Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross

The term, "La Belle Époque" refers to a social period in western history that is also sometimes called the Gay Nineties or the Gilded Age. Stretching from the late 1800's - possibly as early as 1870, to just prior to the start of World War I in 1914, this was an age of peace, prosperity and wealth. The wealthy lived a life of unparalleled luxury without much regard to the social conditions of the time.

The wealthy lived without consideration for the poor and the lower classes. They wanted to maintain the status quo and were obsessed with marrying into wealth. However, things in society were beginning to change rapidly. Instead of status being conferred by aristocratic birth and inheritance, the nouveau riche earned it by hard work. These new wealthy were looked down upon by the aristocratic elite as "vulgar".

This period saw a second wave of industrialization, with the advent of the combustion engine, bigger and more efficient machinery, and advances in medicine.  This was a time of peace in Europe, set between the Napoleonic Wars and the First World War. Workers began to organize into trade unions, the long march towards women's emancipation began, work was more plentiful, and art and music experienced many different movements. The overall era was characterized by an attitude of optimism and frivolity.

In each country La Belle Époque was experienced in a different way. In the United States, the focus was on gaining wealth. In France, the wealthy were preoccupied with beauty, excessive refinement, couture fashion, excellent cuisine and the overall pursuit of extravagance. The construction of the Eiffel Tower for the World's Fair of 1889 was undertaken in 1887. Initially the tower was considered ugly by Parisians but soon it came to represent their city.  

Into this setting we have the story of  sixteen year old Maude Pichon, a poor farm girl who runs away from her home in Brittany because her father has decided to marry her off to the village butcher, Monsieur Thierry.  She has stolen some money from her father to get herself settled in Paris but everything is very expensive. Hungry and out of work, she applies to an ad looking for women to work thinking that it will be light work as a maid. Maude soon learns however that she will be working as a "repoussoir" - a term given to a plain or unattractive woman who is hired by a wealthy woman to make herself or a family member look more attractive. The repoussoir is in effect working as a beauty foil to draw more attention to the wealthy woman.

Maude is horrified that women are used in this manner and abruptly leaves the Durandeau Agency. Later she is forced to return after a brief stint in a Paris laundry does not work out well. Maude has a difficult time reconciling herself for the work of a repoussoir and is not ready to be considered as "one of life's castoffs, some rich girl's social advantage."

Taken under the wing of a seasoned repoussoir, Marie-Josee, Maude begins her training at the agency. She learns dancing, manners and customs for being in high society. Almost immediately, Maude is chosen to be a repoussoir for the Countess Dubern's daughter, Isabelle. Unlike many of the other clients, the Countess demands that Maude's purpose is kept secret from Isabelle. Maude will be passed off as a distant relation of Count Dubern who will be spending time in Paris at the start of "the season". The Countess is looking to arrange a suitable marriage for Isabelle to another member of the Parisian aristocracy.

Maude has been warned that many of the young, wealthy clients treat the repoussoirs viciously and at first it seems Isabelle will be the same. However, as Maude spends more time with Isabelle attending balls and other social functions, she realizes that Isabelle is indifferent to the prospect of meeting rich men. Despite warnings from Marie-Josee to keep their relationship professional, Maude begins to form a friendship with Isabelle.

Maude soon discovers that Isabelle has a secret of her own, one that is in direct opposition to the wishes of her mother. This sets Isabelle in conflict with her mother but also creates a serious problem for Maude.  If she helps Isabelle, Maude will lose her job, yet if she tells the Countess, she will prevent Isabelle from achieving what she really wants in her life -- a goal Maude herself can relate to.

Maude begins to realize that she is living a double life on two fronts; as a repoussoir she appears to be a debutante taking in her first "season" but she's really a young woman without title or fortune and secondly as a friend to Isabelle but  really an employee to Isabelle's mother. Can Maude save her job while being true to her new friend, Isabelle? And can she be true to herself in the end?

