Our Kind of People

By: Carol Wallace

Narrated by: Suzanne Barbetta

Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Fans of Bridgerton will love this "exuberant novel of manners for our own gilded age" (Stacy Schiff, author of Cleopatra) as we follow the Wilcox family's journey through riches and ruin.

Among New York City's Gilded Age elite, one family will defy convention.

Helen Wilcox has one desire: to successfully launch her daughters into society. From the upper crust herself, Helen's unconventional—if happy—marriage has made the girls' social position precarious. Then her husband gambles the family fortunes on an elevated railroad that he claims will transform the face of the city and the way the people of New York live, but will it ruin the Wilcoxes first? As daughters Jemima and Alice navigate the rise and fall of their family—each is forced to re-examine who she is, and even who she is meant to love.

From the author of To Marry an English Lord, an inspiration for Downton Abbey, comes a charming and cutthroat tale of a world in which an invitation or an avoided glance can be the difference between fortune and ruin.

©2022 Carol Wallace (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of BookTrib’s Books to Binge If You Loved HBO’s The Gilded Age

“The fixtures of New York social life in the late 19th century are under siege in Carol Wallace’s charming historical romance, Our Kind of People. Perfect for appetites that have been whetted by HBO’s The Gilded Age.”—The New York Times Books Review

“The latest from Wallace, whose nonfiction work To Marry an English Lord partially inspired Downton Abbey, delivers a smart, perfectly executed look at New York City in the Gilded Age…Wallace does full justice to the era’s conventions, and her characters’ attempts to navigate meteoric social and technological change are recognizably and deliciously modern. Fans of Daisy Goodwin and Curtis Sittenfeld will relish this.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Fans of Bridgerton and Downton Abbey will delight in this period piece and its plethora of charming details about fabrics, dance cards, and decorum. An entertaining glimpse into Manhattan’s 19th-century high society and the conflict between tradition and innovation.”—Kirkus Reviews

Lavish and fun

I liked it the more I read.
Great descriptions of the clothes and furnishings.
The characters are well drawn.

Listened to it three times

Such an easy and interesting story from start to finish. I’m positive I’ll eventually listen a forth time.

Started a little slow but worth the wait!

Great listen. Puts your mind back to what people call the “simpler” days. Socially it was not so simple, as it turns .Hoping there are follow up books that detail each of the characters lives going forward.

Very fun story

I wasn’t sure what to think but I fell in love with the characters and love the way she wound up the story. Excellent book candy.

An easy, if slow, read

A very easy listen. In general I found the storyline a bit slow. The narrator, very good for female characters and general plot, made every male character sound like they were speaking with dramatic pauses, unsure of what to say next.

Loved this very fun period piece ❤️

Our Kind of People is a fabulous and historically fascinating romp with lovely characters and an incredible narrator.
Thank you Carol Wallace for making my daily walks something to look forward to and to relish.

Return of Edith Wharton

I am big fan of Carol Wallace’s earlier non-fictional account of the American gilded age princesses who scaled the walls of the British aristocracy. So when I saw that she authored a historical fiction, I immediately purchased “Our Kind of People”. Written in the spirit, if not style, of Edith Wharton, the books follows the Wilcox family of New York City. They occupy a strange place in society being that Helen Wilcox was from an Old New York family but chose to marry the working class Joshua Wilcox. The plot is essentially a social drama with wry moments that always managed to amuse me. I will say that the narrator randomly made one of the New York born and bred gentlemen sound like someone from the Old South, but fortunately it wasn’t too distracting. Overall the book is a slow burn but definitely worth the read if you are a fan of the Gilded Age.

Entertaining and pleasing!

I enjoyed the story line and it kept me interested! I also enjoy a peek into American history and romance.

Great period story

Loved it. If you like period stories this kept my full attention. Listen while baking

really enjoyed

this was a sweet, easy to follow story that was nicely read. I liked the fact that I could easily listen while doing other activities.