The Gilded Years

April 15, 2016
In turn-of-the-20th-century New York, a woman passes as white to attain a college education. Anita Hemmings, a real person, was the first black woman to graduate from Vassar College. To do so, she passed as white, and when her secret was discovered, her story filled newspapers across the United States. In her third novel, Tanabe (The List, 2013, etc.) sets out to illuminate that story. She focuses on Anita's senior year of college, when her roommate was Lottie Taylor, in Tanabe's telling a millionaire Manhattan socialite. Anita spent her first three years at Vassar flying under the radar: she studied hard, participated in various clubs, and held herself aloof to avoid suspicion. Tanabe's descriptions of Anita's isolation are effective. Then Lottie appears, drawing Anita out of herself and into her own high-society world. She even introduces Anita to the rich, handsome, and, of course, white Porter Hamilton, with whom Anita finds herself falling in love. These experiences put Anita at greater risk of being caught, but they also frame for her a fundamental choice she'll have to make: to live as white, and to unbind the scope of her ambition, or to live as black, with all the restrictions that Gilded Age American life entailed. This is a detailed, well-researched book, and yet there's something unconvincing about Tanabe's depiction. It's as if the psychological complexity of Anita's situation has been somehow flattened. None of the characters--not even Anita or Lottie--ever come fully to life. Too much attention is paid to Vassar trivia and not enough to Anita's fate, which is ultimately rushed through at the unsatisfying end. Tanabe has brought attention to a brilliant and fascinating woman, but she doesn't seem to have done her justice. A novel about race, education, and the fin de siecle fight for equal rights is left wanting.

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2016
Tanabe's latest novel, following The Price of Inheritance (2014), reimagines the story of Anita Hemmings, the first African American woman to graduate Vassar College. The novel opens in 1897, Anita's senior year. After years of passing as a white student, she is assigned a roommate, the well-off, vivacious Lottie Taylor. Anita, a standout student and eminent beauty, has protected her secret up to this point but is soon drawn into Lottie's inner circle. Lottie exposes Anita to new experiences and various, indulgent adventures outside the confines of Vassar, and Anita finds herself in a burgeoning romance with a handsome Harvard student, Porter. At the same time, Anita struggles to reconcile her projected identity with her real one and often finds her own desires at odds with those around her. This quandary is particularly magnified in interactions with her younger brother, Frederick, who attends college nearby and disapproves of her new relationships. Eventually, Anita fears that her two worlds will catastrophically collide. In Anita's captivating story, heightened by richly drawn characters, Tanabe insightfully grapples with complex and compelling issues.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

Starred review from June 15, 2016

As Anita Hemmings enters her senior year at Vassar College in 1896, her academic achievements and striking beauty seem to herald a promising future. Her roommate, Lottie Taylor, the daughter of a prominent New York family, introduces her to a world she scarcely imagined. Anything might be possible: graduate fellowships; marriage to a Harvard student. Yet such possibilities will crumble unless Anita can continue to hide an essential fact: she is African American. Passing as white to receive advanced education requires a complex set of fictions. The development of Anita's character and depiction of her struggles are the novel's chief strengths. When she has to listen to racist comments without reacting, concoct stories about her family, or field questions from instructors, we realize that small missteps can lead to disaster. Once Lottie learns the truth, her efforts to ruin Anita demonstrate her society's determination to maintain its privilege. The leap from Anita's postgraduation decisions to her daughter's arrival at Vassar in 1924 leaves readers wondering about the interim. Fortunately, Tanabe's afterword fills in some of the gaps. VERDICT Based on the real-life experiences of Hemmings, Vassar's first African American graduate, Tanabe's (The List) thought-provoking novel raises challenging questions about how race, gender, and class advance and limit opportunities. There is plenty of material here for book group discussions.--Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State Univ. Lib., Mankato

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2016

It's the late 1890s, and Anita Hemmings is doing what she always wanted to do: attend Vassar College. But it's risky; a descendant of slaves, Anita is passing for white. All's well until senior year, when Anita rooms with upper-crust Louise "Lottie" Taylor. Based on a true story.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2016

As Anita Hemmings enters her senior year at Vassar College in 1896, her academic achievements and striking beauty seem to herald a promising future. Her roommate, Lottie Taylor, the daughter of a prominent New York family, introduces her to a world she scarcely imagined. Anything might be possible: graduate fellowships; marriage to a Harvard student. Yet such possibilities will crumble unless Anita can continue to hide an essential fact: she is African American. Passing as white to receive advanced education requires a complex set of fictions. The development of Anita's character and depiction of her struggles are the novel's chief strengths. When she has to listen to racist comments without reacting, concoct stories about her family, or field questions from instructors, we realize that small missteps can lead to disaster. Once Lottie learns the truth, her efforts to ruin Anita demonstrate her society's determination to maintain its privilege. The leap from Anita's postgraduation decisions to her daughter's arrival at Vassar in 1924 leaves readers wondering about the interim. Fortunately, Tanabe's afterword fills in some of the gaps. VERDICT Based on the real-life experiences of Hemmings, Vassar's first African American graduate, Tanabe's (The List) thought-provoking novel raises challenging questions about how race, gender, and class advance and limit opportunities. There is plenty of material here for book group discussions.--Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State Univ. Lib., Mankato

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.