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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely LOVED this story!
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Historical fiction based on a real life woman who turned to prostitution as a young girl but ended up being an extremely wealthy lady embroiled in a scandalous murder.
The true story of Hannah Elias is absolutely amazing.i had never heard of her but i was floored by her accomplishments. Unfortunately this author didn’t do it justice. So much was embellished that it was over the top. I felt like she was reaching for a certain number of words so she just kept writing on and on. Like it was a college paper with a minimum number of words. So many details about characters that had minimal impact on the story. I found my eyes jumping ahead of paragraphs just trying to get the book finished.
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
started: 03/07/25
finished: 03/08/25
format: 🎧
genre: historical fiction
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
when you use what you got to get what you want.
~ love that this was inspired by a true story
~ the audiobook was phenomenal!
it made the story even more immersive.
when you use what you got to get what you want.
~ love that this was inspired by a true story
~ the audiobook was phenomenal!
it made the story even more immersive.
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This novel combined two of my favorite things...history and mystery!! Chase-Riboud intertwines a real-life murder investigation with the life story of Hannah Elias and her 'rags-to-riches' experience of the early 1900's in Philadelphia and New York.
Hannah Elias is born in Philadelphia and has a childhood checkered by both good and bad experiences. The traumatic experiences of her childhood lead her into a particular life that is unacceptable to her once loving family and she is left without any kind of support system which is devastating for a black woman in the early 20th century. But Mrs. Elias does not 'go quietly into the night' rather; she relocated to New York and starts her life over in a place where no one knows her and she can determine the course of her life.
Throughout her life in New York, Mrs. Elias amasses a fortune which rivals the richest robber barrens of the age! However, when an old acquaintance reappears with plans to murder Hannah and one of her clients, Mrs. Elias' real identity, quiet life, and fortune are all at risk...especially considering she is a black women!!
This book took me a little while to get into, but once I did, I very much enjoyed it! There is more history/storytelling of Mrs. Elias' life than murder mystery to the novel but Chase-Riboud did a nice job of combining the two narratives in a meaningful and interesting manner. I am looking forward to reading more from this author as her other books have gotten quite a bit of acclaim!
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Hannah Elias is born in Philadelphia and has a childhood checkered by both good and bad experiences. The traumatic experiences of her childhood lead her into a particular life that is unacceptable to her once loving family and she is left without any kind of support system which is devastating for a black woman in the early 20th century. But Mrs. Elias does not 'go quietly into the night' rather; she relocated to New York and starts her life over in a place where no one knows her and she can determine the course of her life.
Throughout her life in New York, Mrs. Elias amasses a fortune which rivals the richest robber barrens of the age! However, when an old acquaintance reappears with plans to murder Hannah and one of her clients, Mrs. Elias' real identity, quiet life, and fortune are all at risk...especially considering she is a black women!!
This book took me a little while to get into, but once I did, I very much enjoyed it! There is more history/storytelling of Mrs. Elias' life than murder mystery to the novel but Chase-Riboud did a nice job of combining the two narratives in a meaningful and interesting manner. I am looking forward to reading more from this author as her other books have gotten quite a bit of acclaim!
Want more book content? Follow me at thebookwar.com
Last year, I read "The Great Mistake" by Jonathan Lee, an excellent and true to the facts historical fiction piece about Andrew Haswell Green, known as the "father of New York" for his incredible accomplishments relating to the creation of Central Park, the NY Public Library, making the five boroughs one city and more. His death was bizarre in that he was shot by a Cornelius Williams, a Black man who mistook him for the very wealthy John Pratt. The Great Mrs. Elias opens with this murder, because the murderer accused Green (who he thought was Pratt) of keeping Bessie Davis from him. Bessie Davis, a Black woman born into poverty in Philadelphia, was now a very wealthy brothel owner with a home on Central Park West. John Pratt was extremely involved with Hannah Elias, loaning her money and giving her money for her businesses and real estate. I assume the book is about to turn to the blackmail case his kids made him bring against Hannah. Just read Newspapers.com about this or Wikipedia. It's way more interesting than this overly long and overly fictionalized version of Hannah Elias's life to the extent I could stand to listen to it.
I just turned off the audible version of it. I do not like the narrator, her phrasing or her intonations. I know, because I read a book that stayed true to the Elias/Davis story, that there are SO many liberties taken with her life that it is wrong to call it historical fiction. I want to know that the facts in a historical fiction novel are not so far off that if I say something about an event or person in history, I'm not falsifying things. And this book is WAY too long. The stuff that is accurate is the stuff that sound boring against the author's imaginary relationships and events she used to fill things in. It's all about her learning about how to invest money and accumulate wealth. And sure, a sex worker's life is going to be salacious, but so much is thrown into this book gratuitously, like a love/hate relationship with a famous Black inventor who she probably never met. I can't tell you if I'd have liked this a little better if I hadn't already read an accurate depiction of Hannah Elias in Mr. Lee's book, followed by reading newspaper articles of the day because it was all so interesting. NOTHING could make me listen to this for another seven hours when there are so many good books out there begging to be read. Just. NO! (I'm not angry: You're angry)
I just turned off the audible version of it. I do not like the narrator, her phrasing or her intonations. I know, because I read a book that stayed true to the Elias/Davis story, that there are SO many liberties taken with her life that it is wrong to call it historical fiction. I want to know that the facts in a historical fiction novel are not so far off that if I say something about an event or person in history, I'm not falsifying things. And this book is WAY too long. The stuff that is accurate is the stuff that sound boring against the author's imaginary relationships and events she used to fill things in. It's all about her learning about how to invest money and accumulate wealth. And sure, a sex worker's life is going to be salacious, but so much is thrown into this book gratuitously, like a love/hate relationship with a famous Black inventor who she probably never met. I can't tell you if I'd have liked this a little better if I hadn't already read an accurate depiction of Hannah Elias in Mr. Lee's book, followed by reading newspaper articles of the day because it was all so interesting. NOTHING could make me listen to this for another seven hours when there are so many good books out there begging to be read. Just. NO! (I'm not angry: You're angry)