It Girl - a young woman rises from humble beginnings to become the nation's most famous beauty during the Gilded Age, capturing the admiration of two of the wealthiest men.

Evelyn Talbot is the toast of New York City. She'd come a long way from her early life in a mining town in Pennsylvania to modeling for Louis Comfort Tiffany and Charles Dana Gibson. Her beautiful face adorned illustrations, paintings, and advertisements, and she performed as a chorus girl on Broadway. In the early 1900s, she became the country's first "It Girl". Following her father's death, her family became poverty-stricken, but through her ambition and her mother's, her beauty soon got noticed. Teenage Evelyn concealed her young age while attracting the attention of much older men. While performing on Broadway, the wealthy Stanley Pierce met Evelyn and offered to be her benefactor, though his intentions were far from honorable. More men and troubles followed, and her self-serving, manipulative mother cared more about preserving their newfound opulent lifestyle over Evelyn's well-being.

Author Allison Pataki has written an impressive array of biographical historical fiction books based on real historical figures. With It Girl, she has created a fictional character. But if you know your Gilded Age history, you'll easily recognize that this Evelyn is heavily inspired by Evelyn Nesbit. And the men in her life, including those connected to the "Crime of the Century," are also easily identifiable. Pataki's Evelyn forges her own path, and you'll be rooting for her all the way. If you're unfamiliar with Nesbit, wait until you finish this enjoyable book before researching her. And if you know the true story of “The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing,” this captivating tale will have you revisiting the real Evelyn Nesbit's story.

Many thanks to Ballantine Books | Random House for the advance.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Historical Fiction.

Publication Date: March 10, 2026.

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