Discussion

Belle Époque tells an interesting story about a period at the turn of the last century that many young readers likely know little about.  Ross doesn't create a strong picture of what the age was like, but she does give her readers a general overall impression. The wealthy live lives of extreme opulence and extravagance where title and fortune still matter. Life revolves around money and keeping it within the aristocracy. Meanwhile, in the cafes and theatres, all the classes mingle, their love of art and music drawing them together.

Ross' novel is somewhat slow at the beginning but if readers persist the dilemma she creates for her main character, Maude is interesting and draws on a number of themes. In particular, Maude and Isabelle consider the concept of feminine beauty and also the role of women in society.

What defines beauty and is physical beauty in a woman all that matters, are two questions to be considered. When Isabelle and Maude are discussing the Eiffel Tower, which at this time was only half constructed, Isabelle tells Maude that many Parisians hate the tower because they think it is ugly. Maude wonders, "Perhaps something unrefined can still be beautiful," - a direct reference to herself whom society considers unattractive and therefore unmarriageable. Later on, Isabelle questions society's view of beauty and what constitutes beauty when Maude tries to explain to her the thinking behind the use of repoussoirs to highlight another woman's beauty. ...There is no empirical scale for beauty. Humans are more complex. ....there are other attributes to measure, aside from physical appearance, that can render one person more or less attractive than another."..."Such as what?" I ask, getting irritated. "In this city, physical beauty rules supreme."  "Intelligence, wit, kindness -- in short, the quality of person you are. Then there's the other factor you haven't mentioned: the beholder of the gaze, yet another human complexity."

Ross also has her characters consider the changing role of women in society. Isabelle is interested in making her own life and exploring the world around her. Times are changing and she doesn't accept that her only path in life is to marry a rich man. Her aspirations are set against family and social obligations and expectations. This is also reflected in Maude who wants to make something of her life, but who is constricted by the norms of her time when family connection and fortune mean everything.

Maude and Isabelle are both strong female characters, who in the end band together to help each other achieve their dreams. With a beautiful cover and an unusual hook to draw in her readers, Ross has written a good novel that will generate plenty of discussion for those who are interested.

Ross was inspired to write this novel after reading Emile Zola's Les Repoussoirs. 

Book Details:
Belle Époque by Elizabeth Ross
New York: Delacourte Press     2013
323 pp.

Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards

Three Rivers Rising is a historical novel written in free verse set against the backdrop of the Johnstown Flood of 1889.

The novel opens in the summer of 1888. Sixteen-year-old Celestia's father Bertram visits South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club on Lake Conemaugh for the possibility of business deals. Her mother Mildred comes for the socials and the gossip. Celestia's sister, nineteen-year-old Estrella is engaged to her beau, Charles who is in Pittsburg learning the family business. But Estrella is enjoying herself, meeting some of the more appealing boys of the clubhouse, like Frederick.

Celestia meets sixteen-year-old Peter who is the hired help. Peter's father works digging up coal for the Cambria Iron Works and he is not keen for Peter to work at the South Fork Club. He tells his son that the rich people's money will not save their dam from breaking but Peter knows everyone laughs off that possibility because the dam always holds. The South Fork Reservoir, called Lake Conemaugh by the wealthy owners, was formed by the placing of a seventy-foot earthen dam across a creek. The lake. which is stocked with fish, is surrounded on one side by "fancy-trim houses" and a large clubhouse. Peter offers to work on the line down in the coal mine after his father tells him that being around the wealthy will give him "ideas". But his father tells Peter it's better he works above ground in the sun and fresh air but he warns his son not "to develop a taste for things" he cannot have.

Johnstown sits where the Stony River and the Little Conemaugh River meet. Above the town the South Fork Creek joins the river, after it fills the reservoir. As a result, Johnstown often floods in the spring due to the rains. The people worry about the dam holding but since it has always held they joke often about it. Celestia encounters Peter who has his fishing pole, as she sits on the banks of the creek reading. They begin meeting day after day, Celestia reading while Peter fishes. One day Celestia gives Peter her book but he reveals that he is able to read as his mother, Anna was a schoolteacher who had travelled much. Their friendship blossoms quickly into a forbidden attraction. Peter continues to meet Celestia in the woods near the clubhouse. Because they are from very different social classes, they have to pretend they do not know one other when their paths cross on the boardwalk. Peter would be quickly dismissed if he was suspected of fraternizing with the wealthy clubhouse patrons and especially with a young girl. 

