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Marrying for Money
When the glamorous Grosvenor sisters arrive in the exclusive Hamptons beach town of Little Elbow, they can't help but cause a stir. Gorgeous Grace and Charming Charity are soon hot favourites on everybody's guest-list. Except that of their neighbour, Marcella Hunter. Heiress Marcella doesn't want the competition and when Grace starts dating Marcella's 'Plan B' man - dull but extraordinarily rich Choate Fitzgerald - the gloves are off. Marcella determines to find out where the sisters really came from. And exactly how they can afford to rent a six-bedroom beach house in this millionaires' playground. In the process, however, it's discovered that quite a few of the people spending that summer in Little Elbow are not exactly what they seem...
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
11 people are currently reading
346 people want to read
About the author
Chris Manby
38 books122 followersThis author has also released books under the name Chrissie Manby.
Encouraged my by English teacher, Mrs. Pocock, I published my first short story in Just Seventeen when I was fourteen years old. The story was called ‘Whatever happened to the wonderful boy I fell in love with’ and I published it under the pseudonym ‘Carolyn Lane’ because it largely consisted of a transcript of an argument I’d had with my boyfriend. I bought a black denim jacket from C & A with the proceeds.
I continued to contribute short stories to Just Seventeen to help pay my way through university. I studied Experimental Psychology at St Edmund Hall in Oxford. Alas, I devoted rather too much time to my social life and staggered away with an unimpressive 2:2. In retrospect, that 2:2 saved my life. It meant that none of the graduate training schemes I had hoped to join would have me. I wouldn’t become an accountant after all. I moved to London and took a series of temp jobs to support myself. It was while I was working at Prelude Audio Books, a company which took erotic ‘classics’ and put them on tape, that I met my first real novelist: David Garnett.
David is a very well respected science fiction writer, who once dabbled with writing erotica under the name Angelique. Prelude was recording the Angelique novels. One afternoon, David spent a couple of hours sitting on my desk, waiting for my boss to come back from a very long publishing lunch to discuss some unpaid royalties. I told David I’d always wanted to be a writer. He dared me to write a novella like Angelique’s. A few weeks later, I handed him my first full-length manuscript. David cast his experienced eye over my scribblings, helped me tweak it and then passed it on to his editor at Little Brown. Incredibly, she made an offer on it. My dream of becoming a proper writer was reborn.
That first book was called ‘Inspiration’. It centred on the sexual shenanigans of a group of artists in St Ives. Wary of embarrassing my parents, I published ‘Inspiration’ as Stephanie Ash. Four more Stephanie Ash novellas followed, helping me to pay my rent and attract the attention of a literary agent. In 1997, I published my first Chris Manby novel, ‘Flatmates’…
Thirteen novels on the single life as Chris Manby later, I’ve just published ‘Getting Over Mr. Right’ as ‘Chrissie Manby’ (apparently too many people are under the impression that I am a bloke!).
I live in London and when I’m not writing (in fact, even when I’m supposed to be writing) I spend an awful lot of time on Twitter. Follow me on @chrissiemanby.
Encouraged my by English teacher, Mrs. Pocock, I published my first short story in Just Seventeen when I was fourteen years old. The story was called ‘Whatever happened to the wonderful boy I fell in love with’ and I published it under the pseudonym ‘Carolyn Lane’ because it largely consisted of a transcript of an argument I’d had with my boyfriend. I bought a black denim jacket from C & A with the proceeds.
I continued to contribute short stories to Just Seventeen to help pay my way through university. I studied Experimental Psychology at St Edmund Hall in Oxford. Alas, I devoted rather too much time to my social life and staggered away with an unimpressive 2:2. In retrospect, that 2:2 saved my life. It meant that none of the graduate training schemes I had hoped to join would have me. I wouldn’t become an accountant after all. I moved to London and took a series of temp jobs to support myself. It was while I was working at Prelude Audio Books, a company which took erotic ‘classics’ and put them on tape, that I met my first real novelist: David Garnett.
