Review: A Beautiful Rival

Title: A Beautiful Rival

Author: Gill Paul

Publisher: 31st August 2024 by Avon Books UK

Pages: 384 pages

Genre: historical fiction

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

In this stunning new novel, bestselling author Gill Paul reveals the unknown history of cosmetic titans Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein and their infamous rivalry that spanned not only decades, but also broken marriages, personal tragedies, and a world that was changing dramatically for women—perfect for fans of Fiona Davis, Marie Benedict, and Beatriz Williams.

Who would have guessed that the business of making women beautiful was so cutthroat?

They could have been allies: two self-made millionaires who invented a global industry, in an era when wife and mother were supposed to be the highest goals for their sex. Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein each founded empires built on grit and determination…and yet they became locked in a feud spanning three continents, two world wars, and the Great Depression.

Brought up in poverty, Canadian-born Elizabeth Arden changed popular opinion, persuading women from all walks of life ­to buy skincare products that promised them youth and beauty. Helena Rubenstein left her native Poland, and launched her company with scientific claims about her miracle creams made with anti-ageing herbs.

And when it came to business, nothing was off-limits: poaching each other’s employees, copying each other’s products, planting spies, hiring ex-husbands, and one-upping each other every chance they had. This was a rivalry from which there was no surrender! And through it all were two women, bold, brazen, and determined to succeed—no matter the personal cost.

In this sweeping novel from the bestselling author of Jackie and Maria and The Manhattan Girls, two larger-than life fashion icons come alive with all their passion, bitterness, and ambition as they each try to live the American dream.

My Thoughts

Embarking on a Gill Paul read is always a treat and this time around she gives her readers a wonderfully famous rivalry from history. Most women over a certain age (*cough *splutter) have heard of Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein. Gill details a wonderful fact/fiction tale of these two highly intelligent women from around 1915-1965 and how they were bitter rivals in their quest for supremacy in the beauty business. 

‘Helena rubbed her hands in glee. Nothing cheered her so much as hearing that her rival’s business was in trouble. When she arrived in America in 1915, it had been her goal to beat Elizabeth Arden and, for now at least, she was in the lead.’

I knew little about the inception of the beauty industry and nothing about the lives of the women behind these iconic products so it was such an interesting revelation with Gill including so much detailed research. Elizabeth Arden comes across as a rather cold person always desperate to reach the upper echelons. Helena comes across as the more personable and astute businesswoman. This is a story of their life journeys and the crazy lengths they would go to in competing against one another. 

“I see Madame Rubinstein wormed her way in,” she said, with an arched eyebrow. “You two should talk,” Edna said. “You have a lot in common.” “I doubt it somehow,” Elizabeth said. “She doesn’t look my type at all.”

What is most enlightening is the time period - two world wars and a Great Depression - along with the role of women in business. It is eye opening. There is also so much to be learnt about the introduction of the cosmetics industry and how it withstood the test of time with both their names and products continuing to be viewed with respect. 

“Ah, but we came first,” Helena said. “We invented an industry that didn’t exist before. They should all be thanking us.”

If books about women pioneering in a man’s world and becoming a business success appeals to you, then A Beautiful Rival is sure to please. If stories about the introduction of cosmetics and the beauty industry tweaks your curiosity, look no further. Gill has undertaken an extensive amount of research about two women whose personal backgrounds could not have foresaw the great success they would achieve. Told from alternating chapters of both Elizabeth and Helena’s perspectives this is a highly interesting and entertaining read. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Manhattan Girls

Title: The Manhattan Girls

Author: Gill Paul

Publisher: 18th August 2022 by Avon Books UK

Pages: 416 pages

Genre: historical fiction, women’s fiction

My Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

It’s a 1920s version of Sex and the City, as Dorothy Parker—one of the wittiest women who ever wielded a pen—and her three friends navigate life, love, and careers in New York City. Perfect for fans of Fiona Davis, Beatriz Williams, and Renée Rosen.

