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What the Lady Wants

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

29 posts | 14 read | 1 reading | 23 to read

After rebuilding his dry goods store into a glamorous department store after the Great Fire, Marshall Field begins an illicit affair with the young Delia sparking scandal and ostracism in late-19th-century Chicago. Includes a reader's guide. By the author of Dollface. Original. 50,000 first printing.

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review

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Bailed

bailed

I made it 136 pages into this book before calling it quits đźŹ†Prior to this page, there was some eye rolling and some â€śUghsâ€ť thrown about, but a specific line on this page got me to throw in the towel. I‘m not a romance fan so I shouldn‘t have even picked this book up, BUT I love Chicago, Marshall Field‘s (the store), and historical fiction so I thought I‘d give it a chance. I tried, but no. Onto the next book!

dabbe #hailthebail! đź¤©đź¤©đź¤© 11mo

Aims42 @dabbe I love this hashtag!!! đźđź™Śđź¤© I read the one-star reviews on Goodreads for this book and it was nice to know I wasn‘t the only one not impressed đź… 11mo

23 likes2 comments

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Renee Rosen writes some amazing historical fiction set in Chicago. Tagged is my fav. I love all the Chicago museums, especially the Shedd Aquarium. I have great pics of the artwork on display made from garbage collected in the ocean. Which is sad but they‘ve made something beautiful if it. I‘m too whooped from training to hunt the pics down right now. #TravelTuesday

SilversReviews LOVED both of these books. Well..all her books are good. đź€ 3y

52 likes1 comment

review

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Meh

so-so

An historical and biographical fiction, this was the story of Delia Caton and Marshall Fieldâ€s scandalous affair. There was some info dumping here and I was uncomfortable with the author making up stories about Dellâ€s husband and Marshâ€s wife that are meant to make their well chronicled affair more understandable to the reader. Full review at https://booknaround.blogspot.com/2021/03/review-what-lady-wants-by-renee-rosen.h...

50 likes1 stack add

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

This grabbed me from the opening scene set in the Palmer House during the Great Chicago Fire and I could never set it down. Loved this one.

#12booksof2020

tagged users icon

review

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Pick

pick

The good: this is set in Chicago. I‘ve been there many, many times and really enjoy it. It also mentions the Palmer House, which I‘ve stayed at and is beautiful.
The bad: all the drama!
Overall it was a decent story and I liked learning about Chicago after the Great Fire. Another 3.5âď¸Ź read.

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

The tagged book is the only 1 I recall as I reviewed books I‘ve read this year. I‘m not aware the author‘s sexuality. I found this especially interesting because of the time period it was set in, 1870s. It showed what it was like to marry someone your family & society found acceptable & watch the person you loved do the same. It showed the effect on the marriage and ultimately the effect on a life. This was an incredible book for lots of reasons.

tagged users icon

ChasingOm, Emilymdxn

Emilymdxn Sounds really interesting! Thank you for taking part! 4y

ChasingOm Oh wow. That does sound good. And I love books set in that time in Chicago, hah! 4y

39 likes2 comments

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Rainy day reads đźŚ§

megnews I loved this! 5y

Sharpeipup @megnews That‘s a good endorsement! 5y

24 likes1 stack add2 comments

review

PedanticPastorMartha

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Pick

pick

I love the subjects Rosen writes about, and her style. I though she did a great job with the plot and characters in this one. My gripe is the constant references to specific designers and descriptions of the opulence. After the first 50 pages, it feltâ€”overwhelming. There are ways to emphasize wealth but that bit was overdone. Otherwise, enjoyed it very much!

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Another buddy read I didn‘t accomplish with everyone else, I‘m firmly stuck in it now and rather resenting that we have plans for tonight! Thank heaven one of our friends isn‘t a stay out late and party person so I can hitch a ride home with him early and get back to my book since there‘s no way I can finish before we leave.

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

It‘s time to discuss this month‘s #LiteraryCrew selection! We were transported to late 1800s Chicago, post Chicago Fire, during the rebuilding of opulence. But, this is a fictional look at the love story of Marshall Field and Delia Caton.