Celestia is undeterred by Peter's reluctance. Her sister, Estrella suspects something because of Celestia's flushed cheeks and happiness. Celestia reveals to her sister that she is interested in a boy who works at the clubhouse while Estrella seems to have her own love interest. When Peter shows up outside her bedroom window, Estrella tells her where Celestia can find a window to slip outside. This leaves Celestia to wonder just what Estrella has been up to.

However, Celestia's meetings with Peter are discovered by Louise Godwin who sees them swimming in the lake. This upsets Celestia's mother who tells her that being with a "some boy" who is not like them could ruin their position in society. When her father returns from Pittsburg he insists that Celestia stay away from "the hired boy"  and informs her that she will accompany her aunt Mimsy in Europe until she enters finishing school in Switzerland. Celestia tells her father she will not obey him but as she's packing she wonders about her choice. What will she lose by leaving and what will she lose by staying? However, Celestia seems to have made her choice as she gives Peter little keepsakes to remember her by. She is haunted by her choice.

But worse is to come. After packing, and seeing her mother and Aunt Mimsy in turmoil, Celestia learns from Estrella that she has been "ruined" by a man, who now will not marry her. Their father can do nothing to protect her or their family because this man is more powerful. Celestia overhears her parents speaking about what has happened and learns that Estrella is expecting and that the man involved is Grayson. When she learns from Peter that the servants at the clubhouse already know of Estrella's situation, Celestia pretends to have the fever in an effort to prevent the truth from spreading to the other wealthy patrons. This forces the wealthy to flee the clubhouse to avoid what they believe is "the fever".

After spending a year in Switzerland at the Institut Villa Mont Choisi, during which Celestia manages to correspond with Peter, she learns that she is to be married to Andrew Forrester upon returning to the United States. However, Celestia is determined to make her own life and be with Peter. She does not want to marry Andrew whom she doesn't love. Upon arriving at Johnstown, Celestia immediately leaves to find Peter in Johnstown. The spring of 1889 is wet, with the rivers wild with all the recent rain. She finds Peter and his terminally ill father in their rundown home. Her decision to leave the South Fork clubhouse is a fateful one that will set in motion a change of heart amidst the tragedy of Johnstown.

Discussion

Three Rivers Rising is a historical fiction novel about the historic Johnstown flood of 1889 which took the lives of  over two thousand people. 

Johnstown which was founded in 1800 was notable for its steel and iron mill, the Cambria Iron Works and its coal mines which supplied the steel industry, as well as for its railway. The town was situated where the Little Conemaugh and Stoneycreek rivers met. By the 1880's the town had a population of over thirty thousand people. The town was prone to flooding for several reasons: the two rivers were part of an extensive drainage basin of the Allegheny plateau and the rivers had been narrowed by the use of slag (as waste product from the production of steel) to create more land for the town.

Above the town, an earthen dam, the South Fork Dam, had been constructed in the 1830s to the 1850s to supply water to a canal system to transport goods and materials. However with the arrival of the Pennsylvania Railway the canal system fell into disuse. The Railway sold the dam and the reservoir to a private group with the reservoir being converted into a resort lake for use by the wealthy.  The earthen dam was lowered by three feet and the culverts in the dam used to manage the reservoir water were removed. This meant there was no way to lower the water level in the reservoir, now called Lake Conemaugh during periods of heavy rain. A club house for the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club was built and many wealthy industrialists including Andrew Carnegie frequented the resort.

Several days of heavy rainfall filled Lake Conemaugh to the point that it was almost cresting the top of the lowered earthen dam. Elias Unger, President of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club and who was in a farmhouse adjacent to the dam, saw that situation at the dam was dangerous. Unger and his men were unsuccessful in dealing with the rising water and word was sent by telegraph warning Johnstown of the situation. Meanwhile in Johnstown, the torrential rain had flooded the town with water rising to almost ten feet in the streets.

