The Secret Book Society

Finished July 19

The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin

This historical novel focuses on a group of women struggling for control in their own lives in 1895. A widow, Lady Duxbury, has invited select women to tea at her home. She has sent a separate note via private means letting them know that it will involve more than tea, and that they have been asked for a reason. 

Eleanor Clarke is a young woman from a titled background, whose American husband wanted her to elevate his standing in society. He is brutish and cruel, limits her time with their young son, and controls almost everything in her life. The one thing she still has some autonomy for is her clothing. He also beats her in private, leaving marks mostly hidden by her clothing. 

Rose Wharton is an American woman from a loving family and married her husband, the second son of an Earl for love. But now his elder brother, the present Earl, is ill and Rose's husband will become the Earl soon. The current Earl is, for lack of a better word, training his brother for his duties and sets expectations on Rose as well, none of which she meets. It doesn't seem to matter how hard she tried, the Earl is always disappointed and Rose feels her husband is also disappointed in her. He has begun to limit her reading material, and be critical of her. Rose has struggled to be accepted in English society, due to her being American, and longs to make friends and have a happier life. She also suspects that she might be pregnant and is worried about telling her husband. 

Lavinia Cavendish is the oldest daughter in a titled family. She is emotional and bookish, and her grandmother was sent to a madhouse. Her father has been critical of her strong emotions lately, and has limited her reading material, and also her mother's reading material. It was her mother who was invited to tea, but she feels Lavinia will benefit from the opportunity. Lavinia's younger sister is soon to be presented and her father is worried about reputation. There is the threat of sending Lavinia away, similar to how her grandmother was treated. 

As the women open themselves to each other, connect through reading books, and begin to have that external support system, they also become more confident in themselves. Lavinia, in particular, finds writing poetry lets her express her emotions safely on the page and lets her be more calm in her daily life. She also attracts a suitor who is more progressive and understanding in nature than her father. 

This was an interesting study of women's lives in high society at a certain time, and emphasizes how little control they had over their own activities. I enjoyed it, and the ending seems to open the possibility for future books. 

Alice James

Finished January 14

Alice James: A Biography by Jean Strouse

I bought this book from the publisher a few years ago, started it, then got distracted by other things so just picked it up again. 

Alice James is the middle child and only girl in her family, and the younger sister of famous American novelist Henry James. Her other older brother, William wrote works on philosophy and psychology and both were close to her in different ways. Her father, Henry James Sr. was a doting father, but discouraged women's academic and political endeavours. The family moved between Europe and New York City when she was a young child, eventually settling in Cambridge when her older brothers were in high school. 

Emily made friends with the women in her community, and participated in some social get-togethers, particularly in work for the U.S. Civil War. As she came into her adulthood she struggled with nervous disorders, and was limited in her aspects by her father's expectations as well as social convention. 

She was a good writer herself, observant of human behaviour and of her surroundings. 

After her parents' deaths, she spent some time in the country and eventually moved to England to be near Henry, as well as near physicians that she hoped would provide a solution to her ongoing health issues. With her during her final years was her close friend Katherine Loring who was entrusted with her diary, and later made copies for her brothers. 

This is an interesting book, shining light on a woman I wasn't aware of before. Alice was an intelligent and well-read woman, who was constrained by the time she lived in. At times her health seems related to her feelings about herself and her place in the world, but ultimately it revealed itself as genuine physical maladies. I found it interesting to see her brothers' reactions to her diary after getting copies as well as how they interacted with her throughout her life. An interesting read. 

Weyward

Finished May 2

Weyward by Emilia Hart

This book has three timelines. One is in 2019 when Kate flees her controlling boyfriend in London for a neglected cottage she inherited from her great aunt. One is in 1942, when her great-aunt Violet is placed into a difficult position by her family. And one is in 1619 when teenage Altha is put on trial for witchcraft. 

Altha was taught herbal medicine and healing by her mother, who has recently passed away. Other healers have warned them about the growing accusations of witchcraft and Altha's mother has taken care to hide some of the activities that would endanger them. Altha continues to heal those who come to her, and act as a midwife, but it is the request of an old friend that puts her into the situation that she has found herself in. 

