The Lost Summers of Newport

A Novel

De: Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, Karen White

Narrado por: Saskia Maarleveld, Brittany Pressley, Lisa Flanagan

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"An engrossing and sumptuous tale, this novel is a fantastic spring read." — Good Morning America

From the New York Times bestselling team of Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White—a novel of money and secrets set among the famous summer mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, spanning over a century from the Gilded Age to the present day.

“Three stories elegantly intertwine in this clever and stylish tale of murder and family lies…This crackerjack novel offers three mysteries for the price of one.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

2019: Andie Figuero has just landed her dream job as a producer of Mansion Makeover, a popular reality show about restoring America’s most lavish historic houses. Andie has high hopes for her latest project: the once glorious but gently crumbling Sprague Hall in Newport, Rhode Island, summer resort of America’s gilded class—famous for the lavish “summer cottages” of Vanderbilts and Belmonts. But Andie runs into trouble: the reclusive heiress who still lives in the mansion, Lucia “Lucky” Sprague, will only allow the show to go forward on two conditions: One, nobody speaks to her. Two, nobody touches the mansion’s ruined boathouse.

1899: Ellen Daniels has been hired to give singing lessons to Miss Maybelle Sprague, a naive young Colorado mining heiress whose stepbrother John has poured their new money into buying a place among Newport’s elite. John is determined to see Maybelle married off to a fortune-hunting Italian prince, and Ellen is supposed to polish up the girl for her launch into society. But the deceptively demure Ellen has her own checkered past, and she’s hiding in plain sight at Sprague Hall.

1958: Lucia “Lucky” Sprague has always felt like an outsider at Sprague Hall. When she and her grandmother—the American-born Princess di Conti—fled Mussolini’s Italy, it seemed natural to go back to the imposing Newport house Nana owned but hadn’t seen since her marriage in 1899. Over the years, Lucky's lost her Italian accent and found a place for herself among the yachting set by marrying Stuyvesant Sprague, the alcoholic scion of her Sprague stepfamily. But one fateful night in the mansion’s old boathouse will uncover a devastating truth...and change everything she thought she knew about her past.

As the cameras roll on Mansion Makeover, the house begins to yield up the dark secrets the Spragues thought would stay hidden forever….

©2022 Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Disappointed

I have enjoyed another book by this/these author/authors so I bought this one before the reviews were out. Never again.
I’m a fan of historical novels. There wasn’t much of that in this book.
Mostly a fluffy harlequin romance kind of book and not my cup of tea.

awesome

Love this collaboration great story great narrating great all around. Please do something like this again!

Pretty Good but,....

This was a pretty good book but it took me a while to get the characters straightened out as you bounce between 1899, 1957 and the present. Narration is good - just had to re-listen sometimes to grab where I was at. It got easier and eventually I knew who belonged where.

Fabulous

I loved this book! You had me fooled until the very end! I love the going back and forth between the years…fabulous!

Great way to keep the house "alive"

Loved it. couldn't stop listening. I enjoyed the linking of three time periods. The story showed what it like to live in a mansion, and all that must be done

Interesting plot but sophomoric

The 3 time periods were well represented & flow was fairly easy to follow. Even the characters were pretty well developed. But the details were trite & not believable. Found myself with eye rolls a little too often. Epilogue was almost Ridiculous

great story!

I enjoyed the three main characters and their stories. I could not wait to hear details of the mysteries of their lives so I could figure out how their stories connected. The narration was also well done. Hopefully you will enjoy this book as much as I did!

Loved it.

I really take a break from non-fiction, but this was a special treat. Highly recommend it.

Ugh-Formulaic

Formulaic, 2-dimesional characters, unrealistic dialogue/behavior. Most of the men are one dinesional - & pigs. I did like switching between times.

3 lost summers

I wish Brittany Pressley could read allllll the books! She has the best voice and makes you truly feel she is the character.