The Recessionistas

By Alexandra Lebenthal (Trade Paperback, 2011)

It's the day after Labor Day, 2008, and the elite universe of New York's Upper East Side is about to unravel along with the economy. Socialite Grigsby Somerset is barely aware of her changing world, and has no idea her investment banker husband Blake is about to enter into a devil's bargain with hedge fund owner John Cutter. As autumn unfolds, Grigsby's fairytale life starts to unwind. Street-smart Renee Parker has been hired as John's executive assistant and is convinced that something is amiss with her new boss. Renee enlists her friend Sasha Silver, CEO of Silver Partners, to help her decipher what is happening. They soon discover that John is nearly ruined, except for the assets he is hiding in the Cayman Islands from his wife Mimi, and has concocted with Blake a scheme to redeem himself. This tale of expulsion from a modern-day Garden of Eden captures what happens when economic decline spells ruin for Manhattan's pampered elite.

Full Description

Buy This Book

- Format: Trade Paperback
- Price: $16.99 US/$19.99 CAN
- ISBN-13: 9780446563680
- On Sale Date: 08/15/2011
- Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Full Details
Formats Available: Trade Paperback, Electronic Book
Newsletter

Don't miss updates about our authors, including book tour info and new book releases.

Sign Up

Alexandra Lebenthal is the socially prominent President and CEO of Lebenthal & Co, and its wealth management division, Alexandra & James Inc. Her father is Jim Lebenthal, who made his name in municipal bonds. She also serves as a board member of the School of American Ballet and is involved with several other leading New York cultural institutions including The Business Council of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Capital Campaign for the Museum of the City of New York, the American Museum of Natural History, and the New York Botanical Garden.

"THE RECESSIONISTAS is a romp of a book. It is fun and funny, devilish and decadent, wry and witty. It is also a razor-edged portrait of that sui generis creature known as the Manhattan upper east sider oh so painfully learning that life is not always a billion-dollar hedge fund." (Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights and contributing editor, Vanity Fair).
"No one but Alexandra Lebenthal-- part financial wizardress, part keen social observer-- could write this unflinching portrait of New York's neo-gilded age, pre-and-post Wall Street apocalypse." (Jill Kargman, author of The Ex-Mrs. Hedgefund).
"As only she could do so well--given her platinum pedigree and Wall Street cred--Alexandra Lebenthal has written a smart, sassy novel that peers into a world of wealth and privilege turned on its crazy head. This is a dishy, divine first novel." (William Cohan, New York Times bestselling author of House of Cards ).
"A rollicking debut by an author who clearly knows the secrets of the boom -- and the bust." (Mark Seal, contributing editor, Vanity Fair).
"This is a book Balzac would have enjoyed. I loved every minute of their spectacular fall." (Jesse Kornbluth, contributor, HuffingtonPost.com ).