In Polite Company
Book Feature - In Polite Company by Gervais Hagerty
HBL Note: We are nearing the end of beach season, but beach-reads are season-less. IN POLITE COMPANY by Gervais Hagerty is a peak behind the curtain of Charleston aristocracy, and in particular one debutante who digs into the past to reveal some secrets. But it was Lauren Weisberger’s quote (author of The Devil Wears Prada and When Life Gives You Lululemons) that really intrigued me, “…an entertaining story about becoming yourself without totally rejecting your past. Plus: debutante balls! I love this novel.” We so often read stories about people rejecting their past to come into their own, I love the idea of becoming yourself without turning your back on your past. Scroll down to read more.
Book Feature - In Polite Company by Gervais Hagerty
Book Feature - In Polite Company by Gervais Hagerty
From the publisher:
Tourists think they see the real Charleston, but Simons Smythe knows there’s more to her hometown than sweet tea and Southern hospitality. Behind the walled gardens, inside the fabled historic homes, live Charleston’s elite. Simons was born into this powerful aristocracy that has quietly ruled the city for centuries.
Simons’s family has a banner year ahead; Her older sister will give birth to her second child, and her younger sister will make her debut—a series of cocktail parties and balls to introduce her to society. And in one year, Simons plans to marry Trip. She hopes that’s enough time to fall back in love.
Simons produces the news at a local TV station, a job that increasingly tests her loyalty to her family and friends. On her days off, Simons surfs the waves of Folly Beach, crabs the salty rivers of Edisto Island, and follows her wayward heart to King Street bars. The one touchstone in this confusing time is her elegant and secretive grandmother, Laudie, who—repeatedly and mysteriously—urges Simons to “be brave”.
In this sparkling novel, Simons unlocks riddles from the past, flirts with a new future, and discovers that some rules are made to be broken.
Book Feature - In Polite Company by Gervais Hagerty