New York City, 1921: The war is over, fashions are daring, and bootleg liquor is served wherever you go. It is here that four extraordinary women form a bridge group that grew into a firm friendship.

Dorothy Parker, renowned wit, member of the Algonquin Round Table, and more fragile than she seems. Jane Grant, first female reporter for The New York Times, who is determined to launch a new magazine. The Broadway actress Winifred Lenihan, beautiful, talented, and a casting-couch target. And Peggy Leech, magazine assistant by day, brilliant novelist by night.

Romances flourish and falter, while their goals sometimes seem impossible to reach, and their group friendship deepens against the backdrop of turbulent New York City, where new speakeasies open and close, jazz music flows through the air, and bathtub gin fills their glasses.

They gossip, they comfort each other, they offer support through the setbacks. But their biggest challenge is keeping their dear friend Dottie safe from herself. . .

In this brilliant new novel from the bestselling and acclaimed author of Jackie and Maria and The Secret Wife, readers will fall right into Jazz Age New York and into the inner lives of these groundbreaking, influential women.

My Thoughts

Be transported back to 1920s New York to meet four interesting women in The Manhattan Girls. In her latest book, Gill gives voice to women who have gone missing from the pages of history, or were perhaps misrepresented in the first place. Set against the backdrop of Prohibition, Gill traces the lives of four women and the challenges they faced in working to have a career and respectful relationships.

Writers, artists, journalists, actors, and theater people met up at the famed Round Table at the Algonquin Hotel (Google it!) Yet Gill focuses on four women who formed a Bridge club: : Dorothy Parker, author; Jane Grant, journalist; Margaret "Peggy" Leech, sales person and author; and Winifred Lenihan, actress. Gill tried to capture each woman individually and collectively in their aspirations and challenges in what was still very much a man’s world. 

“Women my age are on the cusp of social change, partly because of the war, partly because more of us are working. It means we’re inventing new rules as we go along, but sometimes it feels - forgive me - as if the men haven’t caught up.”

If this era appeals to you, with an obvious focus on women who were fighting for equality both at work and at home, you are sure to enjoy this book. The challenge of writing four different voices with much dialogue was met but still a lot to absorb. With friendship, camaraderie and the search for creative outlets in a very male orientated world these women were inspiring in this determinant decade. 

‘…. they were both young married women trying to forge a place in the world who didn’t think looking after their husbands was their sole purpose in life.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The Collector’s Daughter

Title: The Collector’s Daughter

Author: Gill Paul

Publisher: 30th September 2021 by Avon Books UK

Pages: 384 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: historical fiction

My Rating: 4.5 cups

Synopsis:

A Novel of the Discovery of Tutankhamun's Tomb

Bestselling author Gill Paul returns with a brilliant novel about Lady Evelyn Herbert, the woman who took the very first step into the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, and who lived in the real Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle, and the long after-effects of the Curse of Pharaohs. 

Lady Evelyn Herbert was the daughter of the Earl of Carnarvon, brought up in stunning Highclere Castle. Popular and pretty, she seemed destined for a prestigious marriage, but she had other ideas. Instead, she left behind the world of society balls and chaperones to travel to the Egyptian desert, where she hoped to become a lady archaeologist, working alongside her father and Howard Carter in the hunt for an undisturbed tomb.

In November 1922, their dreams came true when they discovered the burial place of Tutankhamun, packed full of gold and unimaginable riches, and she was the first person to crawl inside for three thousand years. She called it the “greatest moment” of her life—but soon afterwards everything changed, with a string of tragedies that left her world a darker, sadder place.

Newspapers claimed it was “the curse of Tutankhamun,” but Howard Carter said no rational person would entertain such nonsense. Yet fifty years later, when an Egyptian academic came asking questions about what really happened in the tomb, it unleashed a new chain of events that seemed to threaten the happiness Eve had finally found.

My Thoughts

‘Eve worked her patch with great diligence, daydreaming about the Ancient Egyptians who chose this spot as their burial ground.’

Gill always pens wonderful historical fiction stories and this is no exception. The Collector’s Daughter has everything I love and look for in such a book and she has certainly done her research with Tutankhamen and Highclere Castle taking centre stage in her latest offering. 

