THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The House at Tyneford, an epic family saga about a headstrong Austrian heiress who will be forced to choose between the family she’s made and the family that made her at the outbreak of World War I.The start of a marriage. The end of a dynasty.It’s 1911 and Greta Goldbaum is forced to move from glittering Vienna to damp … Goldbaum is forced to move from glittering Vienna to damp England to wed Albert, a distant cousin. The Goldbaum family are one of the wealthiest in the world, with palaces across Europe, but as Jews and perpetual outsiders they know that strength lies in family. At first defiant and lonely, slowly Greta softens toward Albert, and as the wild paths and untamed beauty of Greta’s new English garden begin to take shape, so too does their love begin to blossom. But World War I looms and even the influential Goldbaums cannot alter its course. For the first time in two hundred years, the family will find itself on opposing sides, and Greta will have to choose: the family she’s created, or the one she left behind.
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House of Gold by Natasha Solomons is a book of historical fiction, about a Jewish family whose wealth and influence is worldwide. The novel is set a few years before and during World War I and tells the story of a family‘s life. Natasha Solomons makes history real with her characters, settings, and situations. The author writes so the reader may experience the passion, love, sorrow, beliefs, heartbreak and hope. I especially appreciate that Solomons does not try to make historical characters fit into the world today but tells the story as it might have happened in the correct time period. My thanks to the author, the publisher and netgalley for making this book available to me to read and review.
The Goldbaum family’s wealth and power is linked throughout Europe in the years before WW1. Beautifully textured descriptions of the trappings of the family’s gilded lifestyle and renowned horticultural displays drop us squarely in the Goldbaum world. Greta of the Viennese Goldbaums is sent to London to marry distant cousin Albert, a man she doesn’t know, much less love. She must take her rightful place in society, e.g., her desire to nurse is scoffed at: ‘she was a Goldbaum, not a milking cow.’
It’s tricky to generate sympathy for tensions in the fabulously wealthy world, as characters without resource constraints feel kind of hollowed out. War comes, and the Goldbaum family doesn’t completely evade the misery of the front lines, presenting an element of contrast to layers of opulence. And anti-Semitism confronts even the elite Goldbaums. The scope of the tale is a Follett-like family epic, and early in the book we have been introduced to a number of significant characters who seem to have vanished as the story concludes.
Was this review helpful? I am an avid world war based fiction reader and author. You can read more of my takes at https://brodiecurtis.com/curtis-takes/.
I love historical fiction and jumped at the chance to review House of Gold. I enjoyed the story of Greta and Albert but felt that there was just too much detailed history of events. I found myself skimming over some of the more detailed parts.
Superbly written, HOUSE OF GOLD kept my interest to the last paragraph. The characterization was so realistic that I feel as though I know I would recognize them on the street. A part of history I am not acquainted with so well, Solomons set the stage thoroughly and positioned the characters in the setting that made them believeable to me. Lyrical prose and precise wording made reading this book a real pleasure, one I could hardly put down until I finished. On the other hand, I wanted to savor the phrases and terms so chose not to hurry through it. That was difficult as my involvement in the plot made me curious to the outcomes. I highly recommend this novel and I chose it for my book club selection for the year. Enjoy!
I like Natasha Solomon writing style and this book did not disappoint me
I really loved this historical novel about an Austrian heiress who is forced to choose between her husbands family and her own who are on opposite sides of the war. I love the way the author described everything from the characters clothes, scenery and the mansions. This is a well written book with well defined characters and a beautiful story.
This book is historical fiction using some of the Rothschild’s family and financial history as an inspiration to the story. The time period we are dealing with is Pre-World War I to almost the end of the war.
It brings to light the growing Antisemitism feelings in a lot of European countries. The declining economies, the rise of the workers helping the political situation become even more unstable than it already is.
We get an accurate picture of the lives of the extreme wealthy and happenings during world war I.
The drawback of belonging to the class of wealth of the Goldbaum family is besides been privileged in a lot of ways it also makes demands leaving little freedom to make their own decisions as who to marry, what profession to chose etc …. Their lives have been determined for them from birth. If you like historical novels I can highly recommend reading this book.
Greta had been a handful since birth with her governesses explaining that if she had been anything but a Goldbaum, she would be out on the street.
The Goldbaums always married distant cousins to keep the name, their power, and their wealth secure.
Greta was to marry her second cousin from London whom she never met, but she was fine with it because she was hoping this would take her away from her daunting mother and all her rules about proper behavior.
