Books like The age of scandal by T. H. White

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece examines the glittering yet hollow glamour of the Roaring Twenties as the enigmatic Jay Gatsby pursues love, wealth, and identity across the social divide.

In post‑war New York, Newland Archer faces a dilemma when his fiancée’s cousin, the rebellious Ellen Olenska, challenges his elite society’s expectations and his own loyalty.

In Edith Wharton’s classic, Lily Bart, a beautiful and intelligent young woman devoted to luxury, struggles to navigate New York’s strict social hierarchy and moral expectations, ultimately confronting the limits of her independence.

Henry James’s early novel follows an American diplomat in Paris who must navigate the social intrigues of diplomatic life, the complexities of man‑woman relationships, and the contrasting worlds of America and France during the late nineteenth century.

Lady Amelia Patton’s sheltered life unravels when she becomes the centre of a scandalous affair with Alexander St. James, the son of her father’s enemy.

A social satire of Regency England in which Becky Sharp’s ambition and Amelia’s love clash amid class intrigue, military battles and the coveted Waterloo, while Dobbin’s devotion offers a counterpoint to the era’s snobbery.

Edith Wharton's satiric anatomy of American society in the first decade of the twentieth century appeared in 1913; it both appalled and fascinated its first reviewers, and established her as a major novelist. It follows the career of Undine Spragg, recently arrived in New York from the Midwest and determined to conquer high society. Glamorous, selfish, mercenary, and manipulative, her principal assets are her striking beauty, her tenacity, and her father's money. With her sights set on an advantageous marriage, Undine pursues her schemes in a world of shifting values, where triumph is swiftly followed by disillusion. Wharton was re-creating an environment she knew intimately, and Undine's education for social success is chronicled in meticulous detail. The novel superbly captures the world of post-Civil War Ameria, as ruthless in its social ambitions as in its business and politics. - Back cover.

A biting satire that exposes post‑Civil War America’s political corruption, city life, and speculative greed through Twain’s wry commentary on legislators, businessmen, and urban excess.

A richly researched biography of Catherine Wendell, an American heroine who became Lady Almina’s daughter‑in‑law and the 6th Earl of Carnarvon’s wife, revealing her vibrant life within Highclere Castle and its staff across generations.

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey tells the story behind Highclere Castle, the real-life inspiration for the hit PBS show Downton Abbey, and the life of one of its most famous inhabitants, Lady Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon and the basis of the fictional character Lady Cora Crawley. Drawing on a rich store of materials from the archives of Highclere Castle, including diaries, letters, and photographs, the current Lady Carnarvon has written a transporting story of this fabled home on the brink of war. Much like her Masterpiece Classic counterpart, Lady Almina was the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, Alfred de Rothschild, who married his daughter off at a young age, her dowry serving as the crucial link in the effort to preserve the Earl of Carnarvon's ancestral home. Throwing open the doors of Highclere Castle to tend to the wounded of World War I, Lady Almina distinguished herself as a brave and remarkable woman. This rich tale contrasts the splendor of Edwardian life in a great house against the backdrop of the First World War and offers an inspiring and revealing picture of the woman at the center of the history of Highclere Castle. - Publisher.

"'I shall not be sorry when you come to keep the boys in order, for they have neither the respect of children, nor the good breeding of gentlemen, particularly Johnny, who talks of bad French novels and altogether wants repressing.' Thus Lady Stanley of Alderley wrote to her husband in 1852, highlighting some of the attitudes of the period. The lives of the children who lived in Britain's great country houses during the 19th century were a mixed scenario, including dysfunctional and remote families as well as close and loving ones. Drawing on diaries, letters, memoirs, and photo albums, Adeline Hartcup tells of nannies, tutors, and governesses, treats and punishments, and of ideas about God, death, and sex. She provides close-up portraits of five of thegreat families--Howards, Cecils, Russells, Lyttletons, and Gladstones--but also looks beyond the park gates, to the children who did not inherit the privileges that wealth and status conferred."--Pub. desc.

Set in Regency England, "Scandal" delivers a sharp, witty romance that follows a working‑class woman as she navigates the intrigues of the aristocracy and the social customs of the day, with humour and heart.