Rittenhouse Square

Journalist and novelist Zellerbach ( Cavett Manor ) breaks into hardcover with this snappy rags-to-riches tale of love, revenge and real estate. Dynamic beauty Vittoria ``Torie'' Di Angelo, whose father is in prison for attempted bribery, rises from humble beginnings in South Philly to become Philadelphia's wonder-woman developer. Having been taunted as a girl in the mayor's mansion on fashionable Rittenhouse Square, Torie vows to raze the crumbling buildings there and reconstruct it with towers of steel and glass. But the snobbish Old Guard clings to historic preservation, detesting Torie's vision of the city. As she fights her way to the top, Torie collects lovers, sycophants and foes--men who don't hesitate to call her a Judas and a puttana . Before finding the right man, Torie tangles with her slippery cousin Tony Silvano; an arrogant socialist architect, Nielson Hughes; and PR man Ellory Davis, who smoothes her rough-diamond exterior without destroying her fire. Besides creating a heroine who is brainy, tough and simpatica , Zellerbach provides an impressively detailed view of the urban renewal scene. (Feb.)