The South Fork Dam breached sometime around 2:50PM, a wall of water racing first to the town of South Fork where most were able to scramble up the hills to safety. As the floodwaters raced the fourteen miles downstream towards Johnstown, it picked up debris including parts of houses, trees and animals. The flood gained strength after slamming into and destroying the Conemaugh Viaduct, stripping the soil down to the bedrock at the town of Mineral Point. The floodwaters reached Johnstown fifty-seven minutes after the dam breach, sweeping over two thousand two hundred people to their deaths.

The novel begins with the narratives of two young people from very different social classes: Peter whose father works in the local coal mine and who works at the clubhouse, and wealthy Celestia Whitcomb who, along with her parents and older sister, is a guest at the clubhouse. Gradually the narrative expands to include seventeen-year-old Maura, wife of Joseph who conducts the one of the many trains that run on the Pennsylvania Railway line through the Johnstown area. Maura is mother to three young children and is expecting another baby. There is also Kate, a widow whose husband Early drowned shortly after their marriage. Kate went by the name of Kitty, but as she struggles to deal with her loss, becomes a nurse who happens to be near Johnstown when the disaster happens. Bertram Whitcomb, Celestia's father is also included in the last half of the novel, and it is his narrative that offers descriptions of the massive destruction by the floodwaters.

The novel employs the forbidden love trope of a wealthy girl/boy falling for the poor boy/girl from the wrong social class.  Celeste's father is a wealthy businessman while Peter's father is a coal miner. In late 19th century society, such a match would be forbidden. The social repercussions would be so great that it's unlikely either would follow through on their feelings. Once Celestia's relationship with Peter is discovered her mother tells her,
"Your actions could not only tear us

from our place in society

but rip this family apart,

person from person."

The novel highlights the stigma and double standard placed on women in society especially during the Victorian era. Celestia's older sister Estrella has become involved with a man, named Grayson a wealthy industrialist with a reputation for "ruining" women. She is now pregnant and unmarried - that is, "ruined". To save their family and her father's business, Estrella must be shunned by her family and quietly and quickly sent away. Aunt Mimsy tells Celestia,
"And if she is properly disowned...?'

Damage to the family is... tolerable.'

Mimsy grimaces. 'But Estrella will be lost to us forever.

The limb will be sacrificed

to save the tree, you see.'

It is Estrella who must bear the consequences while the man is allowed to continue his predatory ways. Estrella is forced to leave her family under the pretence of some excuse - a vacation or illness, never to return, her name never mentioned, her existence blotted out. 

When Celestia makes the choice to leave her family and be with Peter, her father disowns her as well, even though she has done nothing dishonorable except to love someone from another social class. Upon discovering that Celestia has left, Whitcomb removes her picture from the double frame that once also held Estrella's portrait, rips it up and prepares to leave the clubhouse. But the breaching of the dam and the resulting tragedy changes Celestia's father. During his frantic search for her, as he helped parents try to find the bodies of their childrren, Whitcomb's perspective on his daughter's situation changes. After discovering Celestia ill with typhoid and being cared for by Peter,he tells him,

" 'What would any of those parents give

to have their child back?

Would they trade obedience?

Money?

Power?

The good opinion of friends?...

So much senseless loss...

how could anyone

choose

to lose someone he loves?' "

The novel ends happily with Celestia recovering at the family home in Pittsburg, Peter at her side, and the recovery of Estrella who their Aunt Mimsy has managed to secure a good marriage, along with her new husband and her baby. Celestia's parents are much changed, her mother working to help the survivors and no longer consumed by their status in society, and her father open to having his daughters at home.

While Three Rivers Rising does capture the essence of the Johnstown flood, according to the author it is not a book about the flood disaster. It is a story set against the backdrop of the catastrophe, incorporating a few characters and events that really did happen. The novel's main source of tension is whether or not Peter and Celestia will survive the flood and what happens afterwards if they do.

The endnotes of the novel contain a chronology on the South Fork Dam and provide readers with selection of fiction and nonfiction books on the Johnstown Flood.

Book Details:

Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards
New York: Alfred A. Knopf      2010
293 pp.