The Wedding Veil

by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Overview

The New York Times bestselling author of Under the Southern Sky and the Peachtree Bluff series brings “her signature wit, charm, and heart” (Woman’s World) to this sweeping new novel following four women across generations, bound by a beautiful wedding veil and a connection to the famous Vanderbilt family.

Four women. One family heirloom. A secret connection that will change their lives—and history as they know it.

Present Day: Julia Baxter’s wedding veil, bequeathed to her great-grandmother by a mysterious woman on a train in the 1930s, has passed through generations of her family as a symbol of a happy marriage. But on the morning of her wedding day, something tells her that even the veil’s good luck isn’t enough to make her marriage last forever. Overwhelmed and panicked, she escapes to the Virgin Islands to clear her head. Meanwhile, her grandmother Babs is also feeling shaken. Still grieving the death of her beloved husband, she decides to move out of the house they once shared and into a retirement community. Though she hopes it’s a new beginning, she does not expect to run into an old flame, dredging up the same complicated emotions she felt a lifetime ago.

1914: Socialite Edith Vanderbilt is struggling to manage the luxurious Biltmore Estate after the untimely death of her cherished husband. With 250 rooms to oversee and an entire village dependent on her family to stay afloat, Edith is determined to uphold the Vanderbilt legacy—and prepare her free-spirited daughter Cornelia to inherit it—in spite of her family’s deteriorating financial situation. But Cornelia has dreams of her own. Asheville, North Carolina has always been her safe haven away from the prying eyes of the press, but as she explores more of the rapidly changing world around her, she’s torn between upholding tradition and pursuing the exciting future that lies beyond Biltmore’s gilded gates.

In the vein of Therese Anne Fowler’s A Well-Behaved Woman and Jennifer Robson’s The Gown, The Wedding Veil brings to vivid life a group of remarkable women forging their own paths—and explores the mystery of a national heirloom lost to time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982180713
Publisher:	Gallery Books
Publication date:	03/29/2022
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	61,282
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.06(d)

About the Author

Kristy Woodson Harvey is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels, including Under the Southern Sky, Feels Like Falling, and The Peachtree Bluff series. A Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s school of journalism, her writing has appeared in numerous online and print publications including Southern Living, Traditional Home, USA TODAY, Domino, and O. Henry. Kristy is the winner of the Lucy Bramlette Patterson Award for Excellence in Creative Writing and a finalist for the Southern Book Prize. Her work has been optioned for film and television, and her books have received numerous accolades including Southern Living’s Most Anticipated Beach Reads, Parade’s Big Fiction Reads, and Entertainment Weekly’s Spring Reading Picks. Kristy is the cocreator and cohost of the weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction. She blogs with her mom Beth Woodson on Design Chic, and loves connecting with fans on KristyWoodsonHarvey.com. She lives on the North Carolina coast with her husband and son where she is (always!) working on her next novel.

Editorial Reviews

12/20/2021

Harvey follows Under the Southern Sky with a satisfactory account of a wedding veil shared by two families. In present-day North Carolina, Julia Baxter is preparing for her fairy tale wedding, which is made complete by the veil passed down in her family as a symbol of eternity. But when she receives a text with a video showing her fiancé cheating on her, Julia calls off the wedding and decides to go on her honeymoon to the British Virgin Islands alone. Though the wedding veil is an heirloom, its provenance before Julia’s great-grandmother passed it down to Julia’s grandmother Babs is murky. A parallel narrative follows the independently minded Cornelia Vanderbilt, who grows up at Asheville’s Biltmore estate and loses her mother’s wedding veil after her wedding in 1924. After Julia and Babs visit an exhibition showing a reproduction of Cornelia’s veil, Julia wonders if hers might have been the Vanderbilts’ and later learns of a tenuous connection between the families. Though it lacks the emotional power of Harvey’s best work and passages devoted to the Vanderbilts’ lavish history can drag, the author easily switches between the time periods to locate momentous events in the characters’ lives and connect each story line with the veil at the center. Harvey, ever a fine storyteller, manages to keep the pages turning despite some rough patches. Agent: Elisabeth Weed, Book Group. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for THE WEDDING VEIL

