Mutual Interest: : Olivia Wolfgang-Smith: Bloomsbury Publishing

Mutual Interest

Description

"A timeless queer love story and a meditation on power, capitalism, and the flow of history . . . This novel is a revelation and a joy.” -Anna North, New York Times bestselling author of Outlawed

A classic in the making: a mesmerizing novel about marriage and ambition, sexuality and secrecy, and the true costs of building an empire.

At the turn of the 20th century, Vivian Lesperance is determined to flee her origins in Utica, New York, and avoid repeating her parents' dull, limited life. When she meets Oscar Schmidt, a middle manager at a soap company, Vivian finds a partner she can guide to build the life she wants-not least because, more interested in men himself, Oscar will leave Vivian to tend to her own romances with women.

But Vivian's plans require capital, so the two pair up with Squire Clancey, scion of an old American fortune. Together they found Clancey & Schmidt, a preeminent manufacturer of soap, perfume, and candles. When Oscar and Squire fall in love, the trio form a new kind of partnership.

Vivian reaches the pinnacle of her power building Clancey & Schmidt into an empire of personal care products while operating behind the image of both men. But exposure threatens, and all three partners are made aware of how much they have to lose.

For readers of Hernan Diaz's Trust and Colm Tóibín's The Magician, with echoes of Gustave Flaubert and E.M. Forster, Mutual Interest is a beguiling story of queer romance, empire, and power.

Product details

Published	08 May 2025
Format	Hardback
Edition	1st
Extent	336
ISBN	9781639733323
Imprint	Bloomsbury Publishing
Dimensions	235 x 156 mm
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

Olivia Wolfgang-Smith writes with gusto, confidence and humor, and it's a magical combination. Vivian Lesperance is a delightful, brilliant woman vying to enter a society that has no room for her, and I rooted for Vivian every step of the way. But it's the love story that beats at the heart of this novel that won me completely: Squire and Oscar forever and ever.

Ann Napolitano, New York Times bestselling author of HELLO BEAUTIFUL and DEAR EDWARD
A glittering portrait of post-Gilded Age New York, Mutual Interest is also a timeless queer love story and a meditation on power, capitalism, and the flow of history. Wolfgang-Smith's writing is as wise as it is witty; this novel is a revelation and a joy.

Anna North, New York Times Bestselling author of Outlawed
A sumptuous delight . . . as witty as it is deadly serious, as joyous as it is razor-sharp. I loved every single brilliant page.

Clare Beams, author of THE GARDEN
The alluring world of Mutual Interest is populated by a remarkable, defiant cast of characters . . . Olivia Wolfgang-Smith has created something towering, labyrinthine, and utterly captivating.

Temim Fruchter, author of CITY OF LAUGHTER
Deeply imagined and immersive . . . I needed this novel, both for its cathartic devastation and the hope found in its wreckage.

New York Times Book Review on GLASSWORKS
Glassworks warrants our attention and our admiration. With its gripping turns and subtle prose, it is a near-perfect debut.

Washington Post on GLASSWORKS