Karin Tanabe

"In 1897, Anita Hemmings was the first African American woman to attend Vassar--and no-one knew"--Back cover.

A Novel

The Gilded Years

Melissa Schwartz

My biggest disappointment with this book is that the author focused way too heavily on Lottie, when Anita was the main character and the historical fiction was based on her true story. Being that Lottie was actually part of the story, but was mostly fictionalized based on the afterward, I didn't feel like all the fluff about her had any point and it just dragged on as a result. I still liked the book, but would probably enjoy researching a little more myself. The concept was really important and heartbreaking, and unfortunately too many unnecessary scenes got in the way.

WOW! What an amazing book about an amazing woman!
Truly inspirational and compelling story about a true hero.
I wish all students were meant to read this so they could see what women and people of color had to go thru so they can see how far, or not, we have come.
Thanks for this book!

Jordan Heustis

This book has an interesting point of view, however I’m not sure how confident I am in the author’s ability to tell this story. (Not based off her writing but more so not being of the point of view). That being said, the characters were interesting, I liked most of the ending, and I loved reading about the real people at the end. I also felt like there were some major character holes and parts of the story/people that were not really accurate to the time period. I don’t think I’d recommend this book if you are looking for a great historical fiction.

The Gilded Years A Novel

Reviews