House of Gold

Book excerpt: Vienna, 1911. Greta Goldbaum has always hungered after what's forbidden: secret university lectures, unseemly trumpet lessons, and most of all, the freedom to choose her life's path. United across Europe by unsurpassed wealth and power, Goldbaum men are bankers, while Goldbaum women marry Goldbaum men to produce Goldbaum children. Greta moves to England to wed Albert, a distant cousin. The marriage is not a success, but when Albert's mother gives Greta a garden, she falls in love with her garden, then with England, and finally with her husband. But when World War I begins, her family is splintered: Albert is at the front lines for the Allies; Greta's brother Otto is fighting for the Central Powers. -- adapted from publisher info.