David is a very well respected science fiction writer, who once dabbled with writing erotica under the name Angelique. Prelude was recording the Angelique novels. One afternoon, David spent a couple of hours sitting on my desk, waiting for my boss to come back from a very long publishing lunch to discuss some unpaid royalties. I told David I’d always wanted to be a writer. He dared me to write a novella like Angelique’s. A few weeks later, I handed him my first full-length manuscript. David cast his experienced eye over my scribblings, helped me tweak it and then passed it on to his editor at Little Brown. Incredibly, she made an offer on it. My dream of becoming a proper writer was reborn.
That first book was called ‘Inspiration’. It centred on the sexual shenanigans of a group of artists in St Ives. Wary of embarrassing my parents, I published ‘Inspiration’ as Stephanie Ash. Four more Stephanie Ash novellas followed, helping me to pay my rent and attract the attention of a literary agent. In 1997, I published my first Chris Manby novel, ‘Flatmates’…
Thirteen novels on the single life as Chris Manby later, I’ve just published ‘Getting Over Mr. Right’ as ‘Chrissie Manby’ (apparently too many people are under the impression that I am a bloke!).
I live in London and when I’m not writing (in fact, even when I’m supposed to be writing) I spend an awful lot of time on Twitter. Follow me on @chrissiemanby.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
July 1, 2025
This one is a modern mixture of Cinderella and Moliere's qui pro quo.
The characters are quite linear, some of them in dark colors, Marcella, Robin, Stephany, some (including Grace) not very smart. The final (most of it seen after no more than fifty pages...) makes everyone happy.
Not a bad book, especially for the feminine part of readers...
The characters are quite linear, some of them in dark colors, Marcella, Robin, Stephany, some (including Grace) not very smart. The final (most of it seen after no more than fifty pages...) makes everyone happy.
Not a bad book, especially for the feminine part of readers...
July 30, 2017
This book was a breath of fresh air! Full of Hamptons hyperbole and larger than life characters, this is sharp and lively women's fiction.
Grace and Charity, the two out of place Brits who appear in a small Hamptons town for the summer, are not the most likable characters but they are entertaining and their quest for an eligible batchelor makes for a unique and funny plot.
The whole cast are self-centred and egocentric, which makes this satirical novel edgy and fresh despite it now being ten years old.
Encouraged me to dust off my other Chrissie Manby books and catch up on the ones I've missed!
Grace and Charity, the two out of place Brits who appear in a small Hamptons town for the summer, are not the most likable characters but they are entertaining and their quest for an eligible batchelor makes for a unique and funny plot.
The whole cast are self-centred and egocentric, which makes this satirical novel edgy and fresh despite it now being ten years old.
Encouraged me to dust off my other Chrissie Manby books and catch up on the ones I've missed!
May 29, 2013
Sometimes it really pays not to judge a book by its cover and/or title. I was looking for an easy-read, holiday novel. This book, having read all of it to make sure, it not worth reading! The writing style is poor, the characters are shallow, unlikeable and unidentifiable and the plot leaves a hell of a lot to be desired.
Starting with the two sisters, Charity and Grace. Grace initially seemed like a spare part to me - what was her point of even being in the novel? Despite coming to America on a gold digging mission, the sisters seem naive and child-like, without the sass you might find in a typical gold digging heroine.
Having made their way through dates with the rich boys on the list, and having the dates turn out to be predictable disasters, you can see what is coming a mile off - that the gold digger falls for the 'penniless' gardener. Who, shockingly enough, is in fact the heir to the estate. Wow.
Marcella, the antagonist, seemed a little inhuman, dreamed up by someone who has never been to America but has formed an idea of what bitchy Manhattanites might be like by watching Gossip Girl. With no redeeming qualities at all, even she gets her happy ending in this poor and fluffy novel.
In short, I can't advise you strongly enough that this book is not worth the effort. I hope my review will save you the time and trouble!
Starting with the two sisters, Charity and Grace. Grace initially seemed like a spare part to me - what was her point of even being in the novel? Despite coming to America on a gold digging mission, the sisters seem naive and child-like, without the sass you might find in a typical gold digging heroine.
