July 18th is National Caviar Day! Caviar represents the ultimate symbol of wealth and status. In celebration of this glamorous food, read about these iconic literary characters that embody glamour.
Astrid from Crazy Rich Asians
Kevin Kwan’s debut novel Crazy Rich Asians comedically narrates the lives of three outrageously wealthy Chinese families. Rachel Chu is shocked when she visits her boyfriend Nicholas’s family in Singapore and sees the opulent lifestyle he is used to as a member of a powerful, family dynasty. Rachel meets Astrid Leong, the it-girl of Singapore society who also happens to be Nick’s cousin.
Astrid, known for her enviable beauty and impeccable fashion sense, has her own designer clothing brand. Astrid’s kindness and graceful nature make an impression on everyone she meets, and her glamour and allure established a reputation known by the whole country.
Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald fills the pages of his literary classic The Great Gatsby with lavish parties, grandiose landscapes, and luxurious attire. Jay Gatsby, known for his overstated parties and demure demeanor, is haunted by his undying love for Daisy Buchanan. Fitzgerald crafts an honest and chic tale of 1920s America.
Jay Gatsby embodies the American dream during the Jazz Age. He is a self-made man with astounding wealth and stylish class. But behind his glamorous parties and idealized life of wealth, there is a deep longing and incessant suffering for his one true love.
Evelyn Hugo from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Hollywood icon Evelyn Hugo gifts up-and-coming magazine reporter Monique Grant with the highly sought-after opportunity to write her tell-all biography in Taylor Jenkins Reid’s best-selling book The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Monique begins to visit Evelyn in her luxurious Upper East Side apartment and listens to the stories behind her prolific career and seven, high-profile marriages. Beginning in the 50s with the early stages of her career in Los Angeles, Evelyn unspools every shocking detail about her life to Monique.
Evelyn herself describes her beauty as one of a kind and timeless. Her sensuality and ambition as a young woman made her into the alluring, Hollywood Bombshell the world now knows her as. From her iconic fashion moments to her nuanced acting performances, Evelyn’s glamour defines her.
Mary Astor from The Second Mrs. Astor
Shana Abé tells the remarkable real-life story of Madeleine Astor in her Historical Fiction novel The Second Mrs. Astor. Madeleine Talmage Force comes from a wealthy, upper-class family, but she is not accustomed to the American royalty of the Astor family. In 1911, at the age of 18, she marries John Jacob Astor, a war hero and business tycoon who is 29 years her senior. Their marriage becomes a hit with the press. The glamorous couple spent time traveling in Egypt for their honeymoon. The couple was happily married and traveling home to New York on a new ocean liner in April of 1912. The ship hits an iceberg and tragically begins to sink. Madeleine safely makes it to a lifeboat, but John Jacob Astor goes down with the Titanic.
In New York, Madeleine is pregnant and alone in the Astor’s Fifth Avenue mansion. Deemed a tragic heroine by the press, widowed Madeleine has a lot of attention on her. After privately mourning the loss of her husband, Madeleine reentered New York society in 1915 and had two more marriages in her lifetime.
Mary Crawford from Mansfield Park
Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park follows Fanny Price, a girl who moved away from her life of poverty with her parents to live with her wealthy cousins at Mansfield Park. Fanny struggles to fit in and finds a sole ally in her cousin Edmund. Their neighborhood is shaken up when the Crawfords arrive from London, bringing with them glamour and troublesome flirtation.
Mary Crawford, sister of Henry Crawford, is a charismatic, beautiful young woman who has recently moved from London and is used to a high-society life of opulence and decadence. Her sophisticated nature and luxurious lifestyle cannot fully disguise her materialistic values and superficiality. Austen uses Mary’s character to portray the moral downfall of a glamorous, fashionable lifestyle.
Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s
In Truman Capote’s novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s the narrator is introduced to Holly Golightly, a charming and beautiful young woman who lives in his apartment building in New York. Holly is a young woman with no job who makes a living by socializing with the wealthy men of New York.
Holly is a young woman from the country who has effectively immersed herself into high society and engages with high-class New York culture. Highly fashionable and defined by nonconformity, Holly Golightly has become a renowned literary figure representing glamour and alluring eccentricity.
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