Gilded Youth: Three Lives in France's Belle Epoque

By Kate Cambor

Book Overview

They were the children of France's most celebrated men of nineteenth-century letters and science, the celebrity heirs and heiresses of their day. Their lives were the subject of scandal, gossip, and fascination. L?on Daudet was the son of the popular writer Alphonse Daudet. Jean-Baptiste Charcot was the son of the famed neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot, mentor to a young Sigmund Freud. And Jeanne Hugo was the adored granddaughter of the immortal Victor Hugo. As France readied herself for the dawn of a new century, these childhood friends seemed poised for greatness.

In Gilded Youth, Kate Cambor paints a portrait of a generation lost in upheaval. While France weathered social unrest, violent crime, the birth of modern psychology, and the dawn of World War I, these three young adults experienced the disorientation of a generation forced to discover that the faith in science and progress that had sustained their fathers had failed them.

With masterful storytelling, Cambor captures the hopes and disillusionments of those who were destined to see the golden world of their childhood disappear--and the universal challenges that emerge as the dreams of youth collide with the realities of experience.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374532249
• ISBN13: 9780374532246
• Release Date: August 2010
• Publisher: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

A Brilliant Exposition Of The Lives of The Children of the Rich and Famous

This is a remarkable book. It fills in a lot of the missing pieces of the puzzle about the effects of the tranisiton generation between the late 1890's and 1930's France. All the great writers, musicians, politicians, and scientists of the day are introduced. This grand book is a 281 page micro-history of the French People during this time period. Much can be learned from this in-depth book.

Readable history

This is a very readable and comprehensive French history of a particularly interesting period. The writer is a scholar as well as a story teller. a rare combination. Her copious footnotes document the story but do not disturb the reading of it since they are at the end of the book. This author bears watching for future treatments of the history of a remarkable period and place.

Beautifully written and incredibly insightful -- a literary treat!

This book has it all. On the human level it is a compelling story of three lives told with psychological depth and historical significance, but it is also the story of a pivotol time in western history and this story is told by Ms. Cambor with wonderful depth, clarity and excitement. As the characters and the events evolve the reader is drawn into their lives and their time as if actually there. This was a great read!

This story MUST be headed for the big screen

Wow. Kate Cambor is a genius! Someone has to make this into a movie and I'm sure that they will. And I will be first in line to see it. The book is really compelling and a great read. Kate Cambor has plucked a forgotten but most engrossing story from the history books and given it a brilliantly constructed and vibrant life. Cambor's descriptions make you feel like you're right there. It's really an amazing story, and even more amazing that it's non-fiction--three children growing up in the shadow of their famous parents (and in one case grandfather, Victor Hugo). It's no wonder that the New York Times, Washington Post, L.A. Times, Publishers Weekly, and many others gave it such a fantastic reviews and that the French media is calling Kate Cambor a genius. There is a real buzz around this book, and there should be. It's everything they say it is, and more. Remember the name, because I'm sure there are many book prizes and Oscars to follow!

A terrific look at Belle Epoque France

Gilded Youth is gripping, evocative nonfiction account of three elite friends in turn-of-the-century France and the wide-ranging courses their lives take--from the throes of right-wing politics, to the thrills of Antarctic exploration. It's a masterful blend of biography and first-rate storytelling.