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A review by shesbecomingbookish
A Beautiful Rival: A Novel of Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden by Gill Paul
3.0
Quick and Dirty
-dual POV historical fiction
-female titans of business
-spans multiple decades
-highly character-driven
Thoughts
I'm a sucker for historical fiction with a feminist lens, so A Beautiful Rival certainly caught my attention when I read the synopsis. The appeal of following these two pioneering businesswomen, Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden, on their journey to power, fame, and fortune was too strong to resist. It reminded me of the recently published Renee Rosen novel, Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl which focuses on a later titan of business, Estee Lauder. While I thoroughly enjoyed many aspects of this book (keep reading), I will say that it is a slow read without much in the way of "action," so people who struggle with character-driven novels should keep that in mind. The characters were, though, well-developed and three-dimensional. Although it's written from a third-person POV the reader still gets the benefit of the inner dialogue/thought processes of the two MCs which helps flesh out the characters. You get to know their strengths and weaknesses, warts and all as some might say. That, to me, made this book special. They are both completely different and very much alike, which kept the tit-for-tat aspects of the book entertaining. The constant conniving and undermining were fun and kept the book moving along at a good pace (as did the relatively short chapters). My favorite part of this book was that we follow both women over many decades, seeing the world through their eyes as major events (Great Depression, WWII, etc.) happen around them. Overall, this was a solid HistFic that I think many readers will enjoy if they love character-driven novels about pioneering women!
-dual POV historical fiction
-female titans of business
-spans multiple decades
-highly character-driven
Thoughts
I'm a sucker for historical fiction with a feminist lens, so A Beautiful Rival certainly caught my attention when I read the synopsis. The appeal of following these two pioneering businesswomen, Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden, on their journey to power, fame, and fortune was too strong to resist. It reminded me of the recently published Renee Rosen novel, Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl which focuses on a later titan of business, Estee Lauder. While I thoroughly enjoyed many aspects of this book (keep reading), I will say that it is a slow read without much in the way of "action," so people who struggle with character-driven novels should keep that in mind. The characters were, though, well-developed and three-dimensional. Although it's written from a third-person POV the reader still gets the benefit of the inner dialogue/thought processes of the two MCs which helps flesh out the characters. You get to know their strengths and weaknesses, warts and all as some might say. That, to me, made this book special. They are both completely different and very much alike, which kept the tit-for-tat aspects of the book entertaining. The constant conniving and undermining were fun and kept the book moving along at a good pace (as did the relatively short chapters). My favorite part of this book was that we follow both women over many decades, seeing the world through their eyes as major events (Great Depression, WWII, etc.) happen around them. Overall, this was a solid HistFic that I think many readers will enjoy if they love character-driven novels about pioneering women!