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Summary
Summary
The Lowcountry of South Carolina is where By Invitation Only begins at a barbecue engagement party thrown by Diane English Stiftel, her brother Floyd, and her parents to celebrate her son's engagement. On this gorgeous, magical night, the bride's father, Alejandro Cambria, a wealthy power broker whose unbelievably successful career in private equity made him one of Chicago's celebrated elite, discovers the limits and possibilities of cell phone range. While the mother of the bride, Susan Kennedy Cambria, who dabbles in the world of public relations and believes herself deserving of every square inch of her multimillion-dollar penthouse and imaginary carrara marble pedestal, learns about moonshine and dangerous liaisons.
Soon By Invitation Only zooms to Chicago, where the unraveling accelerates. Nearly a thousand miles away from her comfortable, familiar world, Diane is the antithesis of the bright lights and super-sophisticated guests attending her son Fred's second engagement party. Why a second party? Maybe it had been assumed that the first one wouldn't be up to snuff? Fred is marrying Shelby Cambria, also an only child. The Cambrias' dearest wish is for their daughter to be happy. If Shelby wants to marry Frederick, aka Fred, they will not stand in her way--although Susan does hope her friends won't think her daughter is marrying more than a few degrees beneath her socially. At the same time, Diane worries that her son will be lost to her forever.
By Invitation Only is a tale of two families, one struggling to do well, one well to do, and one young couple--the privileged daughter of Chicago's crème de la crème and the son of hard -working Southern peach farmers.
Dorothea Benton Frank offers a funny, sharp, and deeply empathetic novel of two very different worlds--of limousines and pickup trucks, caviars and pigs, skyscrapers and ocean spray--filled with a delightful cast of characters who all have something to hide and a lot to learn. A difference in legal opinions, a headlong dive from grace, and an abrupt twist will reveal the truth of who they are and demonstrate, when it truly counts, what kind of grit they have. Are they living the life they want, what regrets do they hold, and how would they remake their lives if they were given the invitation to do so?
By Invitation Only is classic Dorothea Benton Frank--a mesmerizing Lowcountry Tale that roars with spirit, humor, and truth, and forces us to reconsider our notions of what it means to be a Have or a Have Not.
Author Notes
Dorothea Benton Frank was born and raised on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina. She is the New York Times bestselling author of the Lowcountry Tales Series which includes the books Sullivan's Island and Plantation. Her title's have often made the Best Seller List such as: Porch Lights, The Last Original Wife, The Hurricane Sisters, All the Single Ladies, All Summer Long, Return to Sullivans Island, and Same Beach, Next Year.
Dorothea Olivia Benton was born on Sept. 12, 1951, on Sullivan¿s Island. Her father, William, died when she was 4; her mother, Dorothea Cecilia Blanchard, was a homemaker who raised her children with the two men she married after Mr. Benton¿s death. After graduating from the Fashion Institute of America in Atlanta, she became a buyer for Kerrison¿s Department Store in Charleston and then an executive for a sportswear line in New York and San Francisco. After marrying Mr. Frank, an investment banker, in 1983, she left the fashion industry, had two children and raised money for various charities. She Shifted to writing novels because it suited her storytelling style. She was soon turning out a book a year. Dorothea Benton Frank passed away on September 2, 2019 at the age of 67.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (1)
New York Review of Books Review
To Love and to Cherish Tm the one you want to sit next to when things are dull," says Dorothea Benton Frank, whose new novel, "By Invitation Only," debuts at No. 4 this week. "My old sweet friend Pat Conroy once said to me, you know, you're funny on the page," she recalls. "And I said, yes, I am. I know there are those who say humor diminishes the literary value of a story, but I think humor is desperately needed in every corner of this world. Desperately. Humor is a mighty powerful tool when correctly applied." Frank's wit permeates her social media (her Facebook bio says she's been "married for a thousand years to a saint whose name is Peter, not to be confused with the biblical one, with whom I have two spectacular children - Victoria and William, not to be confused with the queen or the conqueror") and infuses "By Invitation Only," a Southern comedy of manners about the marriage of a wealthy young woman from Chicago and the son of a South Carolina farmer. Her own family inspired the novel - in a way. "My two children married splendid people over the last three years and all sides couldn't be happier," Frank says. "But what if they had not been so wise? Our weddings were wonderful. But what if they had been nightmares? I started thinking of all the many things that could've gone wrong. And what about the courage it takes to marry someone outside your world? I think my main characters - Shelby and Frederick - were so in love they barely noticed the differences in their backgrounds. But the mother of the groom and the mother of the bride did, and that's when the fun began." Frank enjoys skewering "social irritants," especially "pretentious women who think they're Lady Astor because their husbands make a ton of money." Characters like that always get their just deserts in her novels, including this one: "I gave it to the mother of the bride rather nicely, I thought." "By Invitation Only," like many of her other novels, is partially set in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. "It would be impossible, I think, to write without my deep affection for this place seeping through," Frank says of the place that her family has called home for 300 years. "We have fought in every war, farmed the land, nursed the sick and infirm, taught school and sold groceries. Everywhere I turn there is a reminder of the bravery and commitment of my ancestors." She adds, "I keep coming back here to renew my faith in humanity and in God. And to remind myself what really matters." Tm the one you want to sit next to when things are dull/
