A review by sweetsequels
The Mother's Recompense by Edith Wharton

5.0

Coming from someone whose guilty pleasure is watching soap operas or The Bachelorette...this book is a must read. Possibly the most scandalous book written in the early 1900s that I've ever read!
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Kate Clephane is living the life of an exiled socialite on the French Riviera when we meet her. But then a telegram comes that will alter the course of her life - the daughter she abandoned at infancy, now in her early 20s, has called her back to New York, and they have a second chance at the relationship they've both desperately missed. But soon enough a secret threatens to destroy their blossoming affection for each other - the only man who Kate has ever loved (and who broke her heart) is back in New York...and is engaged to none other than her daughter. The story that unfolds is gripping and heartbreaking, in typical Edith fashion.
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If you're not convinced about Edith Wharton yet, perhaps you should pick this one up.This is definitely one of her lesser known works, and I don't know why. It is excellent - equal to or better even, in my opinion, than Age of Innocence.