A Certain Age audiobook

When the girls admire him a young man takes it as a matter of course; but when a widow selects him for her attention he thrills with the knowledge that he is being stamped with the approval of a connoisseur. - Helen RowlandWell, Mrs Theresa Marshal, 44, is no widow. She shares a 5th Avenue residence and a lovely place in Southampton with her very-much-alive husband, Sylvester. Octavian Rofrano, the 22-year-old she often refers to as Boyo, manages to prove, with some frequency and energy, that he is even more alive than the senior man in Theresa’s life. Marshall is goofy for her flyboy, Rofrano being late of World War I, although a lot less late than most of his fellow pilots. She is stuck on him enough to have begun having notions of them taking it on the lam together. If only life were so simple.Beatriz Williams - from her FB pagesThere is the problem of Sophie Fortescue, 19, an heiress to a successful, if somewhat reclusive inventor father, mom having reached a bad end many years back. She is a mechanically inclined chip off the old engine block, and an object of extreme affection for Theresa’s brother. Jay is not as far along in years as his sister, but is past his first bloom. An erstwhile man about town, he is eager to marry young Sophie, and secure not only the companionship of a beautiful and vivacious partner, but the not insignificant advantage of her considerable inheritance. Theresa engages young Rofrano for him, to act the cavalier and present young Sophie with Jay’s formal request for her hand, and presumably the rest of her, in marriage. But seeing Sophie sparks something in young Rofrano. Complications ensue.We are introduced to the goings on by a gossip columnist for the New York Herald-Times. It is May 1922 and nom-de-plume Patty Cake fills us in on what looks like the crime of the century in Greewich, CT, a juicy case in which The Patent King is on trial for his life, his daughters, The Patent Princesses, in attendance. Ms Cake pops in from time to time to update us on the progress of the trial, and to add a third voice, enough to help plait the Theresa and Sophie threads into a lovely braid. LOVE, the quest; marriage, the conquest; divorce, the inquest. - Helen RowlandPatty is a fun element, but the star of this show is Theresa Marshall. I kept hearing the voice of Lady Mary from Downton Abbey, albeit it with an American accent. Lest one think of her as maybe too modern a woman, it should be borne in mind that the 20s was not called Roaring for nothing. It was a time of change. Boundaries were being pushed. Sophie is considered daring because she wants to work for her living instead of being a prize awarded to the highest bidder. Theresa takes advantage of the more daring culture of the day to match her philandering mate, for a change, in partaking of the world. Octavian confronts considerable survivor guilt, having made it through the vagaries of The Great War, while having lost so many of his fellow flyers. Everybody seems to be going through life at automobile speed nowadays; but alas, there are no sentimental garages by Life's wayside at which we may obtain a fresh supply of emotions, purchase a new thrill or patch up an exploded ideal. - Helen RowlandThe title refers not only to the chronological status of Theresa Marshall, (and the May/December couplings of Jay with Sophie, and Theresa’s hubby with his latest young thing) but the times themselves. Williams offers a nifty look at the 1920s, peppering her novel with elements of the dynamic culture and the odd sign-post. Ty Cobb and his infamous demeanor are tossed across the stage early on. Man O’War thunders past in a back-story role, bringing Octavian and Theresa together. That relatively new-fangled automotive device comes in for some use as well. Here is a nice passage that gives a sense of much of this era-capturing The bartender. The bar. So forbidden and masculine, an unimaginable place for a girl to find herself—alone!—until now. Until suddenly boys and girls are going to saloons together, and they aren’t called saloons any more. A whole new vocabulary is springing up overnight, it seems, like mushrooms or crocuses, all clustered around the underground slaking of illegal thirst, and it seems the more illegal the thirst is, the more ordinary and acceptable it’s become to slake it in mixed company, among strangers. And the vocabulary has something to do with that, doesn’t it? Hooch, speakeasy, blotto. Silly words, trivializing the laws they’re breaking. Trivializing everything in the world. I love how Williams posilutely picks up the sudden societal unsteadiness that followed the horror of war, as the world tried, once more, to regain its balance. It is putting her story in the context of a time of great upheaval, made manifest in her characters, that raises it from a pretty good novel, with a sparkling character in Theresa, to something higher. Love is like appendicitis; you never know when nor how it is going to strike you—the only difference being that, after one attack of appendicitis, your curiosity is perfectly satisfied - Helen Rowland And if that’s not enough you might think it’s the bees knees that the story is based on the German opera, Der Rosenkavalier. The name Octavian Rofrano is lifted whole from that. The Marshcallin, Princess Marie Therese von Werdenberg becomes Theresa Marshall. Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau has become Theresa’s brother, usually called Ox. Sophie remains Sophie. Williams added the murder mystery element to move things along, as the plot of her source material was a bit thin. It is no surprise that she finds inspiration in the classics. Williams was raised in Ashland, Oregon, and was exposed early on to a regular diet of Shakespeare and some of the more refined forms of public entertainment offered in that notable college town. After marriage, a woman's sight becomes so keen that she can see right through her husband without looking at him, and a man's so dull that he can look right through his wife without seeing her. - Helen RowlandOne of the truly delightful elements of this novel is that every one of the 27 chapters is introduced by a deliciously cynical (well, most are, anyway) quote from Helen Rowland. And if the name is unfamiliar, you are in good company. Rowland wrote a column called Reflections of a Bachelor Girl for The New York World in the early part of the 20th century. I have included in EXTRA STUFF a link to the Gutenberg edition(s) of one of her books of collected wit and wisdom, A Guide to Men, and sprinkled into this review some Rowland quotes taken, not from the book under review, but from Rowland’s opus, to give you a taste.A Certain Age is a fun read. It points out some of the gender issues coming to the fore at the time. It notes how possibilities for women, in both work and love were constraining and loosening. But that is understructure. The characters are fun to follow, with Theresa standing above the rest, and Patty Cake offering some extra spice. You may be reminded of A Little Night Music, although with fewer jokes. The mystery element keeps the story moving along quite nicely. I would be shocked if this is not one of the major summer reads of 2016. A Certain Age is an ageless read and a certain joy. Review first posted – March 5, 2016Publication – June 28, 2016=============================EXTRA STUFFLinks to the author’s personal, Twitter and FB pagesThis is Williams’ seventh novel. Her books tend toward the historical and the romantic. Usually I gag at such things, but I was able to manage this one quite nicely. My review of Williams’ 2017 release, Cocoa BeachNovember 14, 2016 - A Certain Age is named to Kirkus's list of the best popular fiction of 2016The internet Guide to Jazz Age Slang came in handyProject Gutenberg Edition(s) of Helen Rowland’s A Guide to Men