If you are a lover of all things Egyptian with some glamour of Downton Abbey fame - Highclere Castle - added into the mix, then you are in for a treat. From the Castle to Cairo, from London to Luxor … this is a story that has it all. A dual time narrative that is overflowing with mystery, intrigue and suspense. Told through flashbacks, this is the story of Eve and her involvement in both the discovery and curse of King Tut’s tomb. 

The strength of this story is in Gill’s ability to give voice to a female historical figure who was present but had not been heard until now. What it must have been like to have witnessed the opening of Tutankhamen’s tomb! In this story, you have front row seats as Gill takes what little is known of Eve from history and combines this with her fictionalised account. 

This is a fabulously crafted work of biographical fiction which I highly recommend to lovers of all things Ancient Egypt with the discoveries of the 1920s.

“And there’s Howard Carter.” Eve remembered Howard. “He found Tutankhamun,” she said. “And then there was a curse.” “No.” Brograve smiled and shook his head. “There was no curse. That was just a fairy story.”

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Another Woman's Husband

Title: Another Woman’s Husband

Author: Gill Paul

Publisher: 29 August 2017 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 464 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: historical fiction, romance

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

Two women, divided by time, bound by a secret...

1911. Aged just fifteen, Mary Kirk and Wallis Warfield meet at summer camp. Their friendship will survive heartbreaks, continents, and the demands of the English crown, until it is shattered by one unforgivable betrayal...

1997. Kendall's romantic break in Paris with her fiance is interrupted when the taxi in front crashes suddenly. The news soon follows: Princess Diana is dead. Trying to forget what she has witnessed, Kendall returns home, where the discovery of a long-forgotten link to Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, will lead her to the truth of a scandal which shook the world...

My Thoughts

‘Another Woman's Husband’  is an intriguing tale of relationships, secrets, betrayals and forgiveness. It is a fabulous work of historical fiction - involved and well thought out, bringing characters and stories we all ‘know’ about  to life. Supported by factual information concerning Princess Diana and Wallis Simpson (as well as other historical figures of the time) you will be running to consult Google. Gill Paul does pretty much a flawless job at combining timelines, viewpoints and non/fiction.

Told from two perspectives, that of fictional character Rachel in 1997 and Mary Kirk (who you will be ‘Googling’!) from 1912 onwards. Mary Kirk was the close friend of Wallis Simpson, meeting as teenagers and remaining friends for many years to come. Most of us have heard of Wallis Simpson and her role in British history but this unique perspective is a real eye opener. Told through Mary Kirk’s eyes it’s just fascinating to read from the time they were teenagers through to the abdication and her marriage to a king. Being able to read the story, watching the drama unfold as if you were there, is mind blowing. Being predominantly a work of fiction, it’s difficult to differentiate between the non/fictional viewpoints, however, the author includes which parts were facts  at the end of the book.

This leads onto the skilled storytelling of Gill Paul. With a book focused on two such famous people from recent history - Diana and Wallis - it could easily become sensationalised. However, Paul deals with it in the most respectful and sensible fashion, shedding light on not one, but two scandals with good depth and honesty, thus providing real insight into what it may have been like at that time in history. You will find yourself transported to such a fascinating time and place with vivid descriptions of everything from fashion (lots of fascinating details), to cocktail parties - inclusive of extracts and paraphrased from letters shared between Wallis and Mary. Reading actual accounts at the end makes you appreciate not only Paul’s efforts at research but also how she bought possible events to life.

Obviously Wallis and Mary’s story is the more engaging one and I found some issues with the Diana link, particularly the relationship between Rachel and Alex. You do wonder how the threads of the two stories will be drawn together, and towards the end, the connections becomes clear and satisfying. I found this a most engaging read and loved immersing myself in the story of Wallis to appreciate the type of person who almost brought down a monarchy.  

‘She always had the air of a person who was searching for something more and would not be satisfied with an ordinary life.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher and provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release