Admittedly, I‘m about halfway through, so do not have specific discussion questions (sorry - life/work curveballs yet again!). I‘ll post my impressions as a spoiler. I‘ll have some questions thrown in too!

tagged users icon

KarouBlue, Jerdencon, BookNAround, BethM, megnews, thereadingowlvina, Chrissyreadit, Sace, Mollyanna, TamAnder

Librarybelle What did you think of the pace of the novel? Honestly, it‘s a little slow for me. There is a lot of set up, which is probably needed, but where I am at the moment, it feels like it could have been shortened a tad. 5y

Librarybelle What are your impressions of the book and story overall? I want to know more, for sure! I had no clue about the story between Field and Caton! I enjoyed reading the descriptions about the opulent homes. 5y

Librarybelle I‘m anxious to hear other‘s thoughts! 5y

See All 12 Comments

Jerdencon It was a little slow at first but then I felt it picked up. I had to google Marshall field after I read the book to see how much was true and how much was fictional. I enjoyed it but my complaint was how passive her family was while she was â€ślivingâ€ť with him and her husband. They had so much to say about everything else... also her sister made me crazy and I would have kicked her and her loser husband out! (edited) 5y

Librarybelle @Jerdencon It was such a different arrangement. And, society as a whole gave me pause, though I know that the gossip among high society members happened everywhere. What struck me too was Nannie‘s addiction to laudanum. I‘ve read up on 19th century addiction - she was hooked! Very sad! 5y

BethM @Jerdencon I felt the same way about the sister! I really enjoyed this book. Being so geographically close it was fun to research who these people were. For example my aunt runs a True Value which is what Delia‘s dad‘s store ultimately became. I soooo want to go visit some of these spots! 5y

BethM Also can we agree that Marshall was a dick at least 50% of the time?! 5y

megnews @Librarybelle the pace was great to me. It really sucked me in from the beginning with the fire. 5y

megnews @BethM I spent a lot of time googling things while reading this book as well. 5y

Jerdencon @BethM yes! And from his picture - he wasn‘t all that to look at either! Lol 5y

Librarybelle @BethM What a cool connection! I visited Marshall Field‘s my only time in Chicago fifteen years ago and was fascinated. 5y

Librarybelle @megnews That is so good! I‘m so glad you enjoyed it! 5y

56 likes12 comments

review

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Pick

pick

#literarycrew - gosh I hope I got that right đź‚ An excellent look at Marshall Field and Delia Spencer Caton. I loved learning about something so geographically close, and as always I ended up researching more of their lives. Who wants to go see the original store with me? Very engaging book- even if he was a bit of a dick.

megnews Field trip! And stay at the Palmer House too! 5y

BethM @megnews that would be so cool! The pics are gorgeous! 5y

Librarybelle Glad you liked this! 5y

47 likes1 stack add3 comments

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Really enjoyed this book - once I started it needed to finish it! Can‘t wait for the discussion #literarycrew
@Librarybelle

Librarybelle Hooray! 5y

50 likes2 stack adds1 comment

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Tonight‘s reading plan
A chapter (book) of@the odyssey for the #readingenvyreadalong
And then to finally start the tagged book for #literarycrew

Librarybelle Sounds like a good night! 5y

52 likes1 comment

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Ugh apparently Libby is no longer sending me notifications that things are checked out. Not sure I‘ll get this one done. Frustrating.

Hestapleton Mine isn‘t either! I‘ve had to check it daily to follow up on holds. 5y

CoffeeK8 Go into manage notifications. This happened to me and I just found out that. they have an update and you need to opt in to get notifications. 5y

Avanders That happened to me too!! đź–đź– 5y

Avanders @CoffeeK8 thanks! That was helpful đźŠ 5y

CoffeeK8 @Avanders so glad I could help! 5y

37 likes5 comments

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Finally starting this for February‘s #LiteraryCrew #Buddyread !