I discovered Beatriz Williams' work as I was about to fly abroad on vacation. In my final misguided attempt to only travel with e-books, I promptly had a panic attack after clearing security and raced into the nearest airport bookstore to load up my carry-on with paper copies. I bought THE SECRET LIFE OF VIOLET GRANT on a whim because the premise intrigued me, and devoured it while on the beach. Addicted, I then scoured the local bookstore for more of her books, which I fortunately found.In A CERTAIN AGE, Williams evokes the champagne shimmer and razor-cut sophistication of post-WWI 1920s Manhattan, as the craze for bootleg liquor and freedom seeps into the calcified upper echelons of Fifth Avenue society. Theresa Marshall lives a posh life in a long-term marriage that has a time-honored arrangement: both she and her husband are conducting discreet, mutually respectful affairs. Though Theresa is a woman of a certain age, wealth and prestige have cocooned her in unimpeachable, bare-backing beauty; and she attracts the attention of the Boy, aka Octavian - a brooding former pilot, whose heroic endeavors during the war have assisted him to bypass the rigid entry rules of the upper-class, landing him a helpful patron and stock-broker job. His sinewy physique and tight-lipped attitude prove irresistible to the intrepid Mrs Marshall, who tries to set him up as her toy only to find herself falling uncontrollably, and uncomfortably, in love with him.When Theresa's dissipated brother sets his sights on Sophie, a seemingly naive heiress of "new money", Theresa dispatches her Boy to present her brother's marriage proposal in an old-fashioned act of cavalier manipulation that will upend everyone's fragile existence. Boy and Sophie discover unexpected rapport within a secret, and the unsolved mystery of a murder unravels with startling consequences for all involved.Narrated in the alternate POVs of Theresa and Sophie, Beatriz Williams is at the top of her game here. She evokes the intimate, socially incestuous world of old New York and its clash with the burgeoning riches forged by middle-class enterprise, as well as the struggle toward feminist liberation, within the framework of two very different women who must decide who they want to be in the waning glory of a certain age. Sophie and Theresa mesmerize with their opposing views; twin sides of the same coin that can never be fully reconciled.Steeped in wit and glamour, riddled with the fractures of a crumbling time and place, A CERTAIN AGE is gloriously readable, transcending the cliched boundaries of so-called "women's fiction."

I am always fascinated by well-written books that take place during the 1920’s. It was an exceptional time: between two wars, prohibition, the old guard and the new struggling to find a way to share the same space. Beatriz Williams’ book exemplifies those times and struggles – and in a way that is so real it is almost painful at times. There was a point where I almost couldn’t bear the fact that some people in this story would not get what they wanted – that they would be forever marked, or even destroyed, in the very intimate battles of the war between the various lovers. I wanted them all to “win” – all of the characters drew my empathy for one reason or another. Based on a play that I have never seen nor experienced, this “up-dated” version of the story with a twist finely woven in, should have a film based on it – but only if they can find actors who can do justice to the nuances of the characters. A great story that I recommend to everyone who enjoys historical fiction that is extremely well written.

