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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
The story is a triumph to show what can happen when we see the true character inside a person. Set in Philadelphia in the 1850s when slavery was still legal. Mickelbury introduces us to a cast of characters not to be forgotten. A talented seamstress who passes as a man when needed; a Scottish ex-Pinkerton agent; runaway slaves, abolitionists; and the blackmailers; slave catchers and owners they fight against. The book features forbidden romance, and offers us the true version of a chosen family. All told in Mickelbury's eloquent prose, the story immerses us the history and the culture of the time. I highly recommend it.
I wish this had been a duology instead of a novel. There was a huge amount of material here: an action-packed historical setting, an interesting lead and a great collection of ideas. Unfortunately, most of the book felt rushed. New characters are introduced at a constant clip, often quite suddenly. Relationships develop just as quickly, evolving from a kind gesture to I-will-murder-anyone-who-hurts-you in the space of a few chapters. There was some Sapphic content, but you'll miss it if you blink. I really wanted to love this book, but in the end I struggled to connect with it.
Gripping, emotional, and suspenseful! This book features an endearing cast of characters centered around Genie, an escaped slave living in 1850's Philadelphia. Found family, the Underground Railroad, romance, and so much more!
Penny Micklebury braids together the historic, romance, and thriller genres in a story about personal and racial relationships and found family in Philadelphia on the eve of the Civil War. Eugenia Oliver (who sometimes operates as Eugene) escaped slavery and navigated the complexities of establishing herself as a professional seamstress and supporting less fortunate community members while also participating in the Underground Railroad. Some of her priorities change when chance brings her together with Abigail Read, a wealthy woman who traded the expectations of high society to turn her family home into a boarding house. Initially, the two are allies in solving a mysterious disappearance, but then they fall in love and things get more complicated.
Micklebury depicts the free black community of Philadelphia in vivid detail, including the layered complications of navigating a society that isn’t as free as it pretends to be. (Note: Micklebury is black and specifically focuses on telling black women’s stories across the whole range of genres she writes in.) Her descriptive prose painted the setting so you could feel the cobblestones and the bite of the winter chill. Eugenia is a complex and engaging character and I look forward to reading more about her. (A sequel is evidently in the works.) The multiple layers of the plot kept the story moving forward (even when they didn’t quite connect with each other) without backgrounding the romantic thread.
There were a few aspects of the story that worked less well for me. The point of view was a bit erratic and I often had to re-read passages to be clear whose emotions we were feeling. The economic and social context of Abigail Read felt out of sync with my understanding of upper class white society of the time. (An unmarried woman who had enough wealth to be sought after as a wife probably wouldn’t need to convert her home into a boarding house to support herself.) And the romance between Eugenia and Abby felt rushed in the beginning, especially for two women experiencing their first same-sex attraction. But overall, this was a delightful read and adds some valuable diversity to the field of f/f historicals.
Micklebury depicts the free black community of Philadelphia in vivid detail, including the layered complications of navigating a society that isn’t as free as it pretends to be. (Note: Micklebury is black and specifically focuses on telling black women’s stories across the whole range of genres she writes in.) Her descriptive prose painted the setting so you could feel the cobblestones and the bite of the winter chill. Eugenia is a complex and engaging character and I look forward to reading more about her. (A sequel is evidently in the works.) The multiple layers of the plot kept the story moving forward (even when they didn’t quite connect with each other) without backgrounding the romantic thread.
There were a few aspects of the story that worked less well for me. The point of view was a bit erratic and I often had to re-read passages to be clear whose emotions we were feeling. The economic and social context of Abigail Read felt out of sync with my understanding of upper class white society of the time. (An unmarried woman who had enough wealth to be sought after as a wife probably wouldn’t need to convert her home into a boarding house to support herself.) And the romance between Eugenia and Abby felt rushed in the beginning, especially for two women experiencing their first same-sex attraction. But overall, this was a delightful read and adds some valuable diversity to the field of f/f historicals.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5: I had no idea what to expect when I found this at the library, but I was intrigued by the back cover description of a “cross-dressing runaway slave,” “a white heiress,” and “an unlikely cast of characters from all walks of life” joining together in pre-Civil War Philadelphia. I thought I was picking up a f/f romance, but it’s mostly historical fiction with a little bit of adventure—it can best be described as slice of life. The book follows Genie & Abby, the aforementioned runaway slave & heiress respectively, and the people they meet. As a historical fiction book, I’d recommend it. It deals with hard topics, but it gives its characters room to be people & not subjects of history, with lots of space for nuance and family and friendship.
The beginning felt very slow to me, I think partly because I was expecting more of an adventure/romance book. But once I settled into Mickelbury’s observational writing style, the pacing seemed to improve. It still lagged at places, and I think it could have used tighter editing for details/situations that didn’t move the plot along. (But that was also part of its charm, so I’m not sure. ) The true gem of the book is the character and their friendships. There are quite a lot of characters for a 240 page book, but they each feel distinct and very real. I loved that none of them were perfect, even when they were all (trying to be) good. I really grew to care for the characters & their stories.
As for the romance, it’s very, very background. I wish it had been explored more because it felt very rushed. Plus Mickelbury doesn’t really go into what it would look like for a white woman and a black woman to be together. Obviously there were lesbian & queer women back then, but this is an interracial relationship, so I think some acknowledgement of how that relationship was going to be presented to the outside world was necessary for me. And that’s not just for queer relationships, but I think for any relationship in any book that exists outside of “acceptable” has to be somewhat explained or else it just feels like a figment of the authors imagination. Even a brief one sentence aside would do, especially in a book like this where the romance is not central.
Bottom line: recommended if looking for slice-of-life historical fiction set in pre-Civil War Philadelphia with f/f relationship.
The beginning felt very slow to me, I think partly because I was expecting more of an adventure/romance book. But once I settled into Mickelbury’s observational writing style, the pacing seemed to improve. It still lagged at places, and I think it could have used tighter editing for details/situations that didn’t move the plot along. (But that was also part of its charm, so I’m not sure. ) The true gem of the book is the character and their friendships. There are quite a lot of characters for a 240 page book, but they each feel distinct and very real. I loved that none of them were perfect, even when they were all (trying to be) good. I really grew to care for the characters & their stories.
As for the romance, it’s very, very background. I wish it had been explored more because it felt very rushed. Plus Mickelbury doesn’t really go into what it would look like for a white woman and a black woman to be together. Obviously there were lesbian & queer women back then, but this is an interracial relationship, so I think some acknowledgement of how that relationship was going to be presented to the outside world was necessary for me. And that’s not just for queer relationships, but I think for any relationship in any book that exists outside of “acceptable” has to be somewhat explained or else it just feels like a figment of the authors imagination. Even a brief one sentence aside would do, especially in a book like this where the romance is not central.
Bottom line: recommended if looking for slice-of-life historical fiction set in pre-Civil War Philadelphia with f/f relationship.