This book came on to my radar because of my admiration for Leslie Jamison’s writing. Peggy is being published posthumously after the death of the author, Rebecca Godfrey, who passed in 2022. Godfrey spent the last few months of her life reflecting upon the unfinished third section of her novel (Peggy) and what she wanted it to look like, asking her friend (Jamison) to write it all down. Upon Godfrey’s death, her husband and agent approached Jamison to finish the novel and bring her friend’s vision to life.

Peggy is a historical fiction account on the life of Peggy Guggenheim and spans the years of her early childhood into adulthood. For such a big name, I discovered that I knew surprisingly little about the Guggenheims while reading this. I found it to be an incredibly captivating story and I thought that even with two authors, the transition from one to the other was seamless. It felt a bit meandering at times, affecting the overall pace of the story but I appreciated the reflection of the time period this took place in. 3.5 stars for me, I think.

Thank you Random House Publishing and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review! Available 08/13/2024.

Peggy
By Rebecca Godfrey and Leslie Jamison

This is a novel about the life of Peggy Guggenheim. Born into a wealthy Jewish family in New York City, Peggy was the middle daughter of Benjamin and Florette Guggenheim. Peggy was close with her older sister Benita, less so with her much younger sister, Hazel.

Peggy's father, Benjamin, broke away from the family businesses dealing with mining, banking and other money making activities. He struck out on his own and went to Paris to build elevators for the Eiffel Tower. He was on his way home – with mistress in tow – when his ship, the Titanic, went down and he was lost at sea. Peggy was profoundly affected by this loss and others to follow in her life; so much so that she truly felt her family was cursed.

Peggy would probably have been remembered only as an heiress and dilettante, except that she became a supporter of the arts and artists and opened and/or funded Guggenheim Museums on New York City, Bilbao, Spain, and Venice, Italy. Her legacy as patron of the arts still survives to this day.

This book is obviously a labor of love, first by Rebecca Godfrey – and after her death by Leslie Jamison. It is an interesting story. For the lover of history and art, this is a must read.

3.5 ⭐️

The Guggenheim name is one that is very familiar, but I honestly didn’t know much about them. This was a historical fiction about Peggy Guggenheim.

Peggy comes from a highly privileged, one of the most famous families in the world. The story takes you through her whole life. She lived in New York during the younger years and made a life in France later in life. We meet famous artists during that timeframe including James Joyce & Samuel Beckett.

Peggy was in an abusive marriage, and ended up having two children with her husband. Peggy endures many losses including her father dying on the Titanic & losing her sister, who she called her soulmate.

This book took over 10 years to write. Rebecca has tons of research & memorabilia about Peggy. Unfortunately, Rebecca was diagnosed with cancer and was unable to finish the book, although her literary agent was able to finish. It was an enjoyable read.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Net Galley for my advanced e-copy of Peggy by: Rebecca Godfrey & Leslie Jamison The opinions are my own.


This is a historical fiction book about socialite, Heiress, and art collector, Peggy Guggenheim. She is often misunderstood as a 'loose' and tough woman, but this story explains how the series of events in her life from childhood, including the death of her father on the Titanic, helped shape her into the progressive and artistically gifted woman she became. She went through so much loss/death, and troubled relationships, but was eager to pursue her passion and open galleries and collect art during the mid and later part of her life.

I did find the information and perspective of Peggy's life to be interesting to read as I didn't know much about this branch of the Guggenheim family. You can definitely see how much research went into this book by both authors, and how they worked hard to give Peggy a voice that many would not have ever have known. However, for me, a lot of the book seemed to go off on tangents about various people she met, and sometimes it was hard to follow. Also, I didn't find Peggy particularly pleasant as a person (which isn't her fault really), so she was a little hard to like at times. I did feel sorry for all of the loss and occasional persecution she experienced. The book in general was interesting to a point, but it wasn't what I expected.

Read this if you are into this time period and art collection. Pub date is August 13, 2024.

#Peggy #Randomhousegroup #NetGalley

"Peggy" by Rebecca Godfrey offers a poignant exploration of Peggy Guggenheim's extraordinary life, highlighting her defiance of societal norms to become a pivotal figure in 20th-century art. Despite its strengths in portraying Peggy's journey and her significant impact on the art world, the book occasionally feels overly detailed, potentially overwhelming readers unfamiliar with art history. Godfrey's extensive research and the posthumous collaboration with Leslie Jamison add depth to Peggy's narrative, yet the transition between their writing styles is noticeable. Overall, "Peggy" is a lovely and informative read, providing a compelling glimpse into the life of a remarkable woman who reshaped cultural landscapes. Rating: 4 stars.