Falling in love with a younger man while you are still married and then having a younger woman come along wasn't the best thing to happen to Mrs. Theresa Marshall.A CERTAIN AGE began with an excerpt from a murder trial then moved to alternating chapters and told of the life of high society and how they adapted social protocol to whatever they wanted.We follow Mrs. Marshall, Mr. Marshall, Captain Rofrano, and Miss Fortescue in the scandalous antics they were all involved in. Decisions had to be made and​​ Sophie Fortescue had the most difficult decision, even though her father was the one that would be making the decision about who she was to marry.Ms. Williams again perfectly portrays the time period and how women in wealthy families really didn't have a choice about choosing their spouse. After the marriage proposal was made, an investigation into the Fortescue family adds another layer to the book. The Fortescues are not who they say they are, and a house that Mr. Rofrano grew up in was part of their secret.Once the secret was revealed and Sophie Fortescue was more outspoken, the book heated up with an ending that was oh so good with an unexpected twist. I enjoyed the characters, but Mrs. Marshall and Mr. Fortescue were my least favorites. Mr. Fortescue was too controlling, and Mrs. Marshall was too sneaky for me.A CERTAIN AGE was beautifully written as all of Ms. Williams’ books even though it took me a while to get connected, but it was still enjoyable.The book's cover is stunning, and the book is patterned after an opera titled Der Rosenkavalie. ENJOY if you read A CERTAIN AGE. 4/5

A CERTAIN AGE, is a delicious gripping tale of love, secrets, and family scandal in the glamorous Jazz Age — inspired by Richard Strauss’ masterpiece Der Rosenkavalier — a glamorous New York Manhattan socialite loses her young lover to an ingénue with a mysterious past. Love the elegant cover! The queen of historical fiction, Beatriz Williams skillfully blends the old and new, sorrow and joy, wealth and depression, the delicate and fierce, with an ongoing theme of age—from the dazzling youth to the middle age. In a time of contrasts, extremes and profound changes. The exciting 1920s, in the wake of the First World War-- science, art, modern age, wealth, women’s movements, and the glamorous Jazz Age in New York. Inspired by Richard Strauss’ opera Der Rosenkavalier (Marschallin), from love, honor, betrayal, high society, and lowbrow secrets combine in a delightful timeless tale. Sprinkled with snippets of clever witty advice from Helen Rowland at the beginning of each chapter, (think Carrie Bradshaw), from “Reflections of a Bachelor Girl”—making for a perfect match for the context of intricacies of love and marriage.A love triangle. Theresa, Octavian, Sophie. Two love stories: Octavian and Theresa. Sophie and Octavian. An aviator (flyboy) “the boy” has returned from the war in France. An affair. An older woman and a younger man more than twenty years apart in age, find comfort in one another. In between a shocking family mystery.Mrs. Theresa Marshall, age 44, married (the most inquisitive) of Fifth Avenue and Southampton, Long Island—wealthy, elegant, chic, and fashionable. She and her husband, Sylvo have an agreement. After all, the well-respected philanderer husband has younger mistresses. So a younger man seems a suitable compromise. She meets her new younger lover at a late-night Fourth of July society party on Long Island. Instant fireworks. Octavian, age 22, her lover. He wants to marry and have babies. Of course, Theresa is not interested in such things, since her children are much older and she has a husband.Complications compound things. Her brother, Edmund Jay “Ox” Ochsner wants to marry 19 year old Sophie Fortescue, youngest daughter of the so-called Patent King, an entrepreneur and inventor who made his fortune as his nickname suggests.To add even more spice, we hear from “Patty Cake,” a jaded society reporter from a New York paper, covering a “Trial of the Century” in Connecticut. Theresa enlists Octavian, to act as cavalier for Ox, delivering a rose-shaped engagement ring to Sophie at her father’s home on 32nd Street-- and to check into the background of the little-known Fortescue family (wealthy father). They soon become smitten with one another, while he discovers family secrets. Loyalties are tested and relationships are threatened. Even after Sophie has accepted Theresa’s brother’s proposal, she finds herself falling for Octavian. Although he’s supposed to be working to reassure Theresa, he can’t ignore his attraction to Sophie. He feels a connection to her—they share a connection from the past that takes their relationship to a whole other level.Theresa loses her lover and her hubby wants to marry his mistress.Testimony at trial recalls a Greenwich, Connecticut, house once occupied by a mechanic, who disappeared with his two daughters after his wife was found murdered. Chapters alternate in time, for a delicious and entertaining saga. As always, Williams brings the Roaring Twenties to life—from the setting, mixed with intrigue, romance, and scandal. Love this era—the fashion, the atmosphere, and the glamour. No one can spin a tale from the past, better than Williams.After finishing the audiobook narrated by Mia Barron, Barbara Goodson, and Adrienne Rusk,- delivering a gripping performance, I watched the Amazon Prime Pilot “The Last Tycoon”, based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel of the same name. More Golden Age, love triangles, older woman-younger man-- glitz, and glamour and Hollywood scandal (loved it), especially sexy Matt Bomer and stunning Lily Collins.A blending of fact and fiction --From old and new money, past and present, and the scandalous secrets. The New York Herald-Tribune celebrates the launch of Beatriz’s upcoming novel with an issue devoted to A Certain Age. What’s Next Looking forward to more Roaring Twenties: Coming January 2017 – The Wicked City “A spin-off series about a steadfast Prohibition agent and the dashing New York City flapper who — reluctantly — helps him break a bootlegging ring, all of which is framed by a contemporary narrative about the woman who moves into the flapper’s old apartment, decades later. The Wicked books will come out in winter, alternating with my stand-alone books in summer, and those fictional worlds will definitely intersect, though you won’t have to read one to read the other.”Can't wait! JDCMustReadBooks On a personal note: Every time I visit HMF’s The Breakers Palm Beach, I cannot help but feel I am re-living this exciting era. Named for The Breakers’ founding father, Henry Morrison Flagler this thrillingly glamorous retreat is an ode to golden era Palm Beach, with all of its high style, grace, and unapologetic decadence. When stepping into room, the ambiance, the mood, takes you back: Listen to the Music It awakens your spirit, and resonates the glamour and sophistication of the exciting and dazzling 1920's. (all of these selections are on my personal playlist).