As I was reading, it seemed as if I were living in a fairy tale. Every whim and want was satisfied for Greta and her family. The description of the mansions was unbelievable, and I laughed when one of the servants confessed she needed a map to navigate the home.
The writing style and the detail Ms. Solomons uses draws you into the story even though some of it is filled with politics and business dealings. She adds enough family drama and interest of the era to keep you reading, but it did get tedious at times.
The characters were definitely depicted as true to this era and class, and they grew on you as you read. Some you grew to like and others you grew to wonder why they acted as they did.
If you enjoy reading about aristocrats, politics, European history in the late 1800’s/early1900’s, war, and the non-public side of the wealthy, HOUSE OF GOLD will be of interest.
The book was well written, but was a bit long. The characters – especially Greta – made the book. She was a feisty, strong woman. 4/5
This book was given to me as an ARC by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “House Of Gold” By Natasha Solomons, G.P.Putnam’s Sons , October 23, 2018
Kudos to Natasha Solomons, Author of “House of Gold” for writing such an intense, intriguing, captivating, page turning, suspenseful, and emotional novel. I love the way that the Natasha Solomons weaves the layers of her story in such a descriptive and vivid way, that appeals to the senses. One can smell the flowers and plants, and the landscape, and growth and death. One can touch the fabrics of the clothing or uniforms of the time. One can taste the vegetables growing in the garden., or the foods mentioned in the European countries. One can see the riches at peacetime and the destruction of war, on the family. One can hear the “quiet” nature of peace, and the battle of war.
The Genres for this Novel are Fiction and Historical Fiction. The author describes her colorful and dysfunctional cast of characters as flawed, complex and complicated as perhaps circumstances dictate. The timeline for this story is before and during World War One.
The novel centers around the Goldenberg Family, a dynasty of bankers and high finance in Europe, known as “House of Gold”. Money and wealth seem to equal power. There were five brothers who each opened a branch of their bank. They were highly regarded, and in some ways tolerated because they were Jewish and wealthy.
Great and Otto Goldenberg are extremely close siblings., that live in Vienna. Greta is adventurous, and often finds a way of finding trouble, with Otto covering for her. Greta’s parents want her to marry a distant cousin Albert Goldenberg. That will force Greta to move to England.
As war breaks out, the family is divided. Be warned, I suggest a box of Kleenex. The House of “Gold” becomes extremely vulnerable . I appreciate the author’s research of the historical period. I would highly recommend this amazing novel for those readers who enjoy reading about dynasties and World War One. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.
HOUSE OF GOLD is a family saga about an Austrian heiress from a Jewish banking dynasty (inspired by the Rothschild family) who upon the outbreak of WWI is forced to choose between the family she has created for herself in England or the family members on the opposite side of the war.
The story begins in Vienna, 1911. Greta Goldbaum is engaged to marry the man chosen for her, a distant cousin, a man she has never met. But Greta dreams of living life her way, of breaking through those restraints proper society has placed upon her. But that is especially difficult to do as her family is one of the wealthiest in the world with expectations that must be met.
Fun-loving Greta thus gives in to her fate and moves to England to marry her all-too-serious cousin Albert. Knowing Greta is lonely and feeling lost, Albert’s mother gives Greta a garden. Lady Goldbaum advises Greta to think not of her marriage or her husband, but to think only of her garden. Fontmell Abbey is to be rebuilt for Albert and Greta but the gardens are Greta’s. Lady Goldbaum too had felt alone and sad when she first married. Greta throws herself into learning about gardening and finds she is actually happy. But as Greta and Albert build a life together, war looms on the horizon.
Greta becomes less and less self-absorbed, caring for the people around her. Like most of the society women at that time, Greta volunteers at the hospitals. She even converts Fontmell Abbey into a hospital for them unwed mothers, and then teaches the women about gardening so they will have a marketable skill. Solomons writes beautifully (and extensively) of the gardens, and her description of Greta’s self-growth and the developing bond between Greta and Albert are heartwarming, thus giving the reader a bit of pleasure amongst the horrors of war.
Natasha Solomons writes complex family sagas and the Goldbaums were certainly complex. Branches of the family were spread all across Europe. When war broke out, their wealth could not save them. Being Jewish and controlling so much money, they were targets. Thus the family finds themselves fractured and fighting on different sides in the war.
I did find the book lagged in places and I found myself losing interest as there just seemed to be too much descriptive details. I felt quite a bit could have been cut from the book and the ending would not have been so rushed. But still it is a story of family, love, politics, war, heartbreak, and anti-Semitism which will remain in my mind well after the last page of their lives was read.