We‘re a little over halfway through the month - how is everyone doing? I‘ve seen some discussion on fashion details described in the book...any thoughts on this? I‘ll be able to post more regularly now as I read through this, so that will help with discussion.

tagged users icon

KarouBlue, Jerdencon, BookNAround, BethM, megnews, thereadingowlvina, Chrissyreadit, Sace, Mollyanna, TamAnder

megnews I‘m not a fashion lover and if it kept up with long descriptions of fashions, I would not have enjoyed this as much as I did. It definitely didn‘t and what was there at the beginning was part of setting the tone for social strata the story deals with. 5y

BookNAround Guess I should maybe start it before the month gets away from me, eh?! 5y

BethM Ugh- I didn‘t request it from the library right away in January bc there were no holds. Then feb hits and boom gone- still waiting. 5y

See All 13 Comments

Librarybelle @BookNAround @BethM I‘m glad I‘m not the only one who didn‘t have a chance to start it right away! 5y

Librarybelle @megnews Good to know! 5y

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful cover!! Stacked! 5y

Chrissyreadit I have it- but have not started it yet. 5y

Jerdencon @Chrissyreadit same here... hoping this week since im off from work 5y

Librarybelle @Chrissyreadit @Jerdencon No worries! 5y

TamAnder Enjoyed the read and getting a sense of atmosphere to my adopted Chicagoland. Every kid in the Midwest learns about the Great Chicago Fire at some point,but had no idea about the labor tensions and Haymarket Riot/Massacre. I had a hard time with some of the character interactions in their believability but it didn‘t take away from my enjoyment of the general story. Thanks for this pick! 5y

Librarybelle @TamAnder Glad you liked it! It is fun reading about this time in Chicago! 5y

TamAnder @Librarybelle It was neat to see the overlap in history with the 1893 Worlds Fair having read The Devil in the White City. 5y

Librarybelle @TamAnder Yes! 5y

81 likes1 stack add13 comments

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

I'm a little over an hour in and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It feels a little bit like the author is name dropping and fashion describing to prove/show she researched thoroughly. For me it's coming off as clunky and not really moving a plot along. Could it just be the narrator?

Help me out #LiteraryCrew

Librarybelle I haven‘t had a chance to start it yet, but @megnews really liked it. For me, audiobooks really hinge on the narrator, and I‘ve bailed on quite a few because the narrator and story did not click for me. 5y

megnews I can see how you feel about the name-dropping. I visited Chicago for the first time in 2017 & returned 2018 & loved it. I stayed at Palmer House twice, visited the Shedd Aquarium & Field Museum, originally built for the World‘s Fair. This book brought the history of Chicago to life for me. I loved to â€śmeetâ€ť the folks who built the city & made it what it is. I think it was common for them to run in these social circles together so I‘m not â¬‡ď¸Ź 5y

megnews Surprised by all the names. Fashion I don‘t care about so I just went on by it. The fashion part lags off as you get into the book. 5y

See All 6 Comments

Sace @Librarybelle I'm trying not to purchase new books if I can help it and audio was the only format available at my library. 5y

Sace @megnews I've never been to Chicago and normally I like names and history. The way it's presented is just not clicking with me I guess. I'm going to give it another hour. 5y

Librarybelle That‘s a good strategy! I should probably follow that a bit more, though maybe I am with the number of books I currently have checked out from the library. đź‚ 5y

63 likes6 comments

review

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Pick

pick

I devoured this book. âť¤ď¸Ź it! âď¸Źâď¸Źâď¸Źâď¸Źđź’«

#LiteraryCrew

tagged users icon

Librarybelle So glad you liked it! I plan to start it this week. Thank you for joining us! 5y

Crazeedi This one sounds great 5y

megnews @Crazeedi it is! 5y

53 likes1 stack add3 comments

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Worst wedding night ever. Blech. Times likes these I wish I had a book so I could just skip a page. Not fun listening to that scene.

#LiteraryCrew

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Time for the #WeeklyForecast!

Vacation is over and that means a lot less time to read. đź

I should be able to finish Zorro today (if I can just put my phone down and ignore the TV đź™„)

I'm doing the audio of What the Lady Wants for the February #LiteraryCrew selection.