"Bestselling author Kristy Woodson Harvey will undoubtedly knock this out of the park."—Zibby Owens, Katie Couric Media

"The author easily switches between the time periods to locate momentous events in the characters’ lives and connect each story line with the veil at the center. Harvey, ever a fine storyteller, manages to keep the pages turning."—Publishers Weekly

"Finding inspiration in the true story of Edith Vanderbilt and her mysteriously disappeared wedding veil, Harvey intertwines a veil's generations-spanning journey, the lives of the women who wore it, and the strength required to remove the veil and follow one's heart instead."—Booklist

"A legendary wedding veil ties several women together across the generations in Kristy Woodson Harvey's heartfelt latest, which features a runaway bride, her spirited grandmother, and a new love in the present day, interspersed with a historical storyline that follows Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt, the mistresses of the Biltmore Estate in the early 20th century, as they struggle to keep their famed home afloat. From Asheville, N.C., to the British Virgin Islands, and from Manhattan to Raleigh, four women across the generations—all of them shaped by love and circumstance—find a way to summon their inner strength against the odds. A delightful, glamorous fairy tale—laced with a slice of history, a bit of fashion, and a lot of Harvey's signature wit and warmth—for those of us who know that 'happily ever after' only arrives after we've learned to stand on our own. A sparkling, fast-paced joy of a book that celebrates love, family and the right to shape one's own destiny."—Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Vanishing Stars

"Woodson Harvey’s latest is a knockout—a perfect blend of historical fiction (two generations of Vanderbilts and their iconic North Carolina mansion) and modern love (a runaway bride and her grieving grandmother). Her masterful intertwining of the storylines makes for a read that’s both sweeping yet incredibly intimate, with perfect pacing and characters who surprised at every turn. I didn’t want it to end."—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Magnolia Palace

“Kristy Woodson Harvey seamlessly intertwines the past and present in a multi-generational tale as elegant and charming as the elusive Vanderbilt veil itself. Through an exploration of love, family, and identity, The Wedding Veil guided me on a heartfelt journey brimming with endearing characters and delightful twists. I absolutely loved it.”—Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of Sold on a Monday

"Kristy Woodson Harvey weds history and modern day into a fascinating and astonishing marriage. With Harvey’s signature charming and heartfelt prose, The Wedding Veil explores love in all its dazzling facets across four generations and two families. When Julia Baxter is ready to don the fabled family veil and walk down the aisle, she begins to question its mythological influence. Where did the veil and its power originate, and what could it possibly mean for her family and her love? Seeking answers to the extraordinary mystery of the Vanderbilt’s lost heirloom, Harvey unveils the past to bring truth to the future. Including an unrivaled and elegant Biltmore setting, The Wedding Veil is enchanting, surprising and Harvey at her story-telling best.”—Patti Callahan, New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis

"Kristy Woodson Harvey expertly weaves together the mystery of the missing Vanderbilt wedding veil with the stories of four incredible women, all searching for their independence, their purpose, and ultimately their happiness. Told with her signature wit and warmth, The Wedding Veil is as glittering as the women at the heart of it!"—Julia Kelly, international bestselling author of The Last Garden in England

"Kristy Woodson Harvey’s entrée into historical fiction is breathtakingly charming. She skillfully blends narratives from Edith and Cornelia Vanderbilt and their struggles in the years after the passing of their beloved husband and father, George Vanderbilt together with modern-day narratives of Babs and Julia Baxter, a grandmother and granddaughter on the precipice of major life changes. While Harvey has been a major player in contemporary women’s fiction for a number of years, her historical voice, her research, and her elegant prose earn her a place of respect in this new genre as well. A beautifully told story that is sure to be one of the year’s best."—Aimie K. Runyan, bestselling author of The School for German Brides

From the Publisher