Certain Age (Williams)

A Certain Age 
Beatriz Williams, 2016
HarperCollins
336 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780062404954


Summary
The bestselling author of A Hundred Summers brings the Roaring Twenties brilliantly to life in this enchanting and compulsively readable tale of intrigue, romance, and scandal in New York Society, brimming with lush atmosphere, striking characters, and irresistible charm.

As the freedom of the Jazz Age transforms New York City, the iridescent Mrs. Theresa Marshall of Fifth Avenue and Southampton, Long Island, has done the unthinkable: she’s fallen in love with her young paramour, Captain Octavian Rofrano, a handsome aviator and hero of the Great War.

An intense and deeply honorable man, Octavian is devoted to the beautiful socialite of a certain age and wants to marry her. While times are changing and she does adore the Boy, divorce for a woman of Theresa’s wealth and social standing is out of the question, and there is no need; she has an understanding with Sylvo, her generous and well-respected philanderer husband.

But their relationship subtly shifts when her bachelor brother, Ox, decides to tie the knot with the sweet younger daughter of a newly wealthy inventor. Engaging a longstanding family tradition, Theresa enlists the Boy to act as her brother’s cavalier, presenting the family’s diamond rose ring to Ox’s intended, Miss Sophie Fortescue—and to check into the background of the little-known Fortescue family.

When Octavian meets Sophie, he falls under the spell of the pretty ingenue, even as he uncovers a shocking family secret. As the love triangle of Theresa, Octavian, and Sophie progresses, it transforms into a saga of divided loyalties, dangerous revelations, and surprising twists that will lead to a shocking transgression . . . and eventually force Theresa to make a bittersweet choice.

Full of the glamour, wit and delicious twists that are the hallmarks of Beatriz Williams’ fiction and alternating between Sophie’s spirited voice and Theresa’s vibrant timbre, A Certain Age is a beguiling reinterpretation of Richard Strauss’s comic opera Der Rosenkavalier, set against the sweeping decadence of Gatsby’s New York. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1971-72
• Where—Seattle, Washington, USA
• Education—B.A., Stanford University; M.B.A., Columbia University
• Currently—lives in Greenwich, Connecticut


A graduate of Stanford University with an MBA from Columbia, Beatriz spent several years in New York and London hiding her early attempts at fiction, first on company laptops as a corporate and communications strategy consultant, and then as an at-home producer of small persons.

She now lives with her husband and four children near the Connecticut shore, where she divides her time between writing and laundry. (From the author's website.)

Book Reviews
[A]ll the makings of a juicy soap opera ripe with scandalous affairs, family loyalties and the secrets of the rich and fabulous. Set in the Roaring Twenties in the high-society circles of New York City, Williams’ story is a rousing, enjoyable read.
Diana Andro - Fort Worth Star-Telegram


[A]ll it took was a few pages and I was hooked. A Certain Age is about the twenties, an era that has never really attracted my interest. In Williams’ hands however this time becomes as fresh and entertaining as possible. Because of her skills, readers are welcomed into the world of clubs and clandestine relationships.... Williams knows exactly how to capture the excitement of these people and this time.
Jackie K. Cooper - Huffington Post


A tale of Manhattan society in the Jazz Age, spiced liberally with secrets and scandal.... Chapters oscillate in time, ending on cliffhangers that can be jarring, but this novel is mainly propelled by its period-perfect prose style. A certain age, acutely observed.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
We'll add the publisher's questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use these LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for A Certain Age...then take off on your own:

1. What do you think of Theresa Marshall? Is it possible to feel sympathy for her? In what way might you say she is product of her times, reflecting the era in which she lives?

2. Consider Sophie Fortescue. Yes, she is innocent, but how else would you describe her? How does Sophie represent the rise of a new kind of woman in the early 20th century?

3. How did World War I impact Octavian--although he survived virtually unscathed on the outside, what internal scars does he carry?

4. What do Theresa and Octavian see in one another? She is twice his age, calls him Boyo, never by his name, and manipulates and controls him. What do both gain (aside from the obvious) from the relationship?

5. Describe the era itself in which Beatriz Williams sets her story. Williams herself has said A Certain Age reflects the conflict between "old money and new, young and old, past and present"? How so? Consider, too, the changes wrought by new technologies. Do you see any parallels between then and now?

6. Talk about the attraction between Sophie and Octavian and, especially, the connection they share from the past.

7. Why does Williams lead with the scandal and the "trial of the century"? In other words, why do readers get the "reveal" so early in the story? How does the knowledge affect your reading of the book?

(We'll add specific questions if and when they're made available by the publisher.)

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