About the Book
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.
My Review
Kristy Woodson Harvey is a favorite author of mine, so I’m always at the ready when she is launching a new book. The Wedding Veil had all the elements that I love in a novel – past/present timelines, a wedding, and strong women at the helm. The historical bits that are sprinkled in – I was googling Edith Vanderbilt and the true story behind her missing wedding veil while simultaneously reading the fictional story – were entertaining yet blended masterfully with present day and Julia Baxter’s decision to run from her wedding day – literally. Family ties in both settings are extremely important, and one of my favorite characters overall was Julia’s grandmother, Babs. She has her own interesting storyline that I thought was heart-warming and charming. A glamorous novel that shows the ups and downs of love, marriage, family and self-discovery, and one I recommend.
5 stars
Thank you SO much for this wonderful review!!