The Ball at Versailles: A Novel

As usual, Danielle Steel has written a wonderful book . The Ball At Versailles is light fun and a trip to the past (1958), when debutant balls and white gloves were always in the picture.The French decided to throw a unique debutant ball at Versailles. There would be 250 debutants introduced to society, among them would be 40 American debutants. No explanation was given as to how these debs were selected had to have been present at a ball in 1957 or 58 or will be in December 1958. Escorts would be provided as well as a tea with the US Ambassador the day before the ball. It was definitely an honor just to be selected.Amelia Alexander was invited. She had grown up with a single mother after her father died. Amelia was currently in school at NYU to become a lawyer. She was happy to do this if it made her mother happy.Felicity Smith was the second daughter of a wealthy Texan. Her mother was a socialite. Her older sister constantly insulted and picked on Felicity as Felicity was overweight and brilliant. Felicity had endured the humiliation of a debutant ball in Dallas and had been promised by her mother that she didn't ever have to do anything like that again. Felicity really wanted to spend her free time at MIT to study instead of going to France. However, she knew that this would make her Father proud of her, so she gave in reluctantly. She did offer to let her sister go in her place; but she was not eligible. But, as family of the debutant, her family could attend. Would that satisfy her mother and sister?Caroline Taylor was the daughter of Hollywood legends. However, they were gone most of the time filming somewhere. Caroline saw this as an opportunity to spend a little time with her parents and a good opportunity for herself to make contacts for future transactions. She was currently in school in California studying filmmaking. She was also madly in love with an actor, Adam., and spent more time with him than in studying or attending classes. However, just before she left for the ball, he cruely broke up with her and immediately started seeing someone else. She was devastated and then she found out she was on probation due to her grades. Now she wished she wasn't going to the ball; but it was too late to back out.Samantha Walker was an art history major at NYU. Her mother and brother were killed in a traffic accident when Sam was five and Sam spent three months in a coma. She was left with occasional balance problems and a slight limp. Brought up by an overprotective father, she overcame most of her physical problems. She was excited to be invited but hesitated due to her problems; but her father helped her decide to go.Four girls from very different backgrounds were among the 250 debutants. Some how they managed to get together at the tea given by the US Ambassador. The four teamed up to get through the ball and became good friends who kept in touch after they returned home. The ball at Versailles changed the lives of these four young ladies in only three days. How were t

I have been a Danielle Steel fan since high school and have read all her books. That said, as I have matured in my reading tastes (and as she has seemed to crank out books faster and faster) these have become a sort of "palate cleanser" light read for me between much heavier and more complex books. The books can be counted on as an escape and a fairly predictable happy resolution, often with travel, beautiful clothes and an upscale lifestyle thrown in. The last few books I have purchased I have been disappointed with, as the characters and plot have been extremely poorly developed with almost no depth at all and it has felt like they were not well edited or edited at all. This book was a nice suprise from the last few. While still a light read, the characters and plot were more developed and interesting than recent books. The girls at the heart of the story and their families draw you in and the plot was a little bit less predictable and you really ended up rooting for these young women. I feel that often the synopsis of these books gives away almost all of the plot, so I am not going to go into lots of detail that is already included in the book's description in this case. If you are a Danielle Steel fan, you will enjoy this book, probably more than her last few.

This book was a good read. It wasn't great, but it was certainly entertaining and I finished it with a smile. 4 young women are invited to a coming out ball at the Versailles. None of them are overly enthused about it. Amelia is hoping to enter law school. Her mother, Jane, is a widow, and struggling mightily to make ends meet, a fact she works hard to keep from Amelia. Felicity is at the university with a goal of being a nuclear physicist-she is very smart and taking an extremely unusual path for young women in the 1950's. She is a little overweight, and her society family in Dallas are not very kind to her about that. She is happy at her Ivy League college, and would rather not go to the ball, but she does to keep the peace. Samantha is an only child of her widower father. As a young child, she barely survived a crash that killed her mother and baby brother-a fact that keeps her father coddling her. She is fine about going to the ball, she is just concerned that she will lose her balance and fall, a side effect of her head injury. And Caroline is the daughter of Hollywood elite. While she doesn't want to go to the ball and leave her much older boyfriend, the opportunity could not have come at a better time.These four women meet and create an incredible bond of friendship. They share the ups and downs of new relationships and dealing with a partner living on the other side of the ocean. 2 of them have parents that bond and create a great friendship as well. Overall, it's a gentle, entertaining story that passes the time in a great manner. My only concern was a few editing errors. At times, it felt like the book needed to be on a word count and additional sentences were thrown in to get there (face it-we've all done that in school!) an example "They lived a few blocks away from each other. (then another sentence) and then "They lived three blocks away from each other". Things like that happened a few times. I do strongly recommend this book though, the storyline is happy. You can't go wrong with a DS book!

As usual, a wonderful story from Danielle Steel! I couldn't put it down! Loved the variety of personalities with the characters.

Danielle Steel does not disappoint us with her storytelling. This was a great story where four young women found each other at a debutant balls and how that changed their lives

The storyline was lighthearted and engaging for the most part, but the writing often felt a bit stilted. Some transitions seemed abrupt, and some sentences seemed dropped in out of nowhere. The writing also felt a bit cliche or cheesy throughout. I enjoyed the book, but at times had a hard time with the writing style.

Una lectura suave con una trama interesante donde cada personaje es importante!Y nos lleva a París una ciudad llena de luz

shes the best

The Ball at Versailles is a sparkling, captivating tale of four young women and one life-changing night, from the billion copy bestselling author, Danielle Steel.1958. The Palace of Versailles is hosting an event that will go down in history. It is a glamorous dusk-to-dawn ball, where a select group of debutantes will be presented to international society and royalty. And for four young women, all with something to prove, it is an event they will never forget.Amelia Alexander is the daughter of a hard-working, single mother who sacrifices everything to ensure that Amelia can take every opportunity for a better life.

I found this an enjoyable Book. Deals with families, how different people are and how lives can change. The book is lighthearted and great for a lazy weekend.

A story about four young women who were given the opportunity in the late 50s and how it changed there lives and the lives of two of the women’s parents