The Gilded Cage: A Novel of Chicago by Judy Alter

The Gilded Cage: A Novel of Chicago by Judy Alter

Publication Date: April 18, 2016

Alter Ego Publishing

eBook & Paperback; 318 Pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Born to a society and a life of privilege, Bertha Honoré married Potter Palmer, a wealthy entrepreneur who called her Cissy. Neither dreamed the direction the other’s life would take. He built the Palmer House Hotel, still famed today, and become one of the major robber barons of the city, giving generously to causes of which he approved. She put philanthropy into deeds, going into shanty neighborhoods, inviting factory girls to her home, working at Jane Addams’ settlement Hull House, supporting women’s causes.



It was a time of tremendous change and conflict in Chicago as the city struggled to put its swamp-water beginnings behind it and become a leading urban center. A time of the Great Fire of 1871, the Haymarket Riots, and the triumph of the Columbian Exposition. Potter and Cissy handled these events in diverse ways. Fascinating characters people these pages along with Potter and Cissy—Carter Harrison, frequent mayor of the city; Harry Collins, determined to be a loser; Henry Honoré, torn between loyalties to the South and North; Daniel Burnham, architect of the new Chicago—and many others.



The Gilded Cage is a fictional exploration of the lives of these people and of the Gilded Age in Chicago history.

"The Gilded Cage is a wonderful recreation of early Chicago and the people who made it what it is. Central character Cissy Palmer is a three-dimensional, real, vibrant person. The Gilded Cage is fiction, but firmly based on fact—the Chicago Fire, the prisoners from the War Between the States interred in Chicago, the newcomer Potter Palmer, the explosive growth of wealth in a prairie town, deep poverty adjacent to great riches—the American experience laid bare. You don’t have to be a Chicagoan to love this book." -Barbara D’Amato, author of Other Eyes

My Review

Five Stars

Copy from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour for an honest review

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Judy Alter is the award winning author of fiction for adults and young adults. Other historical fiction includes Libbie, the story of Elizabeth Bacon (Mrs. George Armstrong) Custer; Jessie, the story of Jessie Benton Frémont and her explorer / miner / entrepreneur / soldier / politician husband; Cherokee Rose, a novel loosely based on the life of the first cowgirl roper to ride in Wild West shows; and Sundance, Butch and Me, the adventures of Etta Place and the Hole in the Wall Gang.



For more information visit Judy Alter's website. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Goodreads.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, May 23

Excerpt & Giveaway A Holland Reads



Tuesday, May 24

Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past



Wednesday, May 25

Review at History From a Woman's Perspective



Friday, May 27

Review at In a Minute



Monday, May 30

Review at Book Nerd



Tuesday, May 31

Spotlight at CelticLady's Reviews



Wednesday, June 1

Giveaway at Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More



Thursday, June 2

Interview at Author Dianne Ascroft's Blog

Guest Post & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books



Monday, June 6

Review at Eclectic Ramblings of Author Heather Osborne



Tuesday, June 7

Guest Post at The True Book Addict



Wednesday, June 8

Spotlight & Giveaway at It's a Mad Mad World



Thursday, June 9

Review, Excerpt, & Giveaway at The Book Junkie Reads



Monday, June 13

Review at Reading Is My SuperPower

Spotlight at A Literary Vacation



Wednesday, June 15

Interview at Jorie Loves a Story



Thursday, June 16

Review at The Lit Bitch



Friday, June 17

Review at New Horizon Reviews

Review at Jorie Loves a Story