Secretary to the Socialite
McCabe’s fictional treatment of socialite Millicent Rogers’ time in Taos, New Mexico, brings the setting and the character to vivid life.
Heiress to the Standard Oil fortune, Rogers has a remarkable history, but McCabe chooses to dwell on 1947, the year Millicent moves from Los Angeles to Taos. McCabe portrays a dimensional, contradictory woman who is deeply moved by beauty and determined not to let her frail health limit her. McCabe’s Millicent is also stylish, demanding, temperamental, and fascinating.
The point of view alternates between that of Millicent and the fictional Violet, a sweet, sincere ingenue whom Millicent hires as her secretary and who becomes companion, mentee, and foil. Violet, who has left her Iowa life behind in search of more, is awed by Millicent’s luxurious lifestyle and hedonistic ways. The setting of Taos consumes a great deal of narrative attention as each of the women are captured by the beauty and mystery of the mountain. McCabe brings to life both the real inhabitants of Taos, like the legendary Mabel Dodge Luhan, and her fictional additions, like handsome Lorenzo Serna, an inhabitant of the Taos Pueblo who enchants Violet.
The drama is quiet but rich as the women settle in and build lives in their new home, Millicent surrounded by vivid memories and struggling not to be an invalid, Violet longing to live life to the fullest, though she doesn’t know quite how. The final quarrel between them feels abrupt and unexpected, though Violet’s release from Millicent’s clutches finally allows her to grow according to her own lights. Their resolution, quiet and soulful, is deeply satisfying.
The book is worth reading for the prose alone; the language is rich and engaging, especially in its love for Taos and the area. Recommended for all readers who love stories of complex and challenging women.