Having made their way through dates with the rich boys on the list, and having the dates turn out to be predictable disasters, you can see what is coming a mile off - that the gold digger falls for the 'penniless' gardener. Who, shockingly enough, is in fact the heir to the estate. Wow.
Marcella, the antagonist, seemed a little inhuman, dreamed up by someone who has never been to America but has formed an idea of what bitchy Manhattanites might be like by watching Gossip Girl. With no redeeming qualities at all, even she gets her happy ending in this poor and fluffy novel.
In short, I can't advise you strongly enough that this book is not worth the effort. I hope my review will save you the time and trouble!
April 15, 2020
O carte umoristica doar ca nu prea am râs la ea, mai mult m-a ținut în priză...pana unde va duce minciunile și dacă vor fi descoperite secretele 🤔
Avem 3 fete Marcella, Chatty și Grace toate 3 au ajuns la vârsta maritisului 🙄.
Sa vorbesc de Marcella, o tipa care are totul la picioare, foarte bogată, își permite sa stea singură într-o ditamai vila (par geloasa dar nu sunt🤭) ...eeee nu chiar singura ci cu un tip arogant Saimon și cu menajera ei imigranta Anjelina 😁. Domnișoara vrea sa se mărite dar cu cine, ca nici unul nu-i pe placul ei🤷♀️. Un personaj cu probleme mari la cap care nu știe ce dorește mai exact de la viață 🤦♀️😅.
Le mai avem pe Chatty și Grace două surori venite în America în vacanță din Anglia pentru a-și cauta un mire miliardar. Ele se cazeaza vizavi de Marcella în casă trandafirilor. Cele 2 ascund un secret destul de mare și bine ascuns😁.
Marcella le invita pe surori la petrecerea ei cu ocazia zilei ei de naștere. Aici încerca să le descoase mai ales ca cele 2 întârzie și îi strica discursul 😅.
Cele 3 se vor lupta pentru 4 bărbați :Chato, Ryan și încă 2 care nu le mai țin minte numele ca nu au mai fost menționați 🤪.
Cea mai mare bătaie va fi între Chatty și Marcella....dar câștiga Marcella stricand intalnirile lu'Chatty. Se baga..... 🙄între Chato și Grace dar nu-i reușește😁.
Dar pana la urma și Chatty își găsește un tip pe Ryan dar și aici se bagă Marcella 🤦♀️.
Ma enervat la culmea tipa asta peste tot se bagă, nu a fost ciufulita de cineva, dacă era își vedea de treaba ei și de bârfele răutăcioase 😠.
Nu pot sa zic ca nu mi-a plăcut de rahatelul cățelului pus într-un pantof de menajera la hotelul unde stătea, Marcella din această cauză cere sa i se înlocuiască pantofi și sa o concedieze pe menajera din hotel....iar pe deasupra arunca și cățelul la gunoi😠🤬.....ba am urât tipa asta deja ma enervase la culme cu aerele ei de prințesă 🤦♀️.
Dacă descoperă Marcella secretele fetelor și dacă tatăl ei va face ceva înpotriva purtării ei doar trebuie sa citiți cartea deoarece pana la urma s-a făcut dreptate 😍.
Ii dau 4 stele pentru dreptate😁
Avem 3 fete Marcella, Chatty și Grace toate 3 au ajuns la vârsta maritisului 🙄.
Sa vorbesc de Marcella, o tipa care are totul la picioare, foarte bogată, își permite sa stea singură într-o ditamai vila (par geloasa dar nu sunt🤭) ...eeee nu chiar singura ci cu un tip arogant Saimon și cu menajera ei imigranta Anjelina 😁. Domnișoara vrea sa se mărite dar cu cine, ca nici unul nu-i pe placul ei🤷♀️. Un personaj cu probleme mari la cap care nu știe ce dorește mai exact de la viață 🤦♀️😅.
Le mai avem pe Chatty și Grace două surori venite în America în vacanță din Anglia pentru a-și cauta un mire miliardar. Ele se cazeaza vizavi de Marcella în casă trandafirilor. Cele 2 ascund un secret destul de mare și bine ascuns😁.
