Book Review: The Age of Desire

For fans of The Paris Wife, a sparkling glimpse into the life of Edith Wharton and the scandalous love affair that threatened her closest friendship. They say that behind every great man is a great woman. Behind Edith Wharton, there was Anna Bahlmann—her governess turned literary secretary and confidante. At the age of forty-five, despite her growing fame, Edith remains unfulfilled in a lonely, sexless marriage. Against all the rules of Gilded Age society, she falls in love with Morton Fullerton, a dashing young journalist. But their scandalous affair threatens everything in Edith’s life—especially her abiding ties to Anna.  At a moment of regained popularity for Wharton, Jennie Fields brilliantly interweaves Wharton’s real letters and diary entries with her fascinating, untold love story. Told through the points of view of both Edith and Anna, The Age of Desire transports readers to the golden days of Wharton’s turn-of-the century world and—like the recent bestseller The Chaperone—effortlessly re-creates the life of an unforgettable woman.
Taken from Goodreads

Author:
Jennie Fields
Jennie Fields received an MFA in creative writing from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop and is the author of three other novels, Lily Beach, Crossing Brooklyn Ferry and The Middle Ages.  An Illinois native, she spent many years as an advertising creative director in New York and currently lives with her husband in Nashville, Tennessee.
Taken from jenniefields.com

My Review:
I enjoyed this book. This was a real glimpse as Goodreads suggested of her life and the love affair during a time when it would have been very scandalous for a woman to be involved in an affair if married.  The relationship with Anna Bahlmann her secretary was a strange one as Anna's moral values were surely obvious as she disapproved of Edith's affair.  Edith was really not too concerned about how Anna felt and later I believed maybe realized the facts.  You will enjoy the book if you enjoy reading about the wealthy and how they lived their lives in the 1930 era.