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St. Martin's Griffin
August 2017
On Sale: August 8, 2017
Featuring: Preston Duffin; Vivienne Cally
320 pages
ISBN: 1250134919
EAN: 9781250134912
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Literature and Fiction Literary
A juicy, sprawling comedy of manners about a group of thirtysomethings navigating friendship, love, and their fledgling careers among Houstonβs high-powered oil-money elite.
Thirty-year-old Vivienne Cally is wealthy in name only. Orphaned as a child and raised by a cold, regal aunt, Vivienne was taught to rely on her beauty to marry a wealthy and respectable man who will honor the Cally name. A beloved fixture in high Texan society, she suffers no shortage of access to some of the city's most eligible bachelors. Preston Duffin has known Vivienne and her set since childhood. He's never shared their social aspirations or status but he is liked and respected for his sharp wit and intelligence. About to graduate from a prestigious architecture program, he is both fascinated and repelled by this group of friends he sits on the cusp of, one that shares none of his curiosity about the world beyond Houston. He's long admired Vivienne's beauty and grace, but isn't sure he holds any place in such a traditional life. Intrigued by Preston's ambitions and the extent to which he challenges her, Vivienne both courts Preston's attention and rebuffs his critiques of her predictable, antiquated priorities and values. Inspired by Edith Whartonβs The House of Mirth, A Wife of Noble Character shares the original novelβs astute social commentary while illuminating a coming-of-age wholly unique to the twenty-first century. Part biting wit, part good old fashioned love story, this book will charm both fans of Wharton and anyone who has every struggled to find their way in life.
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