Marcella le invita pe surori la petrecerea ei cu ocazia zilei ei de naștere. Aici încerca să le descoase mai ales ca cele 2 întârzie și îi strica discursul 😅.
Cele 3 se vor lupta pentru 4 bărbați :Chato, Ryan și încă 2 care nu le mai țin minte numele ca nu au mai fost menționați 🤪.
Cea mai mare bătaie va fi între Chatty și Marcella....dar câștiga Marcella stricand intalnirile lu'Chatty. Se baga..... 🙄între Chato și Grace dar nu-i reușește😁.
Dar pana la urma și Chatty își găsește un tip pe Ryan dar și aici se bagă Marcella 🤦♀️.
Ma enervat la culmea tipa asta peste tot se bagă, nu a fost ciufulita de cineva, dacă era își vedea de treaba ei și de bârfele răutăcioase 😠.
Nu pot sa zic ca nu mi-a plăcut de rahatelul cățelului pus într-un pantof de menajera la hotelul unde stătea, Marcella din această cauză cere sa i se înlocuiască pantofi și sa o concedieze pe menajera din hotel....iar pe deasupra arunca și cățelul la gunoi😠🤬.....ba am urât tipa asta deja ma enervase la culme cu aerele ei de prințesă 🤦♀️.
Dacă descoperă Marcella secretele fetelor și dacă tatăl ei va face ceva înpotriva purtării ei doar trebuie sa citiți cartea deoarece pana la urma s-a făcut dreptate 😍.
Ii dau 4 stele pentru dreptate😁
February 10, 2017
И накрая всеки си получи заслуженото...
Абсолютен чик-лит, доста меркантилни дами, слабоумни господа... обичайните неща, но има и някои свежи моменти.
Абсолютен чик-лит, доста меркантилни дами, слабоумни господа... обичайните неща, но има и някои свежи моменти.
February 25, 2018
An easy read with fun and laughter incorporated throughout.
August 21, 2018
Wow. This book was so bad I’m actually shocked. Can an author really be this immature? So cringy it was embarrassing.
April 16, 2019
Meh. Not sure what I was expecting. A little disappointing and fairly cliched. But still an enjoyable read.
September 9, 2020
Money-means-happiness myth revealed ))
January 22, 2021
Not my favourite of here but still likeable read reminded me of these rich wives programs.
September 14, 2020
Pe langa povestea in sine care e scrisa intr-un mod foarte lejer sunt abordate si teme mai profunde ca de exemplu mastile pe care fiecare dintre noi le purtam pentru a ne atinge propriile scopuri. Cumva, e amintita rautatea din noi, ironic este faptul ca am gasit-o la sectia cartilor umoristice.
December 27, 2016
A very clever story with smooth reading without make any effort!!! So... Marrying for Money or not?
November 16, 2010
Marcella Walker is the awful anti-heroine of this engaging novel about the super rich in the town of Little Elbow. Her 27-year old self-obsessed nose is put seriously out of joint by the arrival of the Grosvenor sisters, Charity and Grace.
The beautiful, Grace, and her gracious sister, Charity, are soon the talk of the town. Everyone is taken in by the English girls. When Marcella’s dull, super-wealthy ex-boyfriend, Choate Fitzgerald, courts Grace; it is too much for the timber heiress to bear. Choate was always Marcella’s plan B.
Marcella swings into action and demands to know how these two girls can afford to rent a 6-bedroom house in this exclusive community. She does not bargain for finding out that very little is as it seems in Little Elbow.
Manby writes with style, charm and wit. She manages to make the reader care about what happens to all of the characters, even Marcella – and that’s not easy.
The beautiful, Grace, and her gracious sister, Charity, are soon the talk of the town. Everyone is taken in by the English girls. When Marcella’s dull, super-wealthy ex-boyfriend, Choate Fitzgerald, courts Grace; it is too much for the timber heiress to bear. Choate was always Marcella’s plan B.
Marcella swings into action and demands to know how these two girls can afford to rent a 6-bedroom house in this exclusive community. She does not bargain for finding out that very little is as it seems in Little Elbow.
