By Invitation Only: A Novel

Dorothea Benton Frank

May 2018 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this eBook

“If I could only read one writer from now until the end of my life, it would be Dorothea Benton Frank.” --Elin Hilderbrand, New York Times bestselling author of The Identicals

The Lowcountry of South Carolina is where By Invitation Only begins at a barbecue engagement party thrown by Diane English Stiftel, her brother Floyd, and her parents to celebrate her son’s engagement. On this gorgeous, magical night, the bride’s father, Alejandro Cambria, a wealthy power broker whose unbelievably successful career in private equity made him one of Chicago’s celebrated elite, discovers the limits and possibilities of cell phone range. While the mother of the bride, Susan Kennedy Cambria, who dabbles in the world of public relations and believes herself deserving of every square inch of her multimillion-dollar penthouse and imaginary carrara marble pedestal, learns about moonshine and dangerous liaisons.

Soon By Invitation Only zooms to Chicago, where the unraveling accelerates. Nearly a thousand miles away from her comfortable, familiar world, Diane is the antithesis of the bright lights and super-sophisticated guests attending her son Fred’s second engagement party. Why a second party? Maybe it had been assumed that the first one wouldn’t be up to snuff? Fred is marrying Shelby Cambria, also an only child. The Cambrias’ dearest wish is for their daughter to be happy. If Shelby wants to marry Frederick, aka Fred, they will not stand in her way—although Susan does hope her friends won’t think her daughter is marrying more than a few degrees beneath her socially. At the same time, Diane worries that her son will be lost to her forever.

By Invitation Only is a tale of two families, one struggling to do well, one well to do, and one young couple—the privileged daughter of Chicago’s crème de la crème and the son of hard -working Southern peach farmers.

Dorothea Benton Frank offers a funny, sharp, and deeply empathetic novel of two very different worlds—of limousines and pickup trucks, caviars and pigs, skyscrapers and ocean spray—filled with a delightful cast of characters who all have something to hide and a lot to learn. A difference in legal opinions, a headlong dive from grace, and an abrupt twist will reveal the truth of who they are and demonstrate, when it truly counts, what kind of grit they have. Are they living the life they want, what regrets do they hold, and how would they remake their lives if they were given the invitation to do so?

By Invitation Only is classic Dorothea Benton Frank—a mesmerizing Lowcountry Tale that roars with spirit, humor, and truth, and forces us to reconsider our notions of what it means to be a Have or a Have Not.

Ratings and reviews

Not having read this author before, I was intrigued by the “culture shock’ promised in this book: coming from the urban north to the quiet farm life on a Lowcountry farm. Fred is a South Carolina native, living and working in the family farm where his family has been for years. Shelby is from Chicago, daughter of well-to-do parents and far removed from the ‘get dirty and work the land” as is possible. Meeting in college, Shelby and Fred were inseparable and decided to marry – and then the conflicts started. Fred’s mother Diane lives in her childhood home on the farm, as far removed from the pampered social-centric life as Shelby’s mother Susan lives as possible. Wanting to be involved and celebrate her son’s upcoming wedding, Diane is planning a friends and family heavy engagement party, complete with a pig roast and lots of laughter: relaxed and low-key, she’s opened the invitation to Shelby’s mother and step-father. Susan and Alejandro arrive via private jet to the country, and it’s fair to say that Susan and Diane have little in common beyond their children. Susan carried herself with a chip of removed superiority at the party, unimpressed and barely warming up to anyone by Fred’s uncle Floyd. Not long after, a larger more opulent party in Chicago, also to celebrate the engagement, is in the works – with Susan arranging the event. Niether Fred nor Shelby want something so over the top and formal, and when Susan declined, the worlds collided again – Fred’s family utterly unprepared for the ‘celebrity level’ party and plans Susan has put forward. Constantly trying to rein in Susan’s plans for the wedding has both Fred and Shelby on edge – they want intimate and smaller – a celebration of their love, not an extravaganza. And then, Fred’s grandfather dies just before Thanksgiving, and the couple decided to move their wedding forward five months which also serves to cut out some of the more over the top elements her mother was planning. With a showdown over the wedding, the rehearsal dinner and the ongoing struggles after the death of Fred’s grandfather – the couple can’t wait to find some away time to regroup and reconnect after the wedding. Sure enough, the challenges don’t end with the wedding and former ‘in laws’ both have struggles to wade through, and sometimes that means the people you’d least expect to be in your corner from first impressions are the family that you come rely on as you heal and find a way to move forward. A lovely story of family and acceptance that is ripe with southern hospitality, honest emotion and plenty of obstacles that are overcome. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via Edelweiss for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

I truly enjoy her books because they are so heartwarming and true to life. I felt as though I was part of the family of Diane and Virnell. This books teaches you that be careful how you treat people because you never know when you need them. Susan didn't realize that the person she didn't like her care for was the person that would be there for her. This book makes you check yourself and realize that things can change in an winkling of an eye!

Susan Kennedy Cambria and her husband Alejandro are part of Chicago’s wealthy elite class. And, although Susan adores Frederick Stiftel, her future son-in-law, she worries that her daughter is marrying below her. Frederick was raised on a farm, in Low Country, South Carolina, after all, and not in a city, like the Cambria’s. Diane Stiftel loved her son Fred, and although, she truly wanted to get along with his fiancee’s mother, Susan Cambria, she was not about to allow the woman to bully her about wedding plans. I found the banter between the Stiftel’s family hysterical; as well as the engagement party held by them in South Carolina. When wealthy over-the-top-snobbish Susan Cambria and her friends came to South Carolina, they got a full, in-your-face, eye-opening introduction into farm life and southern hospitality. I love the Stiftel family, especially, Diane. She’s a giving, kind, and wholesome woman. Susan Cambria on-the-other-hand is just the opposite. She and her husband Alejandro are about to learn a couple of hard-earned lessons. Unfortunately, life’s greatest awakenings don’t come as a spur-of-the-moment, brilliant idea, but occur at the tail-end of an excruciating and agonizing experience. By Invitation Only is a hilarious as well as a poignant read. The characters are well-crafted and engaging; the plot captivating and the dialogue witty. I absolutely loved it. By Invitation Only is a quality read and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

About the author

New York Times bestseller Dorothea Benton Frank was born and raised on Sullivans Island, South Carolina. Until her passing in 2019, Dorothea and her husband split their time between New Jersey and South Carolina. A contemporary voice of the South, Dorothea Benton Frank was beloved by fans and friends alike since her debut novel Sullivans Island. Readers from coast to coast fell for the quick wit and the signature humor that permeated her many bestselling novels.