A Certain Age is a rollicking ride of the glitz and glamour of the roaring '20's! It has scandal, high society, a love triangle and a murder mystery. I loved the nod to Beatriz Williams writing partners(Karen White and Lauren Willig)...one of the characters is employed at the firm of Willig and White. I am so in love with Ms. Williams writing! Well done, Ms. Williams, well done!!

Certain Age is fabulous historical fiction with the setting placed in the glamours 1920s. The story is inspired by Der Rosenkavalier and I was totally charmed with this interpretation. For me, was this book extra interesting to read since I have read the other two books that come after A Certain Age, and now I get the full background story to Sophie Fortescue and here sister Virginias life before we once again met Virginia in Cocoa Beach. One thing I really enjoyed about this book is the way Theresa Marshall is written. It was pretty obvious that her young lover, Octavian, become madly in love with Sophie after meeting her, but Theresa who obviously tried to keep her lover never become a villain in this story. To be honest, I liked her. She was the character whose POV I loved the most in the book. I had nothing against Sophie, her POV was also good, but I never truly enjoyed here storyline as much as I enjoyed Theresa's. The ending is bittersweet and perfect. I truly enjoyed reading this book and it made me eager to someday re-read Cocoa Beach now when I have read this book.

Favorite Quotes:His ears are large and extend like a pair of wings from his old-fashioned whiskers, so that Sophie sometimes imagines he can actually hear her thoughts. I don’t go in for soul-searching, for this modern passion of psychoanalysis. Examining every last detail of your childhood, every last itch in your subconscious. Generally speaking, the less I know about the contents of a person’s soul, the better I like him.My Review:A Certain Age was enthralling, captivating, and smartly written. I became so involved in the story I heard Jazz music as well as the tinkling of ice cubes, the ringing of an old-fashioned phone, the striking of a match, and even sensed the faint smell their cigarette smoke. The story seamlessly flowed from omnipresent narrative to a sharper dual POV with intriguing and unique characters, who were not always likable but unfailingly fascinating. The writing was multi-layered, brilliantly crafted, meaty, densely packed, and lavishly detailed. I adore this talented author’s smart and snappy style, clever humor, and insightful observations and will be forever in her debt for introducing me to the ingenious stylings of Helen Rowland, whose amusing wit was used to start each new chapter.

Although I wasn’t quite so thrilled about the twist that comes deep into this novel, I was nonetheless dazzled by the prose. Time and time again, I found myself thinking, “Wow, what an exquisite turn of phrase!” and admiring her deft way of putting across an emotion, a reaction, a character trait or flaw that had me enthralled to the very last page. The dual narration is like nothing I’ve encountered in fiction before, and Williams handles it marvelously well. This is my first Beatriz Williams novel, but it certainly won’t be my last.