When Natasha Soloman’s House of Gold opens, the Goldbaum banking family has a branch in every European country, and the rules for young Goldbaums are simple. Sons will make more money and connections for the family, while daughters will marry to cement alliances and have healthy children to continue the family. In this way, wealth and connections will continue to insulate the Goldbaums from any setbacks.
Naturally, Austrian Greta Goldbaum is sent to England to marry British Albert Goldbaum. The marriage isn’t off to a great start, with Albert skipping all the Austrian pre-wedding festivities, and Greta questioning her Goldbaum duties, right up to an attempt to call off the wedding. This has the potential to become an unsympathetic poor-little-rich-girl, but instead we see Greta as someone who’s life has already been planned out. It’s just assumed that the young Goldbaum will attend the right parties, dance well, eat fine dinners, marry a distant cousin, have a Goldbaum heir, and then host the right dinners herself. For her brother and cousins, the Goldbaum privilege is similar, keeping them from desired studies and mistresses, even while it provides so much.
In England, Greta’s German mother-in-law encourages her to grow a garden, saying that was her own solace in a foreign country with an unknown Goldbaum husband. I really liked this part, because I love my little container garden and love browsing seed catalogs (I’m looking at you, Baker Creek) planning a bigger garden someday. Also, this conversation establishes the theme of plants, flowers and gardens throughout the novel. I really enjoyed the way wild plants and gardening were used to set the scene (or the emotional scene) throughout this book.
This is almost a manners novel, with the focus on the customs and attitudes of the Goldbaum, but our heroine Greta is determined not to be in a manners novel. Whenever the Goldbaums suggest that she act appropriately for their family, Greta does the opposite. “What was that, Mom? Try to destroy my marriage? Run around the grounds naked? Take up with exactly who I’m told to avoid? ON IT!”
When World War I begins, Goldbaum cousins find themselves are different sides. Greta’s German accent is viewed with suspicion, her husband is at war. The Goldbaum privilege is shifting, if not ending entirely, and Greta, Albert, and all their generation will be tested.
A sprawling family saga taking place just before and during WW1 revolving around the Goldbaums, an elite dynasty of bankers. Lots of historical detail centering around Greta, an Austrian heiress who finds herself transplanted by marriage to England…her difficult adjustment and how she wrestles with her new life and what is gained and lost in war. I found it a bit overly long and there’s some choppiness in timeline (suddenly skipping forward in time with no indication), but I liked it overall.
Thanks to #NetGalley and #GPPutnamsSons for the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.
House of Gold by Natasha Solomons is a remarkable historical novel of a family banking dynasty. The novel begins in 1911 and continues through most of WWI. The Goldbaum family is a Jewish banking family with family and banks in Austria, Germany, Russia, France and England. Five brothers of a previous generation were sent out of a Jewish ghetto by parents who saved enough to start five banks in the five countries.
This is a wonderful work of fiction. I loved this book and the Goldbaums. The novel focuses on Greta, the daughter of the Austrian branch of the family. Greta is a woman before her time in thought and action. She is such a strong, sometimes stubborn, woman heroine you can’t help but call in love with. Forced into an arraigned marriage with a British cousin she’s never met Greta begins her marriage feeling anger and interference but still is determined to find happiness with Albert.
I learned so much while reading this book. The Goldbaum banking dynasty is a powerful entity that deals with the nobility and governments of many countries yet are not accepted as equal because of their religion. The hypocrisy and racism is palatable throughout the novel. It made me realize why Hitler was able to paint the Jewish community as evil theives and the cause of all of europes problems leading up to and during WWII. Yes these people wielded great power and control over finance BUT it came from hard work, sacrifice, intelligence and diplomacy not from nefarious business practices. They were an easy target and easy to exploit even in 1911 and before.
It’s also easy to see how the great depression came about after WWI. It was a war that had to be won at all costs on both sides. Not only were countries divided, families and finances were divided. Countries spent money they didn’t have in order to prevail.
Amongst all of this turmoil Greta is ever present. Her story is inspiring and engaging. Greta was the epitome of a suffragette even though not part of the movement. She did things her way no matter what anyone else thought and was always successful and proven right.
Both story and character development in the novel was wonderful. Every character is developed so the reader feels they know them. The story flows and is compelling. It is a very easy read and I didn’t want it to end.
I absolutely recommend reading this book. Not only is it a well written remarkable novel it provides the reader with a sense and knowledge of history of European banking and how it relates to both WWI and WWII. I always find it hard to understand how the pogroms and autrocities of WWI and WWII were allowed and accepted. This book gave me a little insight into how untruth was twisted into hate.