Evelyn will be my evening reading.

@Cinfhen

Books88 I loved Evelyn Hugo! Such a compelling story. 5y

Sace @AJBowers I really can't wait to read it! 5y

70 likes2 comments

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

This book starts out with a bang and successfully sucked me in. I didn‘t realize the opening of the Palmer House hotel, where I‘ve stayed twice, coincided so closely to the Great Chicago Fire. It‘s a beautiful, grand hotel with such charm. These are views of Lake Michigan from my hotel room (2018). It was so beautiful.

#LiteraryCrew

tagged users icon

AmyK1 I‘ve stayed there once as well. It‘s a beautiful hotel đźŠ 5y

marleed That‘s such a beautiful view! 5y

Librarybelle Gorgeous! 5y

MemoirsForMe đźŤđźŤđźŤ 5y

39 likes1 stack add4 comments

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

One of the reasons I enjoy historical fiction so much is reading about little tidbits of history I‘ve never heard of or thought about before and seeing how life has changed. The author mentions an umbrella repair shop. I never considered this even though I knew there were other repair shops for many things we‘d toss in the garbage and buy new now.

#LiteraryCrew

tagged users icon

Lesliereads đźŤâ€ťUmbrella repair shopâ€ť - never would have crossed my mind! Hm. Do you keep a little journal of neat bits like this that you come across while reading historical fiction? 5y

megnews @Lesliereads I don‘t but I should! That‘s a great idea! I do share historical trivia with others. 5y

Librarybelle Historical fiction is fascinating in that way! One of my favorite genres! 5y

38 likes3 comments

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

The February selection for the #LiteraryCrew #Buddyread . All are welcome to join...tagging those who have expressed interest in this book!

I‘ll post check in posts periodically throughout the month and then a discussion post at the end.

tagged users icon

KarouBlue, Jerdencon, BookNAround, BethM, thereadingowlvina, Chrissyreadit, Sace, Mollyanna, TamAnder

Jerdencon Picking this book up from the library tomorrow! Excited to start 5y

megnews I think I‘m overcommitting but I really liked Rosen‘s Dollface, read to prepare for a trip to Chicago, and this sounds good too. So I‘m in! I‘ll try my best! 5y

Librarybelle Yay, @Jerdencon ! 5y

See All 9 Comments

Librarybelle @megnews Welcome aboard! Do what you can - I completely understand about overcommitting! 5y

Sace I'll be spending this week reading the January selection and then I'll jump right in to this đź 5y

Mollyanna Started listening to this during the #alternate24in48. Enjoying it so far. 5y

KarouBlue Got mine on hold at the li-bear-y. 5y

Librarybelle @Sace I still have to do the January one too! 5y

Librarybelle @Mollyanna @MellieAntoinette Yay! 5y

88 likes9 comments

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

We have a winner for the February #LiteraryCrew #Buddyread ! During February, we‘ll read the tagged book, set in Chicago during the Gilded Age. I‘ll post check in notes throughout the month, and we‘ll have an informal discussion at the end of the month. Tagging those who joined in last time, but all are welcome!

Based on close voting, I think March should be The Secret Keeper and April should be Rutherford Park. Any thoughts??

tagged users icon

KarouBlue, melissajayne, Jerdencon, BethM, CoverToCoverGirl, Chrissyreadit, Sace, KT1432, Mollyanna, umbrellagirl, TamAnder

BethM Sure that sequence works for me! 5y

TamAnder Sounds great to me! 5y

Librarybelle Great, @BethM and @TamAnder ! 5y

See All 21 Comments

Jerdencon Sounds good to me! 5y

Librarybelle Thanks, @Jerdencon ! 5y

Mollyanna Sounds like a great idea! 5y

Librarybelle Thanks, @Mollyanna ! 5y

thereadingowlvina Yes! The idea sounds great! Can you tag me too for this Feb buddy read? Thanks đź™‚đź§ˇ 5y

Jerdencon Just requested it from the library! 5y

Sace Awesome! I lost momentum this month and I haven't read a thing. Hopefully this can Jumpstart me. 5y

