Reviews - The Engineer's Wife

266 reviews for:

The Engineer's Wife

Tracey Enerson Wood

3.47 AVERAGE

mauryneiberg18's review against another edition

3.0

The love triangle didn't do it for me (the PT Barnum not-quite-a-love-affair didn't do it for me), and neither did I get all of the hand-wringing over being an active suffragist or a bridge builder.

I grew up in Brooklyn - nowhere near the Brooklyn Bridge (closer to the Verrazano in South BK) but some of my fondest memories involve walking across this bridge or seeing a glimpse of it while crossing from street to street. That’s why I was thrilled to get this @netgalley copy of THE ENGINEER’S WIFE by Tracey Enerson Wood.

Did you know a woman was key to making sure the Brooklyn Bridge could be completed? Emily Warren Roebling took up the project after her husband, Washington Roebling, became ill with “caisson disease”, now known as decompression sickness, partway through construction. How cool is that?

Enerson dives into Emily’s story, and you can tell there was depth and dedication to her research. It was fascinating to read about how the Bridge project came about, and I truly bought into the love behind Wash and Emily’s relationship. I even loved the engineering elements - I don’t think I fully comprehended quite how groundbreaking a feat this Bridge truly was at the time.

But there were a few issues for me. Enerson takes a lot of historical liberties - chief among them the appearance of P.T. Barnum - yes, that one - as a key part of the story and of Emily’s life and career. I was really challenged by that element of the storytelling and wasn’t fully bought in even when I turned the last page.

Well-written, fascinating, and an interesting glimpse into a woman who doesn’t get enough acclaim for her accomplishments, THE ENGINEER’S WIFE falls short when it comes to plot and a convincing historical re-imagining. If you enjoyed The Greatest Showman (I have to admit...I did not) you may really enjoy this one. But unfortunately, it was a bit of a disappointment for me.

bhunsberger's review against another edition

4.0

This book was quite interesting as it covered the history of the Brooklyn Bridge being built, and the role that Emily Roebling played in its completion. There was a lot of research that went into this book and I learned a lot about the techniques for building such a large structure at that time in history, as well as the role that Emily played in learning and providing leadership once her husband was injured. The time that the project took, as well as the danger to the workers is something that is harder to comprehend in this day and age, but quite interesting to consider.