Review: A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler

Release Date: October 16, 2018

A leader of the woman's suffrage movement, Alva Vanderbilt (nee Smith) rejected much about the social convention of her time, and yet arguably also beat them at their own game. If you can't join them, beat them.

The first half of this was a little boring. I know it was setting the scene for Alva coming into her own later on, and we did get to see sparks of the woman she would become, but much of it was just inane snobbish chatter. I suppose it's fitting because that's probably exactly how Alva felt about it too, but it didn't make for the best reading. If we'd gotten to see a bit more of that sarcastic wit that occasionally flared up in Alva, even just internally, it probably would have been a lot more entertaining.

Additionally, I kept waiting for this to turn more political and see how Alva became so important to the suffrage movement, but we actually see very little of that, and only at the very end. It's definitely more about her earlier private life, which could have been more interesting if her characterization was fuller.

Still, watching Alva go from dutiful daughter, sister, wife, and mother to taking her fate and future into her own hands was very fulfilling and I was cheering her on the whole time. About the last third of the book is when it gets most interesting.

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Review: The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis

Release Date: August 7, 2018

Revolving around the Grand Central Terminal of New York City, we are told the story of two different women in two different time periods. Slow paced but beautifully written, we gradually learn about the growing success of illustrator and artist Clara Darden just before the Depression and a tragic accident ruins her life. Fast forward, Virginia Clay in the 1970s is still reeling from surviving breast cancer only for her husband to divorce her. When she stumbles upon an old art school that used to exist in the Grand Central Terminal, she suddenly finds meaning and purpose in discovering what happened to Clara Darden and who the mysterious artist who called himself 'Clyde' really was. That's not to say it's a mystery. This novel is very much about the journey and learning about the characters, who are well fleshed out.

I adored the detailed descriptions of artwork and fashion and although it was slow paced, it was never boring. I enjoyed reading about both women come into their own and rediscover themselves.

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Review: The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers

Advanced review copy from publisher via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Release Date: January 10, 2017

This novel about a young woman who is thrust into a hard life as the wife of an absent soldier and farmer during the American Civil War is told through letters, diaries, and other documents. At only 17 years old, and after only one week at her new home, she is left alone to care for her husband's farm and his son by his previous marriage as he returns to the battle front. When he finally returns two years later, he finds his young wife has given birth to another man's child in his absence, and is being accused of murdering the infant.

I struggled to read this at first, because all dialogue described through the letters or journals is completely unquoted. I'm not sure why, because any quote should be in quotation marks, regardless of whether it's within a letter or diary or not. It was very difficult to know whether the start of a sentence was going to be narrative or dialogue until you reached the end of the sentence. It felt very disjointed.

But the other reviewers seemed to rave about it, so I stuck with it, and it did get easier to read. However, I found myself simply not caring very much about the characters or what happened to them, and I struggled to finished it.

Review: My Notorious Life by Kate Manning

Loosely based on real-life 19th century abortionist and birth control advocate Madam Restell, My Notorious Life tells the story of Axie Muldoon, a orphaned street urchin whose is separated from her siblings. With a little bit of Irish luck and a lot of eagerness to learn, Axie gains an education in the midwifery trade from the woman who tried to save her mother from the cruel fate from child bed fever. Her skills and overwhelming need to save women the way her mother could not be saved would lead her to money, fame and infamy.

I have to admit, when I started reading this, I half expected to not finish it. There are some very annoying writing traits, such as the intentionally poor grammar even in the narration, the censorship of profanity, the lack of quotation marks to indicate dialogue, and the use of all caps to emphasize words instead of something like italics. I understand this is supposed to be the diary of the main character and the censored words, for example, were supposed to be crossed out by Axie's husband after her death. But that doesn't mean it's not annoying and I seriously considered abandoning it several times in the beginning.

But given the overwhelmingly good feedback from other readers, I kept on and I'm very glad I did. This is a powerful story about women's position in society, their rights, and their options in life. It is both tragic and inspiring. With compelling characters and rich historical details, it was more than worth the annoyance of a few distracting writing traits which you will soon adapt to.

Axie's life was actually fairly different from her real-life counterpart, Madam Restell, but the foundation is there. They certainly share the same trade and beliefs, they both worked as maids in their youth, they both had one child, and they both were victims of Anthony Comstock. Many of the details of the public scandal, arrest, and trial were taken directly from Restell's experience. While I really wanted Axie's story to be true, I can understand why the author chose the creative freedom of a fictional character because she certainly knows how to weave an amazing yet believable story. You can read more about the real Madam Restell from 'Scandalous Women' blog. There is also a biography of her titled The Wickedest Woman in New York: Madame Restell, the Abortionist, but it might be difficult to find. And if you're like me and want to read some of the actual newspaper articles about her, head on over to Chronicling America from the Library of Congress where you'll find free access to historical newspapers.