Good Morning America Buzz Pick
"Effervescent and cool, Teddy is the perfect read if your trip to Capri gets canceled and your La Dolce Vita itch needs scratching."--Washington Post
Lessons in Chemistry meets Mad Men in this wildly entertaining debut novel set in glamorous Rome, which follows the free-spirited wife of an American diplomat as she desperately tries to contain a scandal of her own making.
It is the summer of 1969 and Rome is awash with glamour and intrigue: the stars of Cinecittà are drinking and dancing along the paparazzo-lined Via Veneto, where royalty, American expats, and the occasional Russian spy rub shoulders.
Teddy Huntley Carlyle has just arrived in Italy from Dallas, Texas, eager for a fresh start with her new husband, a diplomat assigned to the American embassy. After years of "spoiling like old milk," in the words of her controlling, politically-minded uncle, Teddy vows to turn over a new leaf. She will be the soul of discretion; she will be conservative, proper, and polite. She will be her most beautiful, luminous self, wearing the right clothes and the perfect lipstick, and she will be good. She will charm her husband's colleagues at the embassy, and no one will have a word to say against her.
Teddy keeps her promise, more or less--until the Fourth of July, when her new life explodes as spectacularly as the colorful fireworks lighting the Roman sky over the embassy grounds. Now, Teddy is in the middle of a mess that even her powerful connections and impeccable manners can't contain . . .
About the Author :
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Emily Dunlay studied English literature and creative writing at Princeton University and later trained and worked as a specialist librarian for antiquarian books in New York and Abu Dhabi. She currently lives in California.
Review :
"Teddy is a luscious joyride of a novel, a portrait of a lady who's a beautiful welter of lust, appetite, and longing. Teddy is Lily Bart with gusto and moxie, Isabel Archer with tenacious grit. I rooted for her gleefully until the surprise ending, which Dunlay pulls off with sly, masterful timing. Glamorous and suspenseful, this is a literary romp." - Kate Christensen, Pen/Faulkner award winning author of The Great Man and Welcome Home, Stranger
"As if Mad Men had a baby with The White Lotus, this novel has it all: atmosphere, glamour, danger, a heroine at the center of a web she doesn't understand, so you want to protect her even as you cheer for her to escape. Teddy is the beautiful flaw, the ungovernable passion at the center of every woman that makes us perfectly imperfect, human, and real." - Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us and The Lost Family
"Revealed through tantalizing flashbacks, brimming with a delicious sense of malevolence and unease, Dunlay's deeply atmospheric debut conjures the decadence of Rome, the duplicity of government officials, and the conflicting expectations of a young woman trying to come into her own." - Booklist (starred review)
"Descriptions of couture dresses, jewelry, and extravagant accessories provide enjoyable eye candy, and it is easy to visualize Teddy's well-clad life in Rome on a big screen in this satisfying meetup of suspense, rom-com, family drama, and historical fiction. Make an Aperol spritz, get out the lounge chair, and enjoy this Roman holiday." - Kirkus Reviews
"The most stylish and compulsive read of the year. Teddy is a voice and a character you will never forget. Made me long to wear Valentino and red lipstick just to do laundry!" - Jennie Godfrey, author of The List of Suspicious Things
"An escapist romp." - Grazia
"Teddy is not just a fabulous historical novel--it's a manifesto against the patriarchy, and a liberating experience of watching a woman free herself." - Crime Reads
"Teddy is an instantly arresting and electrifying read that's not to be missed." - BookPage
"A darkly glamorous blockbuster. Your summer read is sorted." - Sunday Times Style
"Mad Men meets White Lotus." - Red
"Stylish and twisting." - The Times (UK)
"A wild ride and a heck of a lot of fun." - iNews
"Effervescent and cool, Teddy is the perfect read if your trip to Capri gets canceled and your La Dolce Vita itch needs scratching." - Washington Post
"A smart page turner with an irresistible heroine--glamorous, exuberant, and propulsive, this is a story that will stay with me for a long time." - Daisy Buchanan, author of Limelight and Insatiable
"Teddy is a glitteringly glamorous and gossipy trip to 1960s Rome with a chaotically charming protagonist and a transporting setting, all with a mystery at its heart. Dunlay's gorgeously immersive novel will fill a Lessons in Chemistry shaped hole on your shelf (and heart)." - Ellery Lloyd, New York Times Bestselling author of The Club
"I loved the claustrophobic, glamourous world Emily Dunlay has created in Teddy, a heroine who will make your heart flutter. There is a timelessness to Teddy's feelings of constraint and guilt and trying to be all things to all to people, that too many women will still recognise all too well. A heady, steamy novel about desire for people, possessions and ultimately the self." - Araminta Hall, author of Perfect Strangers
"The glamour of La Dolce Vita and the repressive sexism of the 1960s pulse through this captivating exploration of the female psyche." - People
"While this well-executed and cleverly plotted story is a win in itself, there are also overarching explorations of patriarchy, privilege, and freedom that will resonate long after the end. Teddy is an instantly arresting and electrifying read that's not to be missed." - BookPage
