Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl, Renee Rosen
Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl, Renee Rosen
List: $22.50 | Sale: $15.75
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Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl

Author: Renée Rosen

Narrator: Hillary Huber

Unabridged: 12 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 04/25/2023


Synopsis

It’s 1938, and a young woman selling face cream out of a New York City beauty parlor is determined to prove she can have it all. Her name is Estée Lauder, and she’s about to take the world by storm, in this dazzling new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Social Graces and Park Avenue Summer.

In New York City, you can disappear into the crowd. At least that’s what Gloria Downing desperately hopes as she tries to reinvent herself after a devastating family scandal. She’s ready for a total life makeover and a friend she can lean on—and into her path walks a young, idealistic woman named Estée. Their chance encounter will change Gloria’s life forever.

Estée dreams of success and becoming a household name like Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and Revlon. Before Gloria knows it, she is swept up in her new friend’s mission and while Estée rolls up her sleeves, Gloria begins to discover her own talents. After landing a job at Saks Fifth Avenue, New York’s finest luxury department store, Gloria finds her voice, which proves instrumental in opening doors for Estée’s insatiable ambitions.

But in a world unaccustomed to women with power, they’ll each have to pay the price that comes with daring to live life on their own terms and refusing to back down.

About The Author

Renée Rosen is the USA Today bestselling author of The Social Graces, Park Avenue Summer, Windy City Blues, White Collar Girl, What the Lady Wants, and Dollface. She is also the author of Every Crooked Pot, a YA novel published in 2007. Renée lives in Chicago.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kate on April 30, 2023

A Renee Rosen heroine is always one who falls in love not with a significant other (though she may do that too) but with her work. FIFTH AVENUE GLAMOUR GIRL is no exception as an ex-debutante dazed by the destruction of her family and their fortune enters the work force for the first time, barely ha......more

Goodreads review by Annette on January 09, 2023

Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl reimagines the story of Estee Lauder. Her story is related through a friend Gloria. Both young women supposedly come from families well off, but lost the fortunes. Both women are forced to forge their own paths. The only difference is that Estee knows clearly what she wants......more

Goodreads review by Karren on April 16, 2023

Gloria Downings father has been arrested, he’s been accused of committing investment fraud, and the family loses everything and Gloria's friends no longer speak to her. Gloria wants to become invisible, she changes her name and appearance and for the first time in her life, she has to find a job and......more

Goodreads review by *TUDOR^QUEEN* on April 04, 2023

3.5 Stars Well, the cover of this book is fabulous...that's for sure! I'm certain that's what initially drew me in. Plus the scheme of a historical fiction perspective of a famous person in the skin care, makeup and perfume industry was attractive to me. I knew next to nothing about Estee Lauder and......more

Goodreads review by Lauren Sydni on January 24, 2024

This is a good 3.5!......more


Quotes

“In this captivating novel, Renée Rosen invites readers to peer behind the lovely facade of the iconic Estee Lauder, at her real origin and hardscrabble rise. This illuminating tale about ambition and friendship between Estee and Gloria Downing, another young woman who has changed her name and her identity, explores the dangers inherent in embellishing the truth. A fascinating glimpse into a legend who has changed the face of cosmetics forever.”
Marie Benedict, New York Times bestselling author of The Personal Librarian and The Mitford Affair

"A scintillating, beautifully written peek into the life of one of America’s most fascinating women, Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl is an ode to the singular magic of chasing and catching one’s wildest dreams. Through Renee Rosen’s well-trained pen, Estée Lauder returns, living and breathing on every page. Rosen is at the height of her storytelling prowess with this glittering novel that shines as brightly as the heroine at its center. I absolutely could not put it down. "
Kristy Woodson Harvey, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Wedding Veil
 
“A dazzling story of the beauty of female friendship and the dogged persistence of a cosmetics legend who knew that she—and the women around her—were meant for more… Estée Lauder was a force to be reckoned with and her ambition and drive leap off the page in Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl!”
Stephanie Marie Thornton, USA Today bestselling author of A Most Clever Girl

"Like the perfect red lipstick, Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl is both utterly stylish and satisfying. Renée Rosen deftly shows us what a determined dreamer Estee Lauder was and, in so doing, creates a heroine as timeless and remarkable as the products she introduced to women all around the world. A truly inspiring rags to riches tale, told by a wonderful storyteller.”
Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Riviera House

“Renee Rosen tells a page-turning story of resilience and self-determination even as she brings a household name to life. Through fascinating detail and heartfelt empathy, she illuminates Estee Lauder’s determined rise to be the woman she always wanted to be. An inspiration for us all.”
—Lynn Cullen, national bestselling author of The Woman with the Cure

"A tale of blazing trails in a man's world, FIFTH AVENUE GLAMOUR GIRL is an empowering, touching story of enduring friendship and beating the odds. A perfect spring read!"
--Heather Webb, USA Today bestselling author of Strangers in the Night
 
 "With her golden pen, Rosen delves into the power of friendship, emphasizing that while cosmetics can be bought, true friendship must be earned. Rosen’s world is lush, well researched, and her characters are vividly portrayed. Like her iconic subject matter, Rosen’s FIFTH AVENUE GLAMOUR GIRL is truly an inspiration.
-- Lisa Barr, New York Times bestselling author of WOMAN ON FIRE

 “An intimate and fascinating glimpse into the woman whose determination to fulfill her dream literally changed the face of American women, told with an immediacy that was captivating far beyond the final page. A must read!”
Shelley Noble, New York Times bestselling author of Summer Island

Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl sweeps us into the fascinating world of New York’s beauty industry and pulls back the veil on the Cinderella story of how Estee Lauder carved out a name for herself through perseverance and hard work. With Renee Rosen’s impressive research and richly crafted characters, this beautifully written story will be one you won’t be able to put down as you cheer these women on.”
Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of Librarian Spy

“Renée Rosen’s gift for creating real, fallible and compelling characters we grow to love and cheer for shines in Fifth Avenue Glamor Girl, a story of the grit and determination behind the glamor of beauty icon, Estée Lauder, and of an enduring, flawed friendship between two strong women. Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl is a brilliant, absorbing, and emotional novel you won’t want to put down!”
Christine Wells, author of Sisters of the Resistance

“Renée Rosen’s Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl vividly portrays the elegance of the 1930s and 1940s cosmetics industry while showing the warts-and-all journey of the rise of the iconic Estée Lauder’s rise. Readers will love this fascinating story of two women concealing the blemishes of their past while building a friendship that will carry them through the heartbreak and ambition of claiming their space at the beauty counter.”
Georgie Blalock, author of The Other Windsor Girl