her many love affairs with people and works of arts is intriguing to read about. She truly lived an exciting life, even if some of it was tragic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random Hour for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Really fascinating read about the life of Peggy Guggenheim. Godfrey deftly brought this dynamic woman to life, giving a strong voice to her struggles, complexities and achievements. I was fascinated especially by her relationships and her time in Europe. I will say that the first two parts of the book were so engrossing and I felt that the end just kind of dropped off. I know that Godfrey was unable to finish this work before her death and all in all, I think Jamison did a good job writing the conclusion, I just wanted more depth to the conclusion. There was so much depth in the narrative in the beginning, that the ending felt rushed (after the affair and the divorce with her first husband). All in all, just a fascinating read...I knew little about Peggy Guggenheim going into this so this was an informative, enjoyable read.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #RandomHouse for the ARC.

Delighted to include this title in the August edition of Novel Encounters, my column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national lifestyle and culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)

I did not enjoy this book. I think I would rather read a biography of Peggy as it would serve the same purpose with less details.

Historical fiction about strong influential women is always of interest to me and I was hopeful about this novel. I knew very little about Peggy Guggenheim except to associate the name Guggenheim with the art world. I think my difficulty with this book was the writing style. As with many readers, I do appreciate a different approach to a story and usually like the multiple or dual timeline approach. But this book just didn’t resonate with me. I found the jumps ahead in the timeline and then the going back to fill in the gaps very distracting. For some reason, I couldn’t overlook this style of storytelling and the book really bogged down for me. The lack of quotation marks in the text was also distracting. I don’t enjoy having to read the same paragraph or page twice in order to fully comprehend who is speaking and what timeframe the story is in. The book became boring to me and I still feel like I don’t understand this interesting (probably) and influential woman.