The Gilded Years has been on my to read list for years, but given that there is soon to be a movie (starring Zendaya), what better time to read it but now? I think the story will make a fantastic movie as there are some moments, good and bad, that will look spectacular on film. But the novel is also a fictionalised version of a true story, that of Anita Hemmings.

Anita has always wanted to get an education and attend Vassar. Her parents are also keen for her and her siblings to learn as much as they can, as being African-American in the late 1800s is very limiting even in the northern states of America. For Anita, attending Vassar means that she needs to lie about her race. She can never invite her parents to her graduation, and she must keep her brother at arm’s length. For Anita’s first three years at Vassar, she has kept her head down and stayed at a distance. But in her final year, new friendships and a romance means that she comes perilously close to her secret being revealed. Her new, incredibly rich roommate Lottie Taylor is fascinated by Anita and even more so by her brother Frederick. Anita also finds an admirer in Porter Hamilton, which her brother expressly forbids her to continue further. As the year goes on, relationships become more explosive and Anita’s passing as white could be revealed to the whole college…

The idea of Anita, a real-life figure, and her university story is a great one. There is a lot of fiction involved in joining the dots to make a story, given that little is known about Anita in the twenty-first century. The book opens with Anita’s ongoing, but background sense of unease that nobody finds out her secret. She is also uncomfortable with passing as white, as it could be seen to be disrespectful of her heritage, family and friends back in Boston. But when Lottie rushes in with her money and wit, the focus of the novel turns to that of the college experience – friends, boys, drinking and having fun. It all feels a little detached until Anita’s personal life starts to get messy – her relationship with Porter and Lottie becoming smitten with her brother Frederick. Anita also doesn’t make the best choices for someone with a secret that could get her thrown out of college, but the glitz and glamour of rich New York is too fun for both Anita and the reader to miss. The most exciting and fast paced section of the novel is when Anita’s secret is discovered and held over her. Emotions come to the fore, messy and opinionated. Some of the motives are a little loose, but this section was the most fascinating. I feel as though the whole introduction to Anita’s days at college could have been reduced for more background into the motives for those who backstabbed her, as well as exploring more of her life after college. The first section was just a bit too dry. But overall, The Gilded Years is an interesting story of history and I’m certain Zendaya will make this film engrossing.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the review copy of this book. My review is honest.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )

Although there isn't a great deal of intrigue, The Gilded Years is still an interesting period piece. The key focus is on Anita Hemmings, hidden in plain sight, who became the first biracial graduate of Vassar Collage. What held my attention, however, is the detailed peeks into "sophisticated" college life circa 1897. A good and gentle read. ( )

The Gilded Years by Karin Tanabe tells the story of Anita Hemmings, a student who passes as white to attend Vassar in the 1980s.

In some ways, this story was very foreign to me. Anita is light-skinned enough to be seen as a white woman, but subject to racism and segregation if her real identity is known. I understand that institutionalized, formalized, codified racism is a terrible and true part of our American history. Every American school kid learns about separate schools or drinking fountains for Whites and Coloreds, and about how not-equal “separate but equal” segregation really was, but the whole concept of a skin color racism when that skin color can’t be identified was confusing to me.

This novel takes place as universities are beginning to allow black students, but only some universities and only a couple students at a time, and many of their white classmates are not pleased to share classes and facilities. Vassar is not integrated, thought, so Anita begins passing to attend a Massachusetts prep school, and with a previous registration as a white student, her fair skin, and her impressive academics, she’s accepted to Vassar, where she can never let the truth out.

Throughout the novel, I empathized with Anita as she tries to blend with her wealthier and more privileged classmates. While keeping up with her rigorous classes, and taking advantage of Vassar life, she does her best to reference the same names and places her classmates do, and pretends to live the same life they have outside of school.

Because of her deception, casual college scenes are fraught with tension. Anita bumps into a classmate in Boston, and scrambles to invent an excuse why her friend shouldn’t make a polite call on her at home. Her Vassar roommate notices Anita’s handsome brother, and more than one Harvard man pursues Anita. As her worlds get closer and awkward questions come up, I really felt the tension and cognitive dissonance of Anita’s double identity, and hoped she could keep it up until she had her diploma in hand.

At the end of the book, I discovered that this story is based on an actual person and on true events, which made the blatant racism more disturbing, and also made Anita’s choice of romantic match make more sense I’d ‘shipped Anita with a certain college beau, someone who had his own secret identity, but naturally the author brought her together with the man who married the historical Anita. ( )

This is the story of Anita Hemmings, who dreamed of attending Vassar since she was a young girl. She was a member of the class of 1897. This novel is a fictionalized account of a true story of the first African American woman to attend Vassar. ( )

This story is written about the very real Anita Hemmings who was the first black student to attend Vassar college, which she did while passing as white.
Having happened so long in the past, and being kept fairly well in secret, this story takes the facts that are available about Anita and weaves in fictional details to create an interesting story.
I personally like to know how much is fiction so I don't find myself wondering that through the whole book.
A lot of the characters were real people, not 100% obviously, and some of the key storylines were fiction.

That being said, I respect that the author really pulled up the name of Anita's roommate. That gave it a more real feel.

This story takes place mainly in the late 1890's. Anita is in her last year at Vassar and is assigned a new roommate. It becomes the most exciting year of her life so far, she spends the year living a more luxurious life than she's used to. She has to guard her identity more than ever.

When you consider how happy Anita is at Vassar and how she truly believes it is the best year of her life, your heart breaks for her at the thought of what's to come next. Will she keep trying to pass as white? Will she go back home to her family and give up bigger dreams of further education and travel?

Anita's story is definitely inspirational. She must have had such strength to be the trailblazer that she was, all the time hoping for no recognition. ( )