England, 1922. Wealthy New York banker Paul Van Zale decides to entertain himself by investing in Dinah Slade's cosmetics enterprise. Despite the great difference in their ages, the two begin an affair, but Paul's past *sins* eventually call him back to his wife and the cut-throat world of Wall Street (and maybe a gangster or two). I'm in a bit of a review slump and not up to a full blown recap of events, so I'm keeping this short and sweet. Paul and Dinah have plenty of ups and downs and dirty dealings, plus there's his wife and his heir and nephew to deal with. The book begins in 1922, and the banking focus gives the reader a real inside look at the stock trading bonanza of the late 20s, plus a chilling look at the crash of 1929. Fans of big fat juicy family squabbles should put this one on their list, and as always Howatch excels at the alternating first person POV. She should give lessons to today's writers...***slightly spoilerish going forward, so I'll mark with the spoiler tag even though I'm not spoiling.(view spoiler)[Readers familiar with Howatch's books know she'll tie her characters and story with parallels to real historical people events. Penmarric, Cashelmara and Wheel of Fortune parallel the Plantagenets of England. The parallel this time around is that of Julius Caesar, Cleopatra and Marc Anthony. How she ends up that sordid little mess, you'll just have to read for yourself. (hide spoiler)]
This is a famous story of the economic bubble and collapse in America. The Roaring Twenties were fuelled by inflationary shareholdings which were money on paper; companies were created to buy stocks in other companies and their shares became worth theoretical fortunes. People thought they were wealthy, took out loans to buy shares - everyone, not just business people - and spent money they never had. The collapse brought life to a jarring halt and many fortunes were lost, as well as lives. We see this time as experienced by business people and outsiders in their world, in particular one young woman who wants something restored to her family. A company owner who sees that she wants an appointment, tells a man to investigate her background and find out if she is a virgin. This minion looks at whether she had a boyfriend in college to make his recommendation; no past history. But the businessman decides that the woman must be offering her body in exchange for what she wants. That seems to be how men thought in those days. So when Scott Fitzgerald said that the rich are different, this is what was meant. Also see 'A Wilder Rose' by Susan Wittig Albert to see how this stock market crash affected Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter Rose.
What do You think about The Rich Are Different (1983)?
I loved Cashelmara and The Wheel of Fortune (and can't wait to read Penmarric), Howatch's series which takes the infamous Plantagenets and places them in 'modern day' settings, and was therefore looking forward to The Rich Are Different which retells the story of Ceaser, Cleopatra, Mark Antony and Augustus. Unlike the Plantagenets who I know well, I've never read about the Romans and was keen to discover their story as well as get swept away in a big fat family saga full of love, lust, hate and murder, but it didn't really happen for me. Perhaps not knowing the story held me back; perhaps the 1920s Wall Street setting wasn't my era; perhaps the differing narrations between the main characters were too samey; perhaps it was all just a bit too blokey and boardroomy for my tastes? Whether it's my fault for not fully embracing the Roaring Twenties Romans or Howatch's fault for not selling them to me, I don't know; all I do know I'm massively disappointed. Still really looking forward to Penmarric though.
—Anna
Own.I love Susan Howatch's writing. What beautiful sentences she writes! Her stories are intriguing and hold together - despite their unbelievability at times. (Probably because they're based on true stories) She is amazing at giving voices to her character-narrators. They all sound different. She helps the reader see events from different perspectives and feel sympathy with opposing viewpoints all while moving the plot along at a can't put the book down speed.The Rich Are Different is the story of the rise of Paul Cornelius Van Zale in 1920s America to the heights of wealth and power on Wall Street and his sordid lifestyle. He is killed by a friend and his grand-nephew takes over for him and follows oh-so-closely in his footsteps.By accident, we happened to be reading about Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar in our homeschool this week. The story would seem far-fetched were it not based upon that true story. The story lines up even in small detail from which characters we meet and who they represent to specific actions they take. Fascinating and I have a better understanding of the Caesars.Fair warning to those not familiar with Howatch's writing, but she is definitely R rated. I do plenty of skimming when I read her books ... the relations between men and women, married or no, are described in more detail than I'd prefer.
—ladydusk
So did I. He managed to shock me again and again. Have you read The Sins of the Fathers? It's the sequel. I read that book about a month or two ago and I still think about the characters.
—Mary Ann