Librarybelle Of course, @thereadingowlvina ! I‘m so sorry I missed tagging you in this post! So glad you‘re joining us! 5y

Librarybelle @Jerdencon Yay!! 5y

Librarybelle @Sace I haven‘t started Turn of Midnight yet đź¤¦đźŹ»â€Ťâ™€ď¸Ź I have to soon, but my spare time has been severely limited as of late. 5y

Sace @Librarybelle you just made me feel so much better. 5y

thereadingowlvina @Librarybelle Ah, no worries! đź† I'm looking forward to reading this book! đź§ˇ 5y

Chrissyreadit đźŽ‰đźĄłđź™Śđź’•đź™ 5y

BookNAround Just found my copy of this one so tag me when you post, please! 5y

Librarybelle Hooray, @BookNAround ! Will do! 5y

KarouBlue Sounds awesome! 5y

Librarybelle Great, @MellieAntoinette ! 5y

Librarybelle So happy you‘re joining again, @Chrissyreadit ! 5y

67 likes2 stack adds21 comments

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

1. I never finish a book I don‘t like so nothing come to mind đź¤·đźŹ»â€Ťâ™€ď¸Ź
2. The Middle
3. PB & J on wheat
4. Central
5. Lilac Lady

Side note: I just discovered Renee Rosen and she‘s an awesome writer. The two books I‘ve read so far are Chicago historical fiction. đźŹ™đź’¨đź»

@howjessreads

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

#LetsTravelAugust
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@OriginalCyn620

Todayâ€s Prompt: CHICAGO

When I hear Chicago, I always think of Renee Rosenâ€s FAB books.

Glamor, glitter, love, shopping, and â€‹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 stores and innovations were beginning to surface.

https://tinyurl.com/y4br9yen

@ReneeRosen
@BerkleyPub

OriginalCyn620 đź‘ŚđźŹ»đź“šđźŠ 5y

53 likes2 stack adds1 comment

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

#ReadingResolutions @Jess7

TODAYâ€S PROMPT: FAMOUS

There are a lot of famous names and brand names in this book.

Recognize any of them?

Renee Rosenâ€s books are always so good.

WHAT THE LADY WANTS is a favorite.

https://silversolara.blogspot.com/2014/11/what-lady-wants-by-renee-rosen.html

73 likes1 stack add

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

#ThisRemindsMeOf

@joestalksbeck
@Tiffy_Reads

TODAY'S PROMPT: SHOPPING

This book tells of the founder of Marshall Fields Department Store and his love affair with Delia Spencer. WHAT THE LADY WANTS was a great read - I always enjoy Renee Rosen's books.

https://silversolara.blogspot.com/2014/11/what-lady-wants-by-renee-rosen.html

review

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

Meh

so-so

Having grown up with Marshall Field's as the go-to-store, I was excited to listen to this one! It was a bit more of a romance novel than I expected, and not quite as Chicago-centric as I had hoped for, either- but it was entertaining! The first Mrs. Field sure sounds #Toxic #Audiobook #AudioColoring #AugustGrrrl @Cinfhen

Cinfhen Cool pic âť¤ď¸Ź 7y

TorieStorieS @Cinfhen Thanks! I thought this picture I colored matched this title! đźŠ 7y

Cinfhen Oh wow! You did an awesome job đźŤ 7y

TorieStorieS @Cinfhen Thanks!!! đźŠ 7y

12 likes1 stack add4 comments

blurb

What the Lady Wants | Renée Rosen

If, like me, you love historical fiction set in Chicago, you must know about @reneerosen_ . For #womenshistoryreads I recommend WHAT THE LADY WANTS, a sweeping tale of 1870s-1890s Chicago through the lens of socialite Delia Spencer & her love affair with Marshall Field. Renee & I are doing a joint event at Women & Children First on April 13th -- can't wait to talk Chicago history in Chicago! #womenwriters #historicalfiction

lynneamch Oooh. Sounds good and I see she's a Litten, too! Stacking and following now. đź–’ 8y

20 likes7 stack adds1 comment