Fallen Beauty - by Erika Robuck (Paperback)

About the Book

"Upstate New York, 1928. Laura Kelley and the man she loves sneak away from their judgmental town to attend a performance of the scandalous Ziegfeld Follies. But the dark consequences of their night of daring and delight reach far into the future.... That same evening, Bohemian poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and her indulgent husband hold a wild party in their remote mountain estate, hoping to inspire her muse. Millay declares her wish for a new lover who will take her to unparalleled heights of passion and poetry, but for the first time, the man who responds will not bend completely to her will.... Two years later, Laura, an unwed seamstress struggling to support her daughter, and Millay, a woman fighting the passage of time, work together secretly to create costumes for Millay's next grand tour. As their complex, often uneasy friendship develops amid growing local condemnation, each woman is forced to confront what it means to be a fallen woman...and to decide for herself what price she is willing to pay to live a full life"--

Book Synopsis

"Without sin, can we know beauty? Can we fully appreciate the summer without the winter? No, I am glad to suffer so I can feel the fullness of our time in the light."

Upstate New York, 1928. Laura Kelley and the man she loves sneak away from their judgmental town to attend a performance of the scandalous Ziegfeld Follies. But the dark consequences of their night of daring and delight reach far into the future....

That same evening, Bohemian poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and her indulgent husband hold a wild party in their remote mountain estate, hoping to inspire her muse. Millay declares her wish for a new lover who will take her to unparalleled heights of passion and poetry, but for the first time, the man who responds will not bend completely to her will....

Two years later, Laura, an unwed seamstress struggling to support her daughter, and Millay, a woman fighting the passage of time, work together secretly to create costumes for Millay's next grand tour. As their complex, often uneasy friendship develops amid growing local condemnation, each woman is forced to confront what it means to be a fallen woman...and to decide for herself what price she is willing to pay to live a full life.

"Lovers of the Jazz Age, literary enthusiasts, and general historic fiction readers will find much to love about Call Me Zelda. Highly recommended." -Historical Novel Society, Editors' Choice

Review Quotes

Praise for Fallen Beauty

"Robuck's winning mix of imaginative storytelling and historical research makes for a gripping tale. Fallen Beauty is a must-read for fans of the fascinating poet Edna St. Vincent Millay."--J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of Maine

"Erika Robuck brings the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay to life in all her beauty and insatiability. This is an electrifying read, one that crackles with passion on every page. The book reads like poetry."--Alyson Richman, national bestselling author of The Lost Wife

"This finely tuned, lyrical novel is Robuck's strongest work to date, and destined to become an American classic."--Simon Van Booy, award-winning author of The Illusion of Separateness

Praise for Call Me Zelda

"This gem of a novel spins a different, touching story....You will love it, as I absolutely did."--Tatiana de Rosnay, New York Times Bestselling Author of Sarah's Key

"Richly imagined...an unsettling yet tender portrayal of two women inextricably bound by hope and tragedy."--Beth Hoffman, New York Times Bestselling Author of Looking for You

"Haunting and beautifully atmospheric...brilliantly brings Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald to life in all their doomed beauty, with compelling and unforgettable results."--Alex George, Author of A Good American

Praise for Hemingway's Girl

"You'll love this robust, tender story of love, grief, and survival on Key West in the 1930s...addictive."--Jenna Blum, New York Times Bestselling Author of Those Who Save Us

"Readers will delight in the complex relationships and vivid setting."--Publishers Weekly

"Evokes a setting of the greatest fascination...This is assured and richly enjoyable storytelling."--Margaret Leroy, Author of The Soldier's Wife

"Robuck's breathtaking alchemy is to put us inside the world of Hemingway and his wife Pauline, and add a bold young woman to the mix with a story uniquely her own. Dazzlingly written and impossibly moving, this novel is a supernova."--Caroline Leavitt, New York Times Bestselling Author of Pictures of You

About the Author

Erika Robuck is the national bestselling author of The House of Hawthorne, Fallen Beauty, Call Me Zelda, Hemingway's Girl, and Receive Me Falling. She is a contributor to the fiction blog Writer Unboxed, and she maintains her own blog, Muse. She is a member of the Hawthorne Society, the Hemingway Society, the Historical Novel Society, and the Edna St. Vincent Millay Society. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland, with her husband and three sons.