The Luxe

The Luxe

Cover of The Luxe
Author	Anna Godbersen
Cover artist	Karen Pearson
Language	English
Series	The Luxe series
Genre	Young adult, Drama, Romance
Publisher	HarperCollinsPublishers
Publication date	November 20, 2007
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	448
Followed by	Rumors: A Luxe Novel

The Luxe is a young adult novel by author Anna Godbersen. It follows the lives of Manhattan's Upper Class in 1899. This story is similar to the Gossip Girl series, staring Manhattan's best and brightest stars. It is a romantic and heart-throbbing story. Anna Godbersen lets you enter a whole new world, full of beautiful socialites, irresistible boys, white lies and more. This is a story about two sisters, one who is said to have died after being bucked off by her horse into the Hudson. Elizabeth Holland's death is still shady, as no body was recovered and only one person witnessed her death. Rumors fly about her untimely death, the day just before her marriage to Henry Schoonmaker, a rich not to mention handsome bachelor, followed closely by all the debutaunts in town.

True Love, False Friends, Scandalous Gossip, This is Manhattan 1899.

Plot Summary

The novel starts off at the funeral of New York City's most beloved daughter, Elizabeth Holland. All citizens of the city, both rich and poor, gather to send their farewells to the most loveliest and innocent daughter the city has known. But what first time readers and many of these citygoers in the novel do not realize is the entire story on just exactly how Elizabeth Holland disappeared.

The Holland sisters are members of an upper-class family living in New York. Eighteen-year-old Elizabeth Holland returns from Paris and readers learn that while most people think she is a pristine and proper young lady what she does in secret with Will Keller, the family coachman, is hardly pristine nor proper to the eyes of her family and everyone around them. She is faced with an ultimate decision between the man she loves and the man she's being forced to marry. Introduced in her typical fashion is sixteen-year-old Diana Holland. Mostly known to break the rules instead of dancing with suitable young men at balls. She is found making out in the coat room with an older man early in the novel. Really all Diana wants is romance and adventure and she pursues it when she later falls in love with the notable Henry Schoonmaker, New York City's most notable and alluring young bachelor who dropped out of Harvard to return home to attend lavish parties and balls and live his life out with his good friend Teddy Cutting, who has a minuscule crush on Elizabeth. All seems well, except for the fact that Henry and Elizabeth are forced to marry by their parents. Henry's father, William Sackhouse Schoonmaker, who plays a large role in the city's clan of the riches, aspires to be mayor and because of Henry's lacking reputation, the only way he could win is for his son to marry a former and proper lady, moreover, the most proper lady in New York, Elizabeth. What with the death of Elizabeth's father, Edward Holland, Elizabeth's mother, Louisa Gansevoort Holland pressures Elizabeth into the ultimatum to choose between love and family, and marry not for love, but for the Schoonmaker fortune. To each others' dismay, neither find any romantic interest in each other, what with Elizabeth's love for Will and Henry's love for Elizabeth's fun-loving, adventurous sister, Diana.

Readers are also introduced to the infamous Penelope Hayes who plays Elizabeth's best friend and most threatening enemy. Along with her close wingman and co-conspirator Isaac Phillips Buck, they both plot a demise in stopping the wedding and somehow get Penelope and Henry together, without knowledge that Henry has moved onto Diana.

Another significant character would be Lina Broud, who is the personal servant and former childhood friend of Elizabeth. As children, Elizabeth, Lina, and Will would spend countless days together, until Elizabeth grew up into a proper lady. When Elizabeth left for Paris, Lina only had the company of Will and finds herself falling for him until Lina realizes the reason Will has been avoiding her after the return of her mistress. Will and Elizabeth have been secretly romancing without anybody's knowledge, for fear their relationship would be forced to an end. Will seeks out West and asks Elizabeth to join him, so they can escape and be together, but both know that this could not be. Lina develops a newfound hatred towards her mistress, mostly jealousy and envy, for she "stole" Will from her, and her sour behavior eventually gets herself fired from the Holland household, much to her sister, Claire Broud's dismay, who is still loyal in being the Holland's trusty servant. Will ends up leaving out West, hoping that Elizabeth follows him as he writes in a note to her, which Lina intercepts before it reaches Elizabeth.

