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Lädt ... Parlor Games: A Novel (Original 2013; 2013. Auflage)von Maryka Biaggio (Autor)
Werk-InformationenParlor Games von Maryka Biaggio (2013)
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Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. Interesting story of woman on trial for extortion in 1917. Based on a true story of an adventuress. It started out slow but picked up the pace during the sections of the actual trial. Told in first person with flashbacks. What I found most interesting about it was contrasting the avenues a woman had to survive a hundred years ago versus the opportunities they have now. May Dugus might have chosen differently today. Still there will always be women who look to rich men for the easiest way to survive, trading sexual allure and mystique for survival. I guess as long as both parties are aware of what is being bought and sold it isn't for me to judge. ( ) Parlor Games by Maryka Biaggio was a fantastic historical fiction read. Based on a true story, we follow along with the beautiful con-artist, May Dugas, as she lives a life of excitement and glamour – all paid for by her admirers. Of course she has her difficulties as well as she is constantly being pursued by a Pinkerton detective, and, as the book opens, she is facing a trial where she is accused of extortion. May’s story opens in the late 1800’s and takes us through to 1917. Beautiful, resourceful, intelligent and cunning, May takes herself from a small town in northern Michigan to exotic locations all over the world. The story is narrated by May and her voice immediately draws you into her life. The scenario switches from her on-going trial to glimpses of how her life unfolded. We cover over thirty years of May’s life, from her short stint in an upscale brothel to becoming a baroness. At one time the Pinkerton Agency considered her the most dangerous woman in the world, but I couldn’t help but root for her, although it was pretty obvious that she was ensuring that we always saw her in the best light possible. Parlor Games is a well written, very engaging story. May’s life with it many twists and turns kept me glued to the book as I couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. I enjoyed the story even though I was very aware that May was a master manipulator. This is a woman who only kept to the rules of society when they worked in her favor. She relies on her beauty and her wit to carry her through, and however you feel about her, she sure made for a great read! Richly evocative, smoothly non-judgemental, and historically fascinating, Maryka Biaggio’s Parlor Games introduces readers to a time and place of need and resolution, where the rich are different and imitation is the sincerest form of success. The story begins with the protagonist on trial, and her narration offers to let the reader judge, while she tells how things came to this. Soon the past is unveiling itself in chapters that flow smoothly between the two timelines of life and legal tribulation. Soon the reader is balancing between condemnation, humor, and hope. And the worlds of a changing century come to vivid life. Chicago, Shanghai, London, San Francisco… the almost successes of almost real love, and the almost failures of a Pinkerton’s devotion to duty… the Gilded Age, how delightfully gilded, is passing, and a woman who provides for her family waits for judgment on her judgment calls. Parlor Games takes readers from bordello to cruise, crossing continents and causes, and inexorably drawing toward an unknown conclusion. Guilty, innocent (ah, never innocent she), cruel or kind… let the reader (or the courts) decide. As an added enticement, story and characters are drawn from well-researched and richly-imagined history. A truly enjoyable and fascinating read. Disclosure: A friend loaned me the book—she knew I’d enjoy it. I ran across Parlor Games on Goodreads as a suggested read and found the plot intriguing. I liked the idea that the book is based on the life and trial of an actual historical figure, May Dugas. May Dugas was a con-artist in the late 1800's-early 1900's. The book switches perspective between her eventual trial and her early life. Even though the book is highly fictionalized, I still enjoyed it immensely. The only portion of the book that I didn't care for was the Pinkerton detective who makes it his priority to chase down Dugas. I felt that having the same detective follow her throughout the entire narrative seemed a little implausible. The book spans several decades with travel to many different countries and continents. It just didn't seem possible that one detective would have been able to follow her throughout the entire process. keine Rezensionen | Rezension hinzufügen
Fiction.
Romance.
Thriller.
Historical Fiction.
HTML:Based on a true story, comes a sweeping historical novel about a beautiful con artist whose turn-of-the-century escapades take her around the world as she's doggedly pursued by a Pinkerton Agency detective The novel opens in 1917 with our cunning protagonist, May Dugas, standing trial for extortion. As the trial unfolds, May tells her version of events. In 1887, at the tender age of eighteen, May ventures to Chicago in hopes of earning enough money to support her family. Circumstances force her to take up residence at the city??s most infamous bordello, but May soon learns to employ her considerable feminine wiles to extract not only sidelong looks but also large sums of money from the men she encounters. Insinuating herself into Chicago??s high society, May lands a well-to-do fiancé??until, that is, a Pinkerton Agency detective named Reed Doherty intervenes and summarily foils the engagement. Unflappable May quickly rebounds, elevating seduction and social climbing to an art form as she travels the world, eventually marrying a wealthy Dutch Baron. Unfortunately, Reed Doherty is never far behind and continues to track May in a delicious cat-and-mouse game as the newly-minted Baroness??s misadventures take her from San Francisco to Shanghai to London and points in between. The Pinkerton Agency really did dub May the ??Most Dangerous Woman,? branding her a crafty blackmailer and ruthless seductress. To many, though, she was the most glamorous woman to grace high society. Was the real May Dugas a cold-hearted swindler or simply a resourceful provider for her poor family? As the narrative bounces back and forth between the trial taking place in 1917 and May??s devious but undeniably entertaining path to the courtroom??hoodwinking and waltzing her way through the gilded age and into the twentieth century??we're left to ponder her guilt as we move closer to finding out what fate ultimately has in store for Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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