This engaging dual-timeline story starts in present-day Asheville, North Carolina. Julia Baxter is getting ready to marry her longtime boyfriend Hayes at the historic Biltmore Estate after years of breaking up and making up. But Hayes’ cheating ways have caught up to him and Julia decides to cancel the wedding the day of the big event. Julia won’t be wearing the family heirloom, a wedding veil with a history that has been a bit unclear. Julia decides to go on the honeymoon alone. The Wedding Veil shifts to the history of the Vanderbilt family when the Biltmore was the home of Edith and George and their daughter Cornelia. In 1924, as Cornelia prepares to marry, she plans to wear the family wedding veil. A modern day exhibit at the Biltmore, which displays Cornelia’s wedding gown, includes a reproduction of the famed veil, which was lost long ago. It happens to look almost exactly like the veil Julia had planned to wear at her wedding.
The story of Julia and her search for happiness after she called off her wedding is an enjoyable one. Julia's relationship with her grandmother Babs is very special and is the true heart of the book. The parallel story of the fabulously wealthy Vanderbilt family shows the hardship they endured trying to preserve an estate that was next to impossible to run given its size and the state of the country during the Great Depression. I tended to favor the contemporary storyline but always enjoy reading about the lives of the Gilded Age families. Much has been written about the Vanderbilt women and this story provides a different and interesting perspective. Kristy Woodson Harvey, an excellent storyteller, takes us on a lovely and memorable journey tying two families together through the decades with one special wedding veil.
Rated 4.25 out of 5 stars.
Historical / Contemporary Fiction.
Publication Date: March 29, 2022.
Please "like" this post if The Wedding Veil sounds like a book you might like to read. I'd love to know. Scroll below the photo and click on the red outlined heart on the lower right-hand side of the page. Comments can also be left below.