Manby writes with style, charm and wit. She manages to make the reader care about what happens to all of the characters, even Marcella – and that’s not easy.
June 17, 2012
This book, as much as I didn't particularly enjoy it, got me thinking. With its subject matter heavily influenced by the way people perceive each other, and judge one another on their wealth, fame or the people they know, I couldn't help think of today's society. People are judged on their looks more than anything else by a good 90% of the population - we have become a society that has little regard for hard earned success or intelligence. What I did like about this book is that, despite obstacles standing in their way, riches and wealth in the end don't matter for at least two people in this book - it is THAT which societies should regard more highly. Love is a powerful tool and nothing, whether it be money, family or anything else, should ever be deemed important enough to overrule it.
June 16, 2008
I've always enjoyed Chris Manby's chick lit books. This one is about the richest, snobbiest person in Little Elbow New York who is obsessively jealous of her two new neighbours - a pair of British sisters who have rented the "cottage" next door. There are all sorts of twists and turns around the relationships in the small town and as always everything works out in the end for the good folks and the evil ones.
October 14, 2008
Cute book! I super loved it! It's a story about two girls - Charity and Grace Grosvenor who won a huge amount of money that allowed them to spend their summer at the Hamptons. Here they learn many lessons but the greatest of them all is that if you're going to marry for money, you have to work for every penny...
August 18, 2008
I have a lot of Manby's books on my literal bookshelf at home, meaning I like her books enough to keep them for re-reading. This one was a major disappointment. A departure in style, tone, and content from earlier books and a misstep. Many of the characters were unlikable and the plot uncomfortably stretched disbelief more than once.
May 25, 2010
While I generally like Chris Manby, Marrying for Money scored low on my goodbook-o-meter. it felt a little too 'big' and definitely over staged. However, this was definitely the intent and does fit the scene which this book takes place, but it just wasn't for me.
Luckily, the book had more redeeming features like a little mystery, a hunky gardener and an enjoying moment with dog shit.
Luckily, the book had more redeeming features like a little mystery, a hunky gardener and an enjoying moment with dog shit.
July 16, 2009
It took me about three days to get a quarter of the way through this book, then I finished the rest in a day because I wanted to be done with it. Nothing exciting really happened but it was a nice easy read, and it filled the time.
September 11, 2011
I don't know why I picked this up, I don't usually read contemporary romantic fiction. I feel a little guilty admitting to quite enjoying this tale of social climbers looking for love in the Hamptons.
April 28, 2014
I read this book in one lazy Sunday. It was enough to keep me going - more so to finish it than much else. It was one of those books where I knew every twist before it happened. I literally called everything. And I really had a hard time liking any of the characters except 'B'ryan and Peggy.
June 18, 2015
Well it's not bad, but the story doesn't get to you, neither the characters. It dragged on for too long. However it's ok for a rainy afternoon when you have nothing else to do :)
I don't know why but every time I read the name "Marcella" i associated her with Paris Hilton :D
I don't know why but every time I read the name "Marcella" i associated her with Paris Hilton :D
July 24, 2015
I read this book in a few consecutive days. It’s everything I love in a book – captivating, glamorous, and funny. I liked the twists, and how each chapter ended, making you want to read on. This book was in no way predictable. Enjoyable read, and would defo read more from this author.
November 19, 2008
this book has a lot of twists and turns...it was a page-turner....
December 30, 2008
I really enjoyed this book.
A weird but exciting storyline.
Loved the ending and the twists and turns!
Would read it again.
A weird but exciting storyline.
Loved the ending and the twists and turns!
Would read it again.
September 28, 2009
This is a bk that protraits that a girl don't just love a guy for his money, but for his heart (that includes not knowing that he has the money that she wants ^^)
Read
October 13, 2010light & fluffy.
May 22, 2011
Love the character of Marcella - what an evil and petty woman! Hilarious!! A very quick read that leave syou with a smile on your face!!
June 6, 2013
A light, funny, superficial summer read..
October 27, 2012
Manby delivers yet again!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews