OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Mistress Suffragette" by Diana Forbes.]

Many of the historical fiction books that I have read have included scenes of ballrooms, worries about fortunes, future, reputation, and honor. This book includes all these elements, yet it has something more. The protagonist of this book makes choices and goes on a journey that will impact her life in a major way. This book also takes a look at the beginning of the suffragette movement and shows the difficulties women faced to get equality.

Mistress Suffragette is written by Diana Forbes and published by Penmore Press. It is a historical fiction set in 1893 America during what was known as the Panic, an economic recession that impacted and destroyed many lives.

Penelope Stanton is at the crossroads of her life. Her old, stable life is crumbling around her, and she must make difficult decisions that will shape her future. The world is experiencing the Panic and her affluent family is one of those who are affected. In order to secure her and the family’s future, her mother tries to push her into the arms of any man that will have her. This is when she meets Mr. Daggers. He is an attractive, rich, and charming man. Save for one problem. Mr. Daggers is already married. However, he does not seem to find this a problem and proposes to make her his mistress. Penelope resists Mr. Daggers offer, and together with her good friend, Lucinda, she leaves for Boston.

Here they meet Verdana, one of the main leaders of the suffrage movement, who is eager for Penelope to join her in the cause. Although at first, she does not have much inclination towards this cause, Penelope soon learns that this is her calling, and becomes heavily involved in the suffrage movement. Penelope thinks that she has run to Boston, away from her troubles, only to find that they seem to follow wherever she goes.

I liked the fact that the book was not predictable, and that the main character Penelope is not flawless. Her career is progressing on the one hand, yet on the other hand, she is regressing in terms of her love life.

I really enjoyed this book and found it both interesting and captivating. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction especially those who would like to get a sense of what it was like for the women who struggled for their rights during this time period and as a reminder of how far we’ve come.

The book has won several awards, such as first place in the Missouri Romance Writers of America(RWA) “Gateway to the Best” contest in Women’s fiction, first place in the Book Excellence Awards for Romance and several other favorable commendations.

Much of the time period is based on true events although not all facts are strictly adhered to, according to the author. Some of the other characters in the book are also inspired by certain individuals who lived at that time.

Some historical fiction books tend to be written in heavy language to portray the language of the time and to seem more historically accurate. However, in this book the style of writing is relatively modern and easy to read. The characters are well crafted, the storyline is interesting, and the book is well written. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.


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Mistress Suffragette
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I enjoy stories with strong female protagonists. The women's suffrage movement was such an interesting time in our nation's history. I hope this author's style of writing will encourage more young women to read about the time period.

Sounds like quite the story. I love that it has all of the historical fiction elements plus something extra. Thanks for a great review.

I enjoy reading aboiut historical fiction and this book has an added element of the revolution. Nice review! Hoing to add this book in my to-read list.

Thanks for the lovely comments. I'm sure you will enjoy this book as much as I did.

This looks like a wonderful historical fiction in an easy-to-read style of writing. I don't often read historical novels, but this review made me curious about it. I enjoyed your review, stoppoppingtheP.

Wonderful historical ficition to me!

I'm passionately interested in the Suffragettes (though I know more about the UK ones) and this sounds like a fascinating read.

Mistress Suffragette sounds like a story I would enjoy reading very much. I am interested in the portrayals of the Panic and the suffrage movement. Thanks for the good review!

I like reading historical books. This book would be nice to read.

I have yet to read anything about the Suffragette movement, which is very strange now that I think about it. This sounds like an interesting introduction to the subject.

I will go for it. Thank you.

I really enjoy reading historical literature, especially those books that talk about women's rights and have strong female characters. This book sounds so perfect for me, thank you for your honest review! In my opinion, the problem with historical fiction is the fact that it's often too dry and purely informative and doesn't feel like a story but more like a lecture. So I appreciate that this book is written more like a story despite following factual events that took place in history.

Love to read.. Because its not predictable so you can enjoy reading

Now this is one book I should pick up. I like that the protagonist is portrayed as a flawed human being.