BKMT READING GUIDES



 
Interesting,
Informative,
Dramatic

4 reviews

What the Lady Wants: A Novel of Marshall Field and the Gilded Age
by Renée Rosen

Published: 2014-11-04
Paperback : 448 pages
3 members reading this now
11 clubs reading this now
5 members have read this book
Recommended to book clubs by 4 of 4 members
In late-nineteenth-century Chicago, visionary retail tycoon Marshall Field made his fortune wooing women customers with his famous motto: “Give the lady what she wants.” His legendary charm also won the heart of socialite Delia Spencer and led to an infamous love affair.
 
The night ...
No other editions available.
Add to Club Selections
Add to Possible Club Selections
Add to My Personal Queue
Jump to

Introduction

In late-nineteenth-century Chicago, visionary retail tycoon Marshall Field made his fortune wooing women customers with his famous motto: “Give the lady what she wants.” His legendary charm also won the heart of socialite Delia Spencer and led to an infamous love affair.
 
The night of the Great Fire, as seventeen-year-old Delia watches the flames rise and consume what was the pioneer town of Chicago, she can’t imagine how much her life, her city, and her whole world are about to change. Nor can she guess that the agent of that change will not simply be the fire, but more so the man she meets that night...

Leading the way in rebuilding after the fire, Marshall Field reopens his well-known dry goods store and transforms it into something the world has never seen before: a glamorous palace of a department store. He and his powerhouse coterie—including Potter Palmer and George Pullman—usher in the age of robber barons, the American royalty of their generation.

But behind the opulence, their private lives are riddled with scandal and heartbreak. Delia and Marshall first turn to each other out of loneliness, but as their love deepens, they will stand together despite disgrace and ostracism, through an age of devastation and opportunity, when an adolescent Chicago is transformed into the gleaming White City of the Chicago’s World’s Fair of 1893.

Editorial Review

No editorial review at this time.

Excerpt

No Excerpt Currently Available

Discussion Questions

No discussion questions at this time.

Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

No notes at this time.

Book Club Recommendations

Member Reviews

Overall rating:
 
 
by Michelle L. (see profile) 10/31/19

 
  "What the Lady Wants"by Anne K. (see profile) 05/11/17

Our club found this especially interesting as we are located in the Chicago suburbs, and all of us shopped at Marshall Fields for many years. (Yes, we are that old.) Most of us really didn't know much... (read more)

 
  "Very interesting glimpse into history"by Jill H. (see profile) 01/15/16

I found the story very interesting and insightful. I only wish it was more nonfiction, less fiction.

 
  "What the Lady Wants"by Pam M. (see profile) 01/29/15

It was a sad day in Chicago when Marshall Field became Macy's. He was a genius in many ways and Chicago owes him a great deal. A Wonderful read.

 
  "What The Lady Wants by Renee Rosen"by Elizabeth P. (see profile) 11/08/14



Glamor, glitter, love, shopping, and ?famous names thrown around...what fun it was reading WHAT THE LADY WANTS.

WHAT THE LADY WANTS is set in Chicago during the 1800's when retail sto



... (read more)

Rate this book
MEMBER LOGIN
Remember me
BECOME A MEMBER it's free

Book Club HQ to over 88,000+ book clubs and ready to welcome yours.

SEARCH OUR READING GUIDES Search
Search




FEATURED EVENTS
PAST AUTHOR CHATS
JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

Get free weekly updates on top club picks, book giveaways, author events and more
Please wait...