Wealth and Privilege

by Jeanette a Watts

Overview

For fans of Pamela Kelley and Shana Abe, the tempestuous tale of a soul with dreams of a life that is more than what his family has planned for him.

Thomas' life seems to be a matter of running from one shocking turn of events after another. Rather than scandalize all of Gilded Age Pittsburgh, he is forced to marry a woman he does not love. But he does manage to fall in love with a fascinating older woman.

Having a crush on a smart, warm, beautiful - and married - Regina Waring alternates between pain and ecstasy. She is his confidante who knows the secret of his unhappy marriage. She knows all his secrets - except for the most important one.

Running for their lives through a riot and a flood, coping with death in the family and torturous funerals, living through good times and bad, proving over and over that money can't buy happiness, Thomas and Regina form a bond of friendship that makes the truth impossible to say out loud.

But the secret gets harder and harder to keep...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781490934518
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	12/14/2013
Series:	Scions of Pittsburgh , #1
Pages:	406
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.83(d)

About the Author

Jeanette Watts couldn't help but notice that all romances seemed to be set in the American West or the South. A staunch Yankee girl, she asked what is unromantic about the North or the East? After living for four years in Pittsburgh, and falling deeply in love with southwestern Pennsylvania, she found it the perfect location for a love story.

Besides writing, she is also a dance instructor, an inveterate seamstress, the artistic director for several dance companies, an actress, and a history buff. Wealth and Privilege took her 10 years to write, because she felt the research needed to be thorough. Everything from big events and famous people to little details like dog breeds and city names (Minneapolis residents will be pleased to see that she acknowledges that the city was called St. Anthony's Falls in 1878) have been carefully researched.

Editorial Reviews

2014-05-20
A historical novel set in late-19th-century Pittsburgh.Watts' debut tells the story of Thomas Baldwin, who goes into the family iron business. He falls almost instantly in love with the unconventional and beautiful Regina Waring, a married businesswoman. He marries Meredith, however, whom he can barely tolerate after she, with some coaching from her mother, tricks Thomas into a compromising situation. Thomas' inability to stop the sham marriage is more an indicator of his passivity than the social mores of the time. What follows is a life in which Thomas throws himself into his business while failing to so much as consummate his marriage. A partnership with the Warings allows him to spend more time with Regina, and the two become friends as well as business partners. Mr. Waring dies in an industrial accident, and Thomas comforts Regina. When the grief threatens to overtake her, he insists that she travel to Europe even as he regrets sending her away from him. The long, slow love story builds to an inevitable conclusion with a dramatic, somewhat abrupt ending. The novel is rich in historical detail and facts, along with many real-life historical figures. Occasionally, the need to reference such facts forces the characters into stilted conversations, such as when Regina explains the Comstock Laws to Thomas, though for the most part, the facts blend well with the storyline. Thomas is a difficult character to like; he's spineless, and while his hatred for his wife is not without cause, he seems to overlook the fact that he did allow himself to be lured into the marriage. During one tirade, Thomas tells Meredith, "Ignorami such as yourself aren't generally equipped with the mental capacity for much comprehension, are they? Every glimpse I get of your vapid countenance is a mnemonic that I've been saddled with an imbecile." That said, he displays some character growth and ultimately redeems himself.This slow-moving love story provides a glimpse of the Industrial Age in western Pennsylvania.

Kirkus Reviews