Catnip for fans of Gilded Age settings, this novel offers pleasant escapism for readers who enjoyed the author’s previous books.

Since the Netflix drama, this historical period has become very crowded in historical fiction. Big publishers jumped on board early, and this book is an example of their approach: a tame, clean story written in pretty prose and targeting the educated 30-40 something mostly-female audience who embraced author Joy Calloway’s previous works: The Grand Design,  Fifth Avenue Artists Society, and Secret Sisters.

As is customary for Big Publisher promotion, All the Pretty Places  places received plaudits from authors of novels with similar appeal, who variously hype it as searing, lush, timeless, powerful, fascinating and heartwarming. It hits most of those marks at moments, but those moment feel more like checks in boxes than a consistent style attribute. Sumptuous descriptions of the opulent clothing, gardens, and homes of the era are scattered through the story, but the strong visual imagery does not permeate as it could have.

The same is unfortunately true of main character, Sadie Fremd. From immigrant stock, like most of Nineteenth Century New York, she was reared in the family business, landscape architecture for New York’s wealthy elite. A young woman with a passion for her work and a vision of her future that exceeds the typical limitations for women, she wants to become her father’s successor. She has brothers, but when they choose different career paths, she hopes her father will look to her. However, in the Panic of 1893, when fortunes were lost overnight, he not surprisingly pressures her to marry one of the suitors who have proposed.

Sadie works hard to change his mind, but he is dismissive of her dreams and hopes. Her naïveté often seems implausible. A woman of her era would not have realistically expected her father to give the family business to her, and he had made his feelings plain. A lot of time was spent in her internal dialogue, which did not make her more likeable, but made her seem like a bit of a princess, and somewhat patronizing – although also admirable – in her desire to create gardens for the poor to enjoy.  The element became repetitive and hints of a 21st century sensibility were jarring.

For readers who love to garden, which I do, it also offers some delightful history. However, if the botanical element is your primary reason for buying the book, you may find the romance element irritating, not least because it’s weak tea: a cliched storyline that leans too heavily on the misunderstanding trope many readers of historical fiction are bored with. Equally, if you want a compelling romance with a ‘gardens of the Gilded Era rich’ as backdrop only, the botanical content could feel like a bit much to wade through, especially in the opening chapters.

It’s not easy for readers, or the author, to navigate a novel that feels like neither one thing nor the other. There are superb hybrids in historical fiction that combine immersive settings, complex and compelling plots, social commentary, and emotionally powerful stories of love and family: think Ann Patchett’s  The Dutch House, for example.  All the Pretty Places is narrower and more domestic in its focus, however its flaws could have been resolved by refocusing the story on its most appealing distinguishing characteristic: the personal biographical element.

The author’s great-great grandmother was the inspiration for the story and this family history adds context and charm. Readers may also find the theme of private versus public gardens fascinating. Sadie empathizes with the plight of the very poor and gardens symbolize her perspective in social commentary focused on the inequity between the super rich and miserably poor, contrasts equally relevant in the New York of today.

All The Pretty Places has an unusually engaging ending that made up for some of the mixed feelings I had about the story. I recommend the book as pleasant escapism for anyone who enjoys stories with a strong young female protagonist who finds happiness through self-determination. This story is reminiscent of The Grand Design,  Ms. Calloway’s novel about the Greenbriar resort and interior decorator Dorothy Draper, but was not as well executed. It also suffers in direct comparison with another Gilded Era release reviewed on this site, which was in many ways a more satisfying read.

All The Pretty Places was reviewed in ARC format. Cover image courtesy of Harper Muse © 2023.  Review by Meredith Thompson © 2023 The Regency Chronicle.