Cartier's Hope: A Novel

This was a tale of two agendas and two cities, all contained within the 1910 confines of New York. With insets of social mores, family obligation, the glitz and glamour of the “high life” and the sordid underbelly full of back-room deals, exclusion, treachery and secrets. Into this arena we have the story of Vera Garland, thirty-two, single, wealthy and undervalued as a woman in society. But Vera has big dreams and goals, and a driving need to see equality and opportunity offered to all, not just men. To that end, she takes on a pseudonym, Vee Swann, and obtains a job as an investigative journalist, in the vein of her idol Nelly Bly. Understand that in 1910 – Vera should have been married with children, with no other real ‘interests’ than making a good home and raising said children. Women do not yet have the vote, conditions for the poorest in the city are dangerously unhealthy, and the road to self-sufficiency, particularly for women, is non-existent. But when her story (despite all the odds against it) is picked up and gains attention on the front page – opportunities open up in the most simple of ways – and she’s not willing to backstep. Still part of the “favored few” in the city, she’s got an idea for a new story that centers on the famed jeweler, Cartier and his ‘over the top’ sales techniques. She knows that not everything there is on the up and up, and has the damage to her family to both prove it and avenge. So we enter the luxe rooms of Cartier, meets one of his assistants, Jacob, and discovers that there is more to his story and the story she was coming to write than she initially expected. There is insets about jewels and the Hope Diamond in particular, little tidbits that help to build background for the reader and Vera, and as people’s secrets and motivations are uncovered, the story takes on a whole other dimension in intrigues and ‘what happens next’ that I never expected. From complete and complex characters with emotions and motivations that are easy to access to the solid grounding in the sights, smells and era of the story, M.J. Rose manages to transport and engage, keeping a complex series of sociological and personal elements running throughout the story, keeping readers feeling as if Vera was sharing her life in real time. With answers that she never expected, and opportunities taken, Vera is solidly juggling the elements until she finds her own version of an ending. The writing is stellar, the story intriguing and the sense of New York at the turn of the century is solid and easy to visualize. Another solid historic fiction from Rose – and I look forward to more. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

A masterpiece of historical fiction with history thrown, immerse the reader in New York City in 1910. This is the first book I have read by this author, but definitely will not be the last. Her detailed settings and character building is amazing as we follow the heroine trying to eek her way as an outstanding journalist, when it was still hard for women to step out of the household. Cartier, a name that is synonymous with brilliant jewelry, seeming mainly for the wealthy and the Hope Diamond take center stage. Bring in corruption, intrigue, greed and a woman's fight to seek justice for her father's death and her own career and there are many twist and turns on the journey to the end and a satisfying ending! Don't miss this one! I read this via NetGallery and the publisher!