This book missed the mark for me. I really struggled to get into this book and felt myself bored at times. I was really hoping to enjoy this book but I just couldn’t. I have been really enjoying historical fiction books lately and I hoped to like this too but it just fell flat.

We have all heard of the Guggenheim art museums around the world and the Guggenheim Fellowship. It is a name associated with art and academic pursuits. However, most of us, myself included, probably know little about the family itself. Perhaps, we know that Benjamin perished on the Titanic. Before reading this book, I knew nothing about Peggy or her sisters, so this novel was eye-opening. While at times it's a difficult read due to the family's many tragedies (the curse as Peggy calls it), the detailed descriptions - Paris, the south of France, and New York mainly - evoke a spirit of place. The forays into Peggy's thoughts bring her to life and larger than life at that. Sadly, Rebecca Godfrey passed away before she could complete this work, so Leslie Jamison stepped in to finish the last part. I commend her for doing so while at the same time want to point out that the voice in that part does sound different - disjointed and choppy at times. Because of the historical information about the time period, the people, and the art scene, I enjoyed reading this novel. I would rate it 3.5.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for an advanced copy.

I have been to the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. But I knew little about the woman behind the name. Peggy Guggenheim had a crazy bringing. She was raised in a household with an absent father, who died on the Titanic with his mistress. Her mother was a cold and rigid woman, whose main concern was her position in society. However, Peggy genuinely loved her father and when Peggy was with him, they shared a love of paintings. He made her stretch her mind and give her impression of what the painting might mean and what she saw in the painting. This was the beginning of her love affair with art. As she grew up, she led a very bohemian life. Peggy liked to shock people and often did things that made her mother crazy. She was married (badly) twice, lost lovers, lost members of her family including her child, and dealt with what she called the “curse.” And through it all, she remained a true patron of contemporary art, which was her true love. Her interest in artists and their styles gave her a broad appreciation of the works of artists and what they were trying to convey through their art. Peggy by Rebecca Godfrey with Leslie Jamison tells a truly remarkable story of a woman who from childhood wanted to be different and wanted to contribute. She finally did succeed in making the “dead birds fall from the sky.” This was one of those historical novels that made me want to learn more about Ms. Guggenheim. I enjoy the novel very much.

Peggy's father dies on the Titanic when she is a young girl, and throughout her life she experiences the tragic loss of many close family members. She was also an abused wife. I had hoped this story would be a little more uplifting and tell us more about the formation of her art collection in Venice but that is only in the very last chapter. It wasnt terrible, but just not for me.

I was provided the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel by Random House, Netgalley and the author.

This novel was a really good read! I had a hard time putting this one down and found it to be very thought provoking and engaging. Peggy Guggenheim is the daughter of two different dynasties and has had such a traumatic filled life. This novel discusses her traumas from her father passing in the Titanic’s wreckage, to her abusive marriage. However it also shines the light on her artistic abilities and what she did for the artistic world. All art fans should read this and will have a new appreciation for Peggy the known “art addict.”

Peggy by Rebecca Godfrey and Leslie Jamison is a historical fiction novel about Margaret (Peggy) Guggenheim. Narrated in Peggy's voice from her childhood days leading up to the famous Art Museum. Her unique life (especially of her time), filled with tragedies from the loss of her father who died on the Titanic. family losses of her sisters and the wrong men. After much tragedy and pain, Peggy travels and seeks her peace on her own terms. Peggy ultimately finds her place with art.
This novel is an ode to feminism and finding your place in the world.
Notes and story ideas were collected by Rebecca Godfrey who passed away before finishing the novel. Leslie Jamison picked up the pieces and wove this wonderful novel together.
I highly recommend reading for those who enjoy historical fiction with heroic female leads.

A beautiful written book that digs into our history (a history most have never known). I am so grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced read.

