‘The It Girls’ Lived Life on Their Own Terms [REVIEW]

They may have started out poor, but the Sutherland sisters knew they were something special. (Left: Elinor Glyn; Right: Lady Lucile Duff-Gordon, Photo by Arnold Genthe)

Long before Joan and Jackie Collins became two of Britain’s most celebrated sisters, another amazing sibling duo set the world on fire, making headlines as they boldly broke the rules and lived life on their own terms. Discover their incredible true story in Karen Harper’s new novel, The It Girls. 

William Morrow

Only sixteen months apart in age, Elinor and Lucy Sutherland were always getting into trouble, even from a very young age. As children they would sneak into parties to watch the glamorous guests arrive. Lucy sketched their stylish clothes while “Nellie” recorded their every movement in her diary, captivated by the way they worked a room.

As the two sisters grow up, their secret passions blossom into full-blown careers. Lucy becomes Lucile, a brazen fashion designer who transforms the way women dress with her provocative creations. She goes on to survive the infamous maiden voyage of the Titanic, and narrowly misses sailing on the Lusitania. When she weds, her marriage to Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon even turns her into a Lady. But the fairytale life she lives comes at a hefty price.

Meanwhile, Nellie become novelist Elinor Glyn, a writer whose erotic romance novels push boundaries and scandalize the world. Titillating and delicious, her stories take her to Hollywood, where she works with major talents like Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson and Clara Bow. Yet, even as she writes searing romances for print and screen, true love evades her.

Karen Harper’s The It Girls is a decadent, delicious ride through one of history’s most romantic periods, between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Written with warmth and bravado, Harper deftly captures a time when the world was rapidly changing. She utilizes the true-life stories of the Sutherland sisters to demonstrate how they challenged the mores of the time, broke down walls, and became two of the world’s most influential characters. Yet despite all the glitz and glamour chronicled here, at its heart, The It Girls is a novel of sisterhood, one which celebrates the fierce bond two women can share no matter how far apart they may be. This is a book that is sure to inspire a whole new generation of women to break barriers, follow their hearts, and live boldly.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Harper
(Photo by Jeffrey A. Rycus)

Karen Harper is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author and former university and high school English teacher.

Harper won the Mary Higgins Clark Award for Dark Angel, and her novel Shattered Secrets was judged one of the Best Books of 2014 by Suspense magazine.

Published since 1982, she writes contemporary suspense and historical novels. A rabid Anglophile, she likes nothing more than to research her novels on site in the British Isles.

She lives with her husband in Ohio. Visit her home on the Web at KarenHarperAuthor.com and like her on Facebook.

THE IT GIRLS
By Karen Harper
384 pgs. William Morrow. $14.99

Purchase The It Girls at one of these fine online retailers: HarperCollins, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

The It Girls is brought to you in association with TLC Book Tours.

The It Girls Giveaway

Congratulations to Darcy Fink of Texarkana, Arkansas for winning our The It Girls giveaway. Although this contest ended on November 14, 2017, stay tuned for more opportunities to win other great prizes.