What do you think?
Rate this book
Hanover Place
In his four previous novels, Michael M. Thomas has written about the world of Wall Street and high society with the knowledgeability of Tom Wolfe and Dominick Dunne—and revealed that world’s inner workings with the aplomb of John O’Hara and Louis Auchincloss. Now, in Hanover Place, Thomas paints his broadest canvas yet.
Covering seven decades of depression, triumph, war, and tragedy, from the roaring, gilded 1920s to the projected chaos of the 1990s, Hanover Place is a saga of “The Firm,” Warrington & Co., a great house of finance whose influence spreads far beyond Wall Street. And it is the story of the two families—one WASP, one Jewish—who dominate that firm.
First come the Warringtons, whose proud name has graced Wall Street and New York society since the 1800s. There’s Fletcher, the patriarch, and his son, Howland, whose 1924 marriage to Lyda opens the book. The dynasty continues with their children: Lex and Dee, the glamorous twins and heirs-apparent to Hanover Place; Andrew, reflective and decent, unsure about his Wall Street destiny; Jay, volatile and intuitive, a born trader; and Miranda, conceived in a moment of indiscretion, whose personality is dark and dangerous.
Then there is the Miles family: Morris, plucked, at Lyda Warrington’s instigation, from the ignominy of “the cage” to triumph over anti-Semitism and become one of the great men of the Street; his wife, Miriam, fiercely protective of her children and ambitious for them; Max, their son, who believes the world should be his for the asking; and Arthur Lubloff, their grandson, who will emerge as the most influential and legendary financier since Pierpont Morgan himself. Sharing the stage with them all is a rich supporting cast of wives and lovers, heroes and knaves, fools and charlatans, great men and parasites.
Hanover Place is not a conventional family epic. Frankly and without pulling punches, it depicts the world of high finance and high society as it was, as it is, and as it may well turn out to be. Its people move through history, now caught up in the great events of our time, now involved with the intimate dramas of passion, rivalry, and prejudice.
And always in the background, humming with a million schemes and dreams, is the great city of New York—and, at its beating concrete heart, Wall Street itself.
Covering seven decades of depression, triumph, war, and tragedy, from the roaring, gilded 1920s to the projected chaos of the 1990s, Hanover Place is a saga of “The Firm,” Warrington & Co., a great house of finance whose influence spreads far beyond Wall Street. And it is the story of the two families—one WASP, one Jewish—who dominate that firm.
First come the Warringtons, whose proud name has graced Wall Street and New York society since the 1800s. There’s Fletcher, the patriarch, and his son, Howland, whose 1924 marriage to Lyda opens the book. The dynasty continues with their children: Lex and Dee, the glamorous twins and heirs-apparent to Hanover Place; Andrew, reflective and decent, unsure about his Wall Street destiny; Jay, volatile and intuitive, a born trader; and Miranda, conceived in a moment of indiscretion, whose personality is dark and dangerous.
Then there is the Miles family: Morris, plucked, at Lyda Warrington’s instigation, from the ignominy of “the cage” to triumph over anti-Semitism and become one of the great men of the Street; his wife, Miriam, fiercely protective of her children and ambitious for them; Max, their son, who believes the world should be his for the asking; and Arthur Lubloff, their grandson, who will emerge as the most influential and legendary financier since Pierpont Morgan himself. Sharing the stage with them all is a rich supporting cast of wives and lovers, heroes and knaves, fools and charlatans, great men and parasites.
Hanover Place is not a conventional family epic. Frankly and without pulling punches, it depicts the world of high finance and high society as it was, as it is, and as it may well turn out to be. Its people move through history, now caught up in the great events of our time, now involved with the intimate dramas of passion, rivalry, and prejudice.
And always in the background, humming with a million schemes and dreams, is the great city of New York—and, at its beating concrete heart, Wall Street itself.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
749 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1990
1 person is currently reading
36 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 6, 2020
The financial stuff is very good, not that I know much about it, but it seems that way. It's about the old rich and the new rich, and anti-semitism. I don't know if it's guilty of that or just trying to show how everpresent and insidious it is. It's a very fine line. Living in NYC during the Dennis Levine scandal, even a friend of mine remarked about how many Jews were involved in insider trading.
I almost gave up on the book when he, for no reason, kills off the one sympathetic character. From a novelist's viewpoint, his characters are not deep or realistic.
I'm curious as to what other readers thought about the anti-semitic tenor of the book. I just read an article by Alan Dershowitz in which he proves that Thomas is indeed an anti-Semite.
I almost gave up on the book when he, for no reason, kills off the one sympathetic character. From a novelist's viewpoint, his characters are not deep or realistic.
I'm curious as to what other readers thought about the anti-semitic tenor of the book. I just read an article by Alan Dershowitz in which he proves that Thomas is indeed an anti-Semite.
December 15, 2024
It is an interesting story. I don’t follow Wall Street so some of that discussion was challenging. I did enjoy the family history of Lyda Warrington in 20th century Manhattan. The development of the city and the art scene with all its prejudice and class distinctions gives me another understanding of NY. The story kept me engaged but probably won’t read another by this author.
April 17, 2018
Re-reading. Have a specific reason for re reading, however, I find much more that I am loving and relating to in multiple ways.
Difficult to believe there are few reviews of this incredible prophetic novel. Not only is it like reading the story of the 2008 economic crash but it was the cause of much argument and bitterness in the monied abd intellectual class in New York City.
There are a few male wishful thinking sex scenes but I suspect men can not help themselves having these ideas and in the long run we profit from it for they long for us (women).
From my experience dashing in and out of that world I find it to be an accurate view of the behaviors of all parties. Judith Martin not withstanding.
Difficult to believe there are few reviews of this incredible prophetic novel. Not only is it like reading the story of the 2008 economic crash but it was the cause of much argument and bitterness in the monied abd intellectual class in New York City.
There are a few male wishful thinking sex scenes but I suspect men can not help themselves having these ideas and in the long run we profit from it for they long for us (women).
From my experience dashing in and out of that world I find it to be an accurate view of the behaviors of all parties. Judith Martin not withstanding.
Read
September 2, 2013Read 1/95
Read
September 24, 2008F Tho
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews