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The Gilded Years: a Novel
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Published:
Washington Square Press 2016
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Description
Passing meets The House of Mirth in this "utterly captivating" (Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of The Kitchen House) historical novel based on the true story of Anita Hemmings, the first black student to attend Vassar, who successfully passed as white—until she let herself grow too attached to the wrong person.
Since childhood, Anita Hemmings has longed to attend the country's most exclusive school for women, Vassar College. Now, a bright, beautiful senior in the class of 1897, she is hiding a secret that would have banned her from admission: Anita is the only African-American student ever to attend Vassar. With her olive complexion and dark hair, this daughter of a janitor and descendant of slaves has successfully passed as white, but now finds herself rooming with Louise "Lottie" Taylor, the scion of one of New York's most prominent families.

Though Anita has kept herself at a distance from her classmates, Lottie's sphere of influence is inescapable, her energy irresistible, and the two become fast friends. Pulled into her elite world, Anita learns what it's like to be treated as a wealthy, educated white woman—the person everyone believes her to be—and even finds herself in a heady romance with a moneyed Harvard student. It's only when Lottie becomes infatuated with Anita's brother, Frederick, whose skin is almost as light as his sister's, that the situation becomes particularly perilous. And as Anita's college graduation looms, those closest to her will be the ones to dangerously threaten her secret.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of the Gilded Age, an era when old money traditions collided with modern ideas, Tanabe has written an unputdownable and emotionally compelling story of hope, sacrifice, and betrayal—and a gripping account of how one woman dared to risk everything for the chance at a better life.
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Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
06/07/2016
Language:
English
ISBN:
9781501110467
ASIN:
B0176M3TZW
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Karin Tanabe. (2016). The Gilded Years: a Novel. Washington Square Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Karin Tanabe. 2016. The Gilded Years: A Novel. Washington Square Press.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Karin Tanabe, The Gilded Years: A Novel. Washington Square Press, 2016.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Karin Tanabe. The Gilded Years: A Novel. Washington Square Press, 2016.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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      • bioText: Karin Tanabe is the author of A Woman of Intelligence, The Gilded Years, The Price of Inheritance, A Hundred Suns, The Diplomat's Daughter, and The List. A former Politico reporter, her writing has also appeared in the Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, Newsday, and The Washington Post. She has made frequent appearances as a celebrity and politics expert on Entertainment Tonight, CNN, and The CBS Early Show. A graduate of Vassar College, Karin lives in Washington, DC. To learn more visit KarinTanabe.com.
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Passing meets The House of Mirth in this "utterly captivating" (Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of The Kitchen House) historical novel based on the true story of Anita Hemmings, the first black student to attend Vassar, who successfully passed as white—until she let herself grow too attached to the wrong person.
Since childhood, Anita Hemmings has longed to attend the country's most exclusive school for women, Vassar College. Now, a bright, beautiful senior in the class of 1897, she is hiding a secret that would have banned her from admission: Anita is the only African-American student ever to attend Vassar. With her olive complexion and dark hair, this daughter of a janitor and descendant of slaves has successfully passed as white, but now finds herself rooming with Louise "Lottie" Taylor, the scion of one of New York's most prominent families.

Though Anita has kept herself at a distance from her...
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fullDescription
Passing meets The House of Mirth in this "utterly captivating" (Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of The Kitchen House) historical novel based on the true story of Anita Hemmings, the first black student to attend Vassar, who successfully passed as white—until she let herself grow too attached to the wrong person.
Since childhood, Anita Hemmings has longed to attend the country's most exclusive school for women, Vassar College. Now, a bright, beautiful senior in the class of 1897, she is hiding a secret that would have banned her from admission: Anita is the only African-American student ever to attend Vassar. With her olive complexion and dark hair, this daughter of a janitor and descendant of slaves has successfully passed as white, but now finds herself rooming with Louise "Lottie" Taylor, the scion of one of New York's most prominent families.

Though Anita has kept herself at a distance from her classmates, Lottie's sphere of influence is inescapable, her energy irresistible, and the two become fast friends. Pulled into her elite world, Anita learns what it's like to be treated as a wealthy, educated white woman—the person everyone believes her to be—and even finds herself in a heady romance with a moneyed Harvard student. It's only when Lottie becomes infatuated with Anita's brother, Frederick, whose skin is almost as light as his sister's, that the situation becomes particularly perilous. And as Anita's college graduation looms, those closest to her will be the ones to dangerously threaten her secret.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of the Gilded Age, an era when old money traditions collided with modern ideas, Tanabe has written an unputdownable and emotionally compelling story of hope, sacrifice, and betrayal—and a gripping account of how one woman dared to risk everything for the chance at a better life.
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reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: Kirkus
      • content:

        April 15, 2016
        In turn-of-the-20th-century New York, a woman passes as white to attain a college education. Anita Hemmings, a real person, was the first black woman to graduate from Vassar College. To do so, she passed as white, and when her secret was discovered, her story filled newspapers across the United States. In her third novel, Tanabe (The List, 2013, etc.) sets out to illuminate that story. She focuses on Anita's senior year of college, when her roommate was Lottie Taylor, in Tanabe's telling a millionaire Manhattan socialite. Anita spent her first three years at Vassar flying under the radar: she studied hard, participated in various clubs, and held herself aloof to avoid suspicion. Tanabe's descriptions of Anita's isolation are effective. Then Lottie appears, drawing Anita out of herself and into her own high-society world. She even introduces Anita to the rich, handsome, and, of course, white Porter Hamilton, with whom Anita finds herself falling in love. These experiences put Anita at greater risk of being caught, but they also frame for her a fundamental choice she'll have to make: to live as white, and to unbind the scope of her ambition, or to live as black, with all the restrictions that Gilded Age American life entailed. This is a detailed, well-researched book, and yet there's something unconvincing about Tanabe's depiction. It's as if the psychological complexity of Anita's situation has been somehow flattened. None of the characters--not even Anita or Lottie--ever come fully to life. Too much attention is paid to Vassar trivia and not enough to Anita's fate, which is ultimately rushed through at the unsatisfying end. Tanabe has brought attention to a brilliant and fascinating woman, but she doesn't seem to have done her justice. A novel about race, education, and the fin de siecle fight for equal rights is left wanting.

        COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

      • premium: True
      • source: Booklist
      • content:

        May 1, 2016
        Tanabe's latest novel, following The Price of Inheritance (2014), reimagines the story of Anita Hemmings, the first African American woman to graduate Vassar College. The novel opens in 1897, Anita's senior year. After years of passing as a white student, she is assigned a roommate, the well-off, vivacious Lottie Taylor. Anita, a standout student and eminent beauty, has protected her secret up to this point but is soon drawn into Lottie's inner circle. Lottie exposes Anita to new experiences and various, indulgent adventures outside the confines of Vassar, and Anita finds herself in a burgeoning romance with a handsome Harvard student, Porter. At the same time, Anita struggles to reconcile her projected identity with her real one and often finds her own desires at odds with those around her. This quandary is particularly magnified in interactions with her younger brother, Frederick, who attends college nearby and disapproves of her new relationships. Eventually, Anita fears that her two worlds will catastrophically collide. In Anita's captivating story, heightened by richly drawn characters, Tanabe insightfully grapples with complex and compelling issues.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        Starred review from June 15, 2016

        As Anita Hemmings enters her senior year at Vassar College in 1896, her academic achievements and striking beauty seem to herald a promising future. Her roommate, Lottie Taylor, the daughter of a prominent New York family, introduces her to a world she scarcely imagined. Anything might be possible: graduate fellowships; marriage to a Harvard student. Yet such possibilities will crumble unless Anita can continue to hide an essential fact: she is African American. Passing as white to receive advanced education requires a complex set of fictions. The development of Anita's character and depiction of her struggles are the novel's chief strengths. When she has to listen to racist comments without reacting, concoct stories about her family, or field questions from instructors, we realize that small missteps can lead to disaster. Once Lottie learns the truth, her efforts to ruin Anita demonstrate her society's determination to maintain its privilege. The leap from Anita's postgraduation decisions to her daughter's arrival at Vassar in 1924 leaves readers wondering about the interim. Fortunately, Tanabe's afterword fills in some of the gaps. VERDICT Based on the real-life experiences of Hemmings, Vassar's first African American graduate, Tanabe's (The List) thought-provoking novel raises challenging questions about how race, gender, and class advance and limit opportunities. There is plenty of material here for book group discussions.--Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State Univ. Lib., Mankato

        Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        February 1, 2016

        It's the late 1890s, and Anita Hemmings is doing what she always wanted to do: attend Vassar College. But it's risky; a descendant of slaves, Anita is passing for white. All's well until senior year, when Anita rooms with upper-crust Louise "Lottie" Taylor. Based on a true story.

        Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        June 15, 2016

        As Anita Hemmings enters her senior year at Vassar College in 1896, her academic achievements and striking beauty seem to herald a promising future. Her roommate, Lottie Taylor, the daughter of a prominent New York family, introduces her to a world she scarcely imagined. Anything might be possible: graduate fellowships; marriage to a Harvard student. Yet such possibilities will crumble unless Anita can continue to hide an essential fact: she is African American. Passing as white to receive advanced education requires a complex set of fictions. The development of Anita's character and depiction of her struggles are the novel's chief strengths. When she has to listen to racist comments without reacting, concoct stories about her family, or field questions from instructors, we realize that small missteps can lead to disaster. Once Lottie learns the truth, her efforts to ruin Anita demonstrate her society's determination to maintain its privilege. The leap from Anita's postgraduation decisions to her daughter's arrival at Vassar in 1924 leaves readers wondering about the interim. Fortunately, Tanabe's afterword fills in some of the gaps. VERDICT Based on the real-life experiences of Hemmings, Vassar's first African American graduate, Tanabe's (The List) thought-provoking novel raises challenging questions about how race, gender, and class advance and limit opportunities. There is plenty of material here for book group discussions.--Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State Univ. Lib., Mankato

        Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

popularity
769
publisher
Washington Square Press
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      • code: FIC014000
      • description: FICTION / Historical / General
      • code: FIC019000
      • description: Fiction / Literary
      • code: FIC049040
      • description: Fiction / African American & Black / Historical