One of the things I love about historical fiction is learning about people, places, and events that I never would have known about otherwise. And while Peggy may not be categorically historical fiction, it mostly fits the bill. Peggy, written by the late Rebecca Godfrey, is the story of the life of Peggy Guggenheim. Yes, those Guggenheim. Peggy's father loses much of their fortune before dying in the sinking of the Titanic. This changes Peggy's life quite a bit, but not in we were rich, and now we are poor kind of way. She was still very well off even when her mother had to budget. *gasp* Overall, I love a character or person who bucks the system, and Peggy is that person. She's a part of the racket but also sees the racket for what it is. And even though she had a mostly well-to-do life, she had some very real struggles and pain. I enjoyed following the arc of her life and found myself searching for names she mentioned online to see who they were and if they were "that family". I had a couple of complaints about this book. First, there is some time jumping in the storyline. Kind of a stream of consciousness in a way. Which can be a little confusing if you don't catch it. Secondly, many people are coming in and out of Peggy's life and, therefore, the story that you hear a name and never really hear much else about them. Sometimes, names that seem like they should be important are mentioned, but maybe we've never heard of them before that moment and never again. And maybe this is intentional to a degree to show the robust nature of Peggy's circle, but maybe not. Lastly, because Godfrey unfortunately passed away during the writing of this book, it was finished by a different author, and you can tell a little bit. I don't feel like it's enough to disrupt the story dramatically, but it's worth noting. I will recommend this to friends. It was particularly fun reading becuase I have family with the last name of Guggenheim. We all refer to them as the Googs often, and it was interesting to hear her say that with such disdain.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy of Peggy. I enjoyed it and can't wait to recommend it to my friends.

3.9. A very interesting historical fiction on Peggy Guggenheim, a well known art collector and member of the New York City Guggenheim family. I have been to her museums and those of her family and am aware of her family so was very interested to read this book. Apparently the author, Rebecca Godfrey, tragically passed away before completing the novel. Friends and family impressively stepped up after she passed away to complete it based on her outlines and notes. In my opinion, although I enjoyed the history of Ms. Guggenheim, there were lapses in the story which at points made it meandering and in others less clear or descriptive of her life, particularly in her later years when she became an even greater presence in the art world as well as her interesting friendships and acquaintances. I applaud the efforts of those who worked so hard to complete her work but it made it more difficult to read and seemed incomplete. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for a candid and unbiased review.

I knew nothing about Peggy Guggenheim prior to reading this book. Her childhood was one of wealth and privilege until her father passed away on the Titanic. It was from that point that her idealistic childhood was shattered. You did sense in Peggy a fierce determination. She was going to live life on her terms and not follow the old traditions that her mother wanted her to follow. Along the way, she does make some bad decisions, especially when it came to men. There were times throughout the book where the time frames meandered around and I got a little confused as to where we were in her life. Overall, I liked the book and especially enjoyed reading about Peggy Guggenheim. Thank you Netgalley and Random House for the Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I finished the book but it was a struggle. Peggy was a fairly unlikeable character and I just could not immerse myself in her story. Ultimately, she came from much and spent her life unfulfilled and seeking. Her children seemed to be her most constant source of joy.

I have to say this book fell flat for me. Peggy is the story of Peggy Guggenheim, a woman born into wealth and privilege, always a bit of a rebel, she adored art and made it her life’s mission. The book tells different stories about Peggy starting at a young age and these stories should give you an idea of the essence of Peggy but I have to say the stories are rather boring and I couldn’t connect with them nor with Peggy at all. Maybe it was the over-inflated version of Peggy, so grandiose, so dramatic, so over the top but the book reads like a daytime television soap opera. Just not my style.

Peggy is a historical fiction novel based on the life of Peggy Guggenheim. While I really enjoyed the first half and a good amount of the second half it felt like the ending was a little rushed and we really didn't get the picture of what went on in her later life. We also don't really get to see what affect she had on the art world as a whole. I liked the writing and the book told a good story I enjoyed the book and would recommend it giving it 3 stars. I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Peggy is a historical fiction account of the rich and complex life and loves of Peggy Guggenheim. Before reading, I personally did not know much about the Guggenheim family, and I was excited to learn more about what I learned was the family devoted to modern art and beauty.

This book is written in stream of consciousness, and it seemed to be only loosely anchored in time as it traversed her life. I personally found it hard to ground myself in the story- names and characters throughout were difficult for me to keep up with. If you enjoy stream of consciousness writing and are wanting to learn about Peggy and her family, you will enjoy this book. It’s beautifully written, but for me personally, it was hard to follow.

I’d like to thank Random House and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I found Peggy by Rebecca Godfrey to be a delightful, fresh read. When I found out the she had worked on this book for 10 years I knew it would be personal. You can feel the power of passion. I love the story of Peggy Guggenheim. This book made me what to go out and do all the research to see if there are other stories. It was fascinating to find that Peggy's father had passed on the Titanic. It also saddened me to see that Rebecca didn't get to see her final work as she passed in 2022. I think the family did an an amazing job in completing. This book is about a journey of thrill, tragic and impossible things that could happen to one woman. I think everyone should read this story. Job well done.