⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I love reading books that have strong female characters, especially so when they fight against injustice, however they may do so. The Madness of Mrs. Whittaker has such a character, in Mae Whittaker, who fights for justice for the poor women being ill-treated in asylums.
Mae accompanies her sister-in-law to a mourning circle, a spiritualism group in disguise, when her dying husband makes her promise to. However, when Mae’s father seemingly tries to contact her, instead, Mae starts getting scared. When her mother-in-law, though, has her sent to an asylum, thoughts of spirits leave her mind, and she has to focus on the now and here instead.
There is nothing worse, in my opinion, than reading about a strong character who is broken down until they do not know if they can trust those around them, and is scared that they no longer deserve love. Mae’s story is one that brought me to tears, for she is such an incredibly lovely woman, and a fantastic mother, and she should never have been treated in such a way.
The thing that I found with this novel, is that it is extremely realistic. These things happened to women and, often I assume, their stories did not include any form of justice or recompense. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, and I will certainly be doing so again.
While exploring the remote possibility of contacting her dead husband through a spirit medium, a young widow is pronounced insane and committed to an asylum against her will. As she struggles to escape the nightmare she’s been thrust into, she is stripped of everything she holds dear, including her identity and her reason to live. The fight to reclaim what is rightfully hers will test every aspect of her being, up to and including her sanity. Is she up to the task, or has her grip on reality already slipped away?
Book Six of The Golden City series, The Madness of Mrs. Whittaker explores two major forces of early twentieth century America: the religious movement called Spiritualism and treatment of the mentally ill. Like all of A.B. Michaels’ novels, it is a stand-alone read.
If you would like to read this series then click on the book title's name and it will take you to your favourite digital store (the books are in series order):
A native of California, A.B. Michaels holds masters’ degrees in history (UCLA) and broadcasting (San Francisco State University). After working for many years as a promotional writer and editor, she turned to writing fiction, which is the hardest thing she's ever done besides raise two boys. She lives with her husband and two spoiled dogs in Boise, Idaho, where she is often distracted by playing darts and bocce and trying to hit a golf ball more than fifty yards. Reading, quilt-making and travel figure into the mix as well, leading her to hope that sometime soon, someone invents a 25+ hour day.
Social Media Links:
I LOVE the cover of this book, it is striking.
ReplyDeleteGreat review.
I really enjoyed this book as well. It is a great read, that is for sure!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for reviewing my book. I'd like to say I embellished a lot of what happens to Mae, but my research showed otherwise. So glad we have improved since then!
ReplyDelete