Violet's mother died when she was a toddler, and she has only vague memories of her. Her father is strict and has her educated privately, but she longs for the boarding school education her younger brother receives and often borrows his textbooks. Violet is particularly drawn to nature and spends as much time outdoors as she can, although her father frowns on her behaviour. She is warned to be on her best behaviour when a previously unknown cousin comes to visit on a leave from the war. He seems nice and she agrees to spend time with him, but her innocence puts her into a dangerous situation. She must draw on her connection to nature and on hidden information from her mother to find a way forward. 

Kate has been with her boyfriend for a few years, and has gradually lost other connections in her life due to his controlling behaviour. Now he wants her to conform in another way, and she can see that her last chance to escape may be at hand. She takes that chance, running to the neglected cottage, and building a new life there, but she is always under the threat that he might find her again. 

These women's stories are of the way patriarchal society controls women by various means, and of these particular women who find a way to escape that control, even when it means losing something. I really enjoyed all three different stories and how each of them found an inner strength to use the skills they had to make their own way in life. All of them also had someone else in their life, either family or community that helped them in some way. 

A compelling read. 

My Life as a Villainess

Finished February 25

My Life as a Villainess by Laura Lippman

This collection of  fifteen personal essays covers many aspects of Lippman's life, from her later in life motherhood to her time as a rookie reporter in Waco, Texas to the wonder of reheating leftovers in a double boiler. 

The book is organized into four sections, each with a few essays, along with an introduction that tells us how she came to write personal essays in the first place. I came to this book having enjoyed her fiction and found myself quickly enjoying her open style when discussing different aspects and events in her life. As she says in the introduction, there are portions of her life not covered here, but what she has included is interesting and relatable. 

Her opening essay is on the mental struggle for women between the body they have and the body society tells them they should have. It's magnificent. 

The essays aren't in chronological order about her life, but are grouped roughly into four sections where they feel that they belong with each other. 

I read this book one essay at a time, taking breaks between them and found them emotionally moving and reminding me of aspects of my own life. 

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club

Finished February 12

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

This novel was a delightful read. It takes place in the summer of 1919, and follows several young people who are adjusting to life after the war. Many of the women worked during the war, and have now found themselves without those jobs. Some are trying to survive on the small war widows pensions by augmenting it by other work. They aren't the only ones seemingly locked out of the work they had been doing. Men who were injured also find themselves treated as incapable. 

The central character here is Constance Haverhill. Constance's mother grew up with another woman who married into a titled family, while Constance's mother married a farmer. They continued to call each other best friends, but it seems like Lady Mercer treated her friend as an unpaid worker, often calling on her to help with childcare and other household endeavours. During the war, Constance worked as estate manager for the Mercers, but found herself quickly ousted when the war ended. With her mother dead from the influenza epidemic, she found herself called on to nurse Lady Mercer's mother, Mrs. Fog when she was ill. Her 'reward' is to act as companion to Mrs. Fog while she convalesces at a seaside hotel. 

But it is in this town that both Constance and Mrs. Fog encounter second chances. Constance meets another young woman her age, Poppy Wirrall. Poppy is also the daughter in a titled family, and she spent the war, along with other young women, working as motorcycle messengers. Poppy has started a small company offering motorcycle taxi (using sidecars) and delivery services, with a variety of young women employed part-time doing this work. Some have other jobs or widows pensions that they augment by working for her. 

Poppy's brother was a pilot during the war, and lost part of one leg in action. He is back at home, but depressed by the loss of many men he considered friends, and the inability of others to consider him employable. 

Constance is a calming force to Poppy's impulsiveness and exuberance, and as she begins to take chances, and open herself up to other possibilities in her life, I found myself hoping for a more promising future for her than she expected at the book's beginning. 

I also enjoyed Mrs. Fog, watching her go from recovering invalid to putting her own wishes first, despite the pressure of those she'd given into previously. 

I also found the story of the German waiter Klaus Zeiger touching. He is the quintessential waiter, always observant, mindful of propriety, and empathetic to the needs of those he serves. He is also highly aware of his ethnic baggage and how it has affected his life both during the war and now. I really appreciated that Constance saw him as a person, beyond his role. 

This is a novel of a time of great changes and adjustments and not all of them are fair or pleasant. This novel has moments of outrage, sadness, and joy. Well worth reading.