Gods of Newport, John Jakes
Gods of Newport, John Jakes
7 Rating(s)
List: $26.99 | Sale: $18.89
Club: $13.49

Gods of Newport

Author: John Jakes

Narrator: Jack Garrett

Unabridged: 12 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/04/2011


Synopsis

In the late nineteenth century, Newport, Rhode Island, was a cauldron of money, excess, and unapologetic greed, where reputations were made and lost in a whirlwind of parties and fancied slights. But amid the glamour of yacht races, tennis matches, and costume balls raged undeclared class warfare, scandalous doings, even madness.

In 1893, railroad mogul Sam Driver, one of the few surviving robber barons of the lawless years after the Civil War, knocks on the door of fabled Newport with his daughter, Jenny, determined not to be turned away. In the past, his "new money" was tainted by his rapacious reputation, and even now, an enemy with a pedigree of wealth and position vows to slam every door in Sam's face. But he is determined to win a place in the strange rarefied world of Newport's brief summer season, presided over by social gadflies Ward McAllister and the androgynous Harry Lehr, both of whom will assist the Drivers...for a price.

The Gods of Newport brings this gilded age of excess to thrilling life. It was a time and place whose extremes of greed, conspicuous consumption, and social striving have an astonishing resonance and relevance for the America we see around us today.

About John Jakes

John Jakes is the bestselling author of Charleston, the eight-volume Kent Family Chronicles, The North and South Trilogy, On Secret Service, California Gold, Homeland, and American Dreams. Descended from a soldier of the Virginia Continental Line who fought in the American Revolution, Jakes is one of today's most distinguished authors of historical fiction. He lives in South Carolina and Florida.


Reviews

AudiobooksNow review by Sally on 2012-05-02 14:48:11

Ive read most of Jakes historical novels, including all of the Centennial series. The Gods of Newport is the absolute worst I quit reading after about 60 pages. There is little or no plot, mostly just a lot of millionaire name dropping.

Goodreads review by Paula on August 16, 2017

It is with regret that I give this book by this fine author three stars. All the elements for a deep and moving story are there but he remains on the surface, drawing crude one-dimensional stick figure characters instead. Jakes does this sometimes, which is weird because his Civil War trilogy is a m......more

Goodreads review by Allie on October 16, 2018

My husband and I were just in Newport this past summer, and it is always fun to hear stories about places you've been. I've walked that Cliff Walk and have been to that beach! It was an ok story, certainly not my favorite from Jakes.......more

Goodreads review by Regina on December 02, 2020

Having been to the Rhode Island area that is the central theme of the story , I found this novel very interesting and entertaining.......more

Goodreads review by Joel on August 15, 2020

A fun read about the 19th century 1%ers.......more

Goodreads review by Benjamin on April 17, 2015

This is an historical novel taking place at the end of the gilded age in Newport, Rhode Island, home to the massively rich, both inherited wealth and newly acquired by robber barons and the like. It generally takes place from 1893 through 1897 with one flash back sequence used to show how one of the......more