Kindle
$9.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$10.48
Paperback
$25.61
Kindle Price: $9.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $17.71

Save: $8.22 (46%)

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

John Jakes
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Gods of Newport Kindle Edition

by John Jakes (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 651 ratings
See all formats and editions
From the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of North and South, “the best historical novelist of our time” (Patricia Cornwell).

In the late nineteenth century, Newport, Rhode Island-with its giant marble mansions, lavish dinner parties, and vicious social climbing- is a summer playground of the very rich. Into this rarefied world comes infamous railroad mogul and robber baron Sam Driver. He wants his beautiful daughter to have the best Newport has to offer-even if that means breaking all the rules...
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    412 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Berkley
  5. Publication date
    November 7, 2006
  6. Reading age
    14 years and up
  7. File size
    1171 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

True love confronts Gilded Age class hierarchy in Jakes's latest engaging historical potboiler. Railroad tycoon Sam Driver sets out to conquer the summer resort of Newport, R.I., at the 1890s pinnacle of its glamour—and snootiness—in order to avenge its snubbing of his dead wife and find a prestigious match for his daughter, Jenny. It's a world ruled by New York socialites, where the slightest blemish of background or breach of protocol triggers ostracism. Sam struggles to conform while fending off the efforts of an old rival to exclude him, but Jenny throws a monkey wrench into things by falling in love with a handsome, lower-class Irishman. Jakes serves up a melodrama—and satire—of the tyranny of social convention with a girl-power ending. It doesn't always ring true, especially when Sam pressures Jenny to marry the obviously villainous Count Orlov, and action set pieces like a tennis match and a carriage race are less than gripping. But Jakes is a fluent storyteller, and his meticulous reconstruction of fin-de-siècle excess will have fans savoring the lavish details of jewelry, fashion, food and follies. (Nov. 7)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The prolific Jakes scores with a lush new historical saga set on the glamorous, windswept shores of late-nineteenth-century Newport, Rhode Island, the summer playground of the fabulously wealthy. Newport society is ruled by a small but powerful clique of old-money social arbiters. When railroad mogul and former robber baron Sam Driver arrives in Newport in 1893, he is determined to break into the elite inner circle that has tantalized him for the past few decades. Sam's social ambitions also involve his breathtakingly beautiful daughter, Jenny. Although Sam forces Jenny into a loveless marriage with a titled scoundrel, her heart belongs to an impoverished but charming young Irishman. Despite the fact that the recycled plot is a bit worn around the edges, Jakes displays his characteristic flair for class melodrama when he parallels the world of the rich and careless with the world of the hardscrabble underclass who work tirelessly to enable their "social betters" to indulge in their summer idylls. He has fashioned yet another breezy, easy-to-read piece of historical fiction, sure to please his many fans. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000OCXFZG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (November 7, 2006)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 7, 2006
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1171 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 412 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 651 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
John Jakes

John Jakes

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

John Jakes (b. 1932), the author of more than a dozen novels, is regarded as one of today’s most distinguished writers of historical fiction. His work includes the highly acclaimed Kent Family Chronicles series and the North and South Trilogy. Jakes’s commitment to historical accuracy and evocative storytelling earned him the title of “the godfather of historical novelists” from the Los Angeles Times and led to a streak of sixteen consecutive New York Times bestsellers. Jakes has received several awards for his work and is a member of the Authors Guild and the PEN American Center. He and his wife, Rachel, live on the west coast of Florida.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
651 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

paula
5.0 out of 5 stars gods of newport
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2011
Verified Purchase
I am a collector of john jakes books. he is a very good author and makes his novels very interesting and exciting. i purchased the gods of newport as i have not been able to find it in this area. it is an exciting and fast moving book, thrills around every corner. just when you think you may have solved the question, you dont.
before i purchased the book, i would have liked to see a list of other john jakes books from the company i got it from, so that i might save on postage.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Valigirl
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but basically a pulp novel
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2017
Verified Purchase
Good book, but basically a pulp novel. I read the John Jakes Bicentennial Books series while in high school and thoroughly enjoyed them. However, either my tastes have changed (evolved as I have aged and read more books), or the author has taken a turn to the more “pulpy” type novel, and far less historical. Will most likely not read another Jakes novel.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Dee Paradis
3.0 out of 5 stars Simple with no depth
Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2019
Verified Purchase
I found that as a John Jakes novel it lacked depth and intensity. It was more a "tra la la" book, nearly like he was expected to write a book, so he did. His others are SO much better in content, history and thought.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
R. Boyd
5.0 out of 5 stars New money trying to be accepted by “old” money.
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2020
Verified Purchase
If you want to experience the turn of the 19th century in vivid color, read this book. It’s about the social elite and their summers in Newport, Rhode Island. Sam Driver is a man who came up the hard way. He married a stage dancer who was not considered worthy of high society. She is shot to death by a man who had a grudge against her husband and he was left with a teenage daughter. He had become very wealthy (new money) and was determined that his daughter be accepted into the social elite. There are many consequences for him and his daughter as she falls in love with a young Irishman but marries the Count her father approves of.
John Jakes is my favorite author and it’s a treat for me to read anything he’s written.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Kathryn K. Sanders
4.0 out of 5 stars Slow beginning, but it picks up speed
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2022
Verified Purchase
After starting this book, I nearly put it down, but I persevered because, with few exceptions, I enjoy reading 0John Jakes. The parts about the railroads and how people made their money I could have done without. If his description of the 'Gilded Age' is accurate, I would have hated to live during those times. The rich were unbelievably snobbish and lived by a set of incredibly discriminatory rules. It is a tribute to John Jakes that after the first few chaoters, he kept me riveted.
Helpful
 Report
See Are
5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and engrossing look at Newport's golden age.
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2017
Verified Purchase
An engaging story taking place in a beautiful and historic city. Having visited many of the homes there and being familiar with the area made it so believable. Anyone planning a trip to Newport should read this book...it will make your visit more interesting. It's an excellent book even if you're not visiting Newport.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
gailweisgerber
5.0 out of 5 stars John Jakes never fails to tell a great story!!!
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2021
Verified Purchase
Newport is one of my favorite places to visit. I have toured all the Mansions and even attended Halloween costume parties at one of them. While reading the book I could picture some of the places talked about in the story. I really enjoyed this book. Thank you Mr Jakes.
Helpful
 Report
violet
4.0 out of 5 stars Fan of Edward Herrmann Reading
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is not my favorite book. The storyline gets a little far-fetched as it progresses. But it is a pleasant enough tale. Reviews I read before purchase indicated the book was in the 3 1/2 star range. I would give it 3 /12 as well - if that was an option. I had the CD edition. I'm a big fan of Edward Herrmann's performances with audiobooks and that significantly influenced my selection of this book.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Sandra Brethauer
4.0 out of 5 stars The Gods of Newport by John Jakes
Reviewed in Canada on June 11, 2012
Verified Purchase
Like all other titles written by John Jakes the book just holds your interest and you can't put it down. Love his characters, period of the tale and the way the story unfolds. If John Jakes name appears as author, it's considered a MUST READ for me.
Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report