(Enlarge) "Gilded Youth" by Kate Cambor

This summer, it seemed like a new reality show was premiering each week. If you crave some juicy fun but would rather give your brain more of a workout, one of these books about celebrity should do the trick.

"Gilded Youth"

by Kate Cambor

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $26

Celebrity offspring going wild is not a recent phenomenon, as Kate Cambor demonstrates in "Gilded Youth," a biography of Leon Daudet, Jean-Baptiste Charcot and Jeanne Hugo. Leon and Jean-Baptiste were the sons of acclaimed writer Alphonse Daudet and celebrated neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot, respectively, and Jeanne was the granddaughter of Victor Hugo, then France's preeminent man of letters. As the three young people came of age in the late-19th century, they faced a world of glamour and intellectual bustle where all eyes were upon them, but also one of uncertainty over France's, and their own, place in the world.

Leon drifted into rabid anti-Semitism. Jean-Baptiste found his calling exploring the polar seas. And Jeanne married both men, while pining for the man she truly loved. "Gilded Youth" is Cambor's first book, and it is a striking feat of intellectual and social history. Cambor's sense of the tragedy and anxiety surrounding these young people in the shadows of their forebears makes "Gilded Youth" a relevant and deeply rewarding work.

"The Confessions of Edward Day"

by Valerie Martin

Doubleday, $25

Valerie Martin, author of "Mary Reilly" and "Property," returns in fine form with this novel of a man's quest for fame on the New York stage in the 1970s. Edward Day escapes from family tragedy into the world of acting. But little does he know that one careless moment will have consequences as dramatic as any play.

One summer weekend, Edward goes to the Jersey Shore to share a beach house with some fellow thespians. There, he meets Madeleine Delavergne. After a tryst with her on the beach, Edward almost drowns, but Guy Margate, a newcomer to the group, saves him. Edward feels more humiliation than gratitude toward his rescuer, especially when Guy shows romantic interest in Madeleine.

Martin explores the ambiguities and dark humor of this love triangle, which continues for years, to perfection. But Edward's other acquaintances are fascinating characters in their own right, from Marlene Weber, the television star who mentors Edward, to his friend Teddy, who struggles to find love and break free of his wealthy parents. "The Confessions of Edward Day" is a richly entertaining meditation on the price of success.

"Anonymous Celebrity"

by Ignacio de Loyola Brandao

Dalkey Archive, $15.95

The aptly unnamed narrator of "Anonymous Celebrity" is a legend -- in his own mind. This anti-hero will stop at nothing to rid himself of his crippling obscurity. He becomes convinced that the only thing standing between him and public adoration is a man he calls "LA," the lead actor in a soap opera, who happens to look just like him. So with the help of Lenira, LA's assistant, the protagonist slowly begins to assume LA's identity, planning eventually to murder his rival and replace him completely.

This rather straightforward premise belies the novel's structure, a series of the narrator's bawdy, outrageous ravings, interspersed with love letters from his girlfriend, Leticia. Leticia is not to be confused with Lenira, or with Lavinia, the protagonist's wife -- or is she?

Just as the novel's loopiness threatens to grow tiring, Ignacio de Loyola Brandao throws a twist into the works, one that forces a reconsideration of everything that has come before and adds a layer of poignancy to the novel's zaniness.

Rebecca Oppenheimer, a Towson University graduate and National Book Critics' Circle member, dives into the latest books from her home in Stevenson.

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