From the characters on Schitt’s Creek to Arrested Development, there’s something about a riches-to-rags story that captivates audiences. While its reverse may be better known — thanks to its typical happy ending — there’s still no shortage of books that feature stories of the rich falling from grace. Perhaps it’s schadenfreude, or perhaps there’s something especially compelling about people building up what they once lost — or finding something even more meaningful than material wealth.
If you’re looking to read a story of the upper crust receiving their comeuppance, look no further. We’ve selected seven tales of the well-to-do learning how the other half lives and striving to find their place among the working class.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
Told over the course of two generations, Ann Patchett’s best-selling book The Dutch House depicts the rise and fall of the Conroy family. Near the tail end of World War II, Cyril Conroy strikes gold in the world of investments and propels the family to enormous wealth. His present to his wife is a grand new mansion, called the Dutch house, just outside of Philadelphia. There they raise their children, Maeve and Danny — until a life-changing event rocks the family to its core. It seems that though the house was meant as an auspicious gift, it ends up wrenching the family apart.
Five decades later, Maeve and Danny have been barred from the Dutch house and thrown into poverty. Clinging to each other in the face of an unfamiliar and unwelcoming new world, the two siblings attempt to undo the damage the Dutch house has wrought upon their family. Piercing and pensive, this dark fairytale captivates readers up to the very last page.
The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
Every one of the Plumb siblings has been counting down the days until they can access “The Nest,” a joint trust fund set up by their late father. While at first, it started out as a meager safety net, The Nest’s value has soared thanks to stock market returns. For years, each sibling has been calculating how to use their share of The Nest to solve their own monetary problems. But when the oldest sibling, Leo, drives drunk and totals his car, the accident and his subsequent rehabilitation threaten to dry up the family’s funds.
Now the four siblings must find out if they can build The Nest back up again — or are their dreams for the future now a laughable fantasy? Full of heart and cheeky humor, Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s The Nest pokes fun at the habits of upscale Manhattanites while still lending them depth and compassion.
Ruin: A Novel of Flyfishing in Bankruptcy by Leigh Seippel
To say that Frank Campbell made a mistake would be an understatement. A literature PhD turned financial backer, he’s sunk his wife’s inheritance into a private equity partnership. The investment backfires, leaving the Campbells bankrupt and homeless, and they’re forced to leave Manhattan for a collapsed farm in the northern Hudson Valley. Wracked with guilt and anxiety over securing their now destitute future, Frank throws himself into work on the farm in an attempt to right past wrongs. As he and Francy grow more and more distant, the local doctor recognizes Frank’s depression and suggests an unusual treatment: flyfishing.
Leigh Seippel’s novel weaves plot and setting into a vivid narrative, bringing the Hudson Valley’s rippling rivers and dense forests to life. Frank ruminates as he stands in the water, where his surroundings serve not only as a backdrop but as a character all on their own. But despite the quiet atmosphere, the Campbells soon find themselves entangled in shady dealings at the intersection of crime and the art world.
Read BookTrib’s review of Ruin here to see how the Campbells get out of their predicament.
Ghosts of Manhattan by Douglas Brunt
The year is 2005, and the place is Wall Street. Nick Farmer is a bonds trader for Bear Stearns and is everything you’d expect from a pre-recession stockbroker — namely, filthy rich with both coke and women at his fingertips. But despite the perks of the job, Nick has long since fallen out of love with Wall Street’s nightlife. He’s overworked, deeply miserable and dealing with a marriage that’s currently in shambles. So he’s not thrilled when an analyst approaches him with some concerning numbers — numbers that suggest the market is about to implode.
Nick must reckon with a moral quandary he’s been trying to avoid throughout his entire Wall Street career; should he commit career suicide and reveal the truth of Bear Stearns’ mortgage-backed securities, or stand by and let the market destroy itself? This satirical take on Wall Street and the business world blends flawed characters and cynical humor to create a darkly amusing tale of money, extravagance and the struggle to do the right thing.
Champagne at Seven! by Toni Glickman
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Olivia Wyatt is thriving; she’s rich, she’s married and she’s ticking off the list of what she needs for her latest high society party. But when tragedy strikes, all of that changes for her and her daughter Gwynnie. Suddenly penniless, Olivia is forced to sell her wardrobe and possessions, as well as move back into her childhood home in New Jersey.
It’s a rough transition, to say the least, and it takes Gwynnie’s own intervention for Olivia to start to build herself back up again. Finally determined to try and make something of herself, Olivia ends up landing a job in the high-end department store, Harper James, vendor of all things extravagant and luxurious. It’s a familiar sight from her past life in the upper crust — but now, instead of buying these things, she’ll be selling them. The first in the Bitches of Fifth Avenue series, Champagne at Seven! is an entertaining and inspiring tale of a woman resolved to regain the life she lost.
Read BookTrib’s review of Champagne at Seven! here.
The Wangs Vs. The World by Jade Chang
Patriarch of the Wang family, Charles is the president of a cosmetics company and purveyor of a huge fortune. Or at least he was, until the financial crisis topples his business empire. Suddenly broke, he and his wife have no choice but to pack up their remaining possessions in the one car they still own, and go pick their kids up from colleges they can no longer pay for. Charles, his stepmom Barbara and two Wang children head off on a road trip from their former residence in Bel-Air to upstate New York, at the doorstep of the eldest Wang daughter.
Saina isn’t exactly prepared to have her entire nuclear family crammed into her house, and certainly, none of the Wangs are well equipped to cope with their sudden fall from grace. But despite their hardships, the family strives to band together and make the most of their misfortunes. Both comical and touching, The Wangs Vs. The World takes a look at what it means to be a self-made family in modern America.
The Tale of Miss Berta London by Jihan Latimer
The chief fashion editor at Eloquent Magazine, Berta London is a cutthroat businesswoman with no regard for her workers — think Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada. But after her fall photoshoot goes disastrously wrong, Berta is in deep trouble. Her investors are pulling out, her employees have quit and her finances are wrecked. Now blacklisted from the fashion world, Berta has no choice but to look into an unexpected new career path — nannying.
Meant by author Jihan Latimer as an inspirational story, The Tale of Miss Berta London makes it clear that despite the glitz and glamour, there’s far more to life than the material world. Readers can follow Berta’s journey as she slowly makes this discovery and learns how to exist in normal life, no longer sequestered in her high-end bubble. As she experiences what the outside world has to offer, she ends up making unforgettable connections and growing into a person she never could have become without her initial fall from grace. Motivating and uplifting, Latimer’s novel encourages us to look at our own lives and see how we can pursue our own journeys of self-improvement.
Read BookTrib’s review of The Tale of Miss Berta London here.