Lina and Penelope run into each other in the city and find that they have something in common, their hatred towards Elizabeth Holland. They both set up an exchange. For the note Will left Elizabeth, Penelope would pay Lina $500 and some hand-me-downs, and in the future, Penelope uses the note to blackmail Elizabeth whilst Lina uses the money and Penelope's old clothing to give the appearance of what she's always wanted and what she thinks is what attracts Will to Elizabeth, giving the appearance of being a lady. She runs into Tristan Wrigley, a young man who works at Lord & Taylor's, and captures his attention.

Meanwhile, Diana and Henry have had secret, romantic encounters behind the back of Elizabeth and the back of many others. Elizabeth quickly finds out about the secret affair, but surprisingly, she does not get angry, moreover happy that her sister has found true love and she realizes what she must do for her own happiness. She meets up with Penelope, who has already confronted Elizabeth about her secret affair with Will and threatens to expose it, and they both create a foolproof plan. They stage Elizabeth's death, so Penelope can (or try to) pursue Henry, whom Elizabeth never loved, and Elizabeth can go out West to find her true love, Will.

The day of Elizabeth's "funeral", Diana Holland is sent a note from a messenger. The note is from the presumably dead Elizabeth and it notifies Diana that she is fine and has gone out West and that nobody shall know about this and Elizabeth also tells her about Penelope's ruse to get Henry. Diana smiles to herself as she finally respects Elizabeth and the fact that she wasn't so perfect after all.

Characters

The Socialites

• Elizabeth Holland -- every mother dreams of a daughter like Elizabeth. At eighteen, she is on the brink of social stardom in Manhattan's most elite circles. With behavior beyond reproach and beautiful ash blonde hair, she's a perfect bride for any young Manhattan bachelor. Unfortunately, Elizabeth's perfect image is threatened by the secrets she holds. As the last hope to keep her mother and sister from financial ruin, Elizabeth must sacrifice the only man she has ever loved for a impassionate marriage to a wealthy playboy.

• Diana Holland -- Described as having brown hair and brown eyes. Diana is the complete opposite of her sister. Not one to follow rulesm she longs for adventure and romance and can usually be seen with her nose in a book, seeing them as her only getaway from what she thinks is a dull and ridiculous life. She is first introduced meeting an older man in a coat room wanting that fireworks kiss. She finally gets it when she shares a kiss with Henry Schoonmaker but is sad to learn he's engaged to her sister. After sharing some romantic moments they decide feelings like theirs can't be ignored for long.

• Penelope Hayes -- Described as having dark hair and blue eyes. She's not known for being good. She frightens as well as fascinates. She's a flirt as well as somewhat fast. Elizabeth Holland is her rival and therefore her only possible best friend. Her friend Buck does all her dirty work and she has an attachment to Henry Schoonmaker. She wants Henry for herself and would rather see Elizabeth dead before she marries Henry.

The Bachelors

• Henry Schoonmaker - Manhattan's most eligible bachelor. A charming young man who has just dropped out of college, Henry lives a carefee, simple life with his wealthy father and gorgeous young stepmother. His romantic trysts upset his father, who has begun to consider a political career and is worried about the effect of his son's lewd behavior on his possible election results. Forced to abandon his affair with Penelope Hayes, he becomes engaged to New York's angel, Elizabeth Holland. However, his attention is once again drawn away by the younger Holland sister, Diana.

• Teddy Cutting -- Henry's best friend. Teddy had a crush on Elizabeth for years and is determined to look out for her welfare throughout her engagement to Henry Schoonmaker.

The Lower Class

• Will Keller - The Holland family coachman. As a child, freshly-orphaned Will became friends with Elizabeth, but their friendship has dwindled over the years. Or has it?

• Lina Broud -- Elizabeth Holland's maid. Lina has served Elizabeth for years, but the friendship they used to cherish as children has all but disappeared since Elizabeth's arrival on the social scene. Lina finds it difficult to accept Elizabeth's newfound behavior, but consoles herself with her newly rekindled friendship with Will, the coachman. But when Elizabeth returns from Paris, Lina is forced to accept that Elizabeth may take even this away from her.

• Claire Broud -- Lina's older sister. Claire is a proper maid who relishes the gossip of the upper crust and is truly fond of Diana, her mistress.

External links

• The Luxe RPG Website
• The Luxe official website