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A review by twirlsandwhirls
The Great Divorce: a Nineteenth-Century Mother's Extraordinary Fight Against Her Husband, the Shakers, and Her Times by Ilyon Woo
5.0
I absolutely loved reading Eunice Chapman's story! Ilyon Woo has done a remarkable amount of research and it shows on every page. Even the Sources and Acknowledgments after the epilogue were fascinating to me.
I found this book while browsing at the library. The title grabbed me for a number of reasons: my interest in utopian societies, my lack of Shaker knowledge, a salacious tale of divorce in the Victorian era, a custody battle from 200 years ago, the chance to imagine Albany as it was in its boom days. My list could go on. I learned much more than I bargained for and come away from the book with complicated opinions about the Shakers, legal practices of the time (most appallingly, civil death of married women), and Eunice herself.
Yes, the story is dramatic. Ilyon Woo herself acknowledges that she wrote this piece (for 10 years, even!) with drama in mind. What holds true, though, is the fact that all parties involved, from Eunice to New York lawmakers, to James Chapman, to the Shakers in all of their villages, were overzealous for one reason or another. This gave them each a fatal flaw. That right there is the linchpin of drama.
Lastly, what I found most enjoyable and satisfying about the book is the nuance despite all the drama. The author never sides with anyone outright, and that's key. As written, the reader may see when the state is using James Chapman as an example of a good man slandered by his power-hungry, sexpot wife, even as she fights for her children. We may also see that the Shakers valued order and peace above cooperation with any law or sinners, which made keeping the Chapman children an act of God and one that had to be done. I'd highly recommend a thorough reading!
I found this book while browsing at the library. The title grabbed me for a number of reasons: my interest in utopian societies, my lack of Shaker knowledge, a salacious tale of divorce in the Victorian era, a custody battle from 200 years ago, the chance to imagine Albany as it was in its boom days. My list could go on. I learned much more than I bargained for and come away from the book with complicated opinions about the Shakers, legal practices of the time (most appallingly, civil death of married women), and Eunice herself.
Yes, the story is dramatic. Ilyon Woo herself acknowledges that she wrote this piece (for 10 years, even!) with drama in mind. What holds true, though, is the fact that all parties involved, from Eunice to New York lawmakers, to James Chapman, to the Shakers in all of their villages, were overzealous for one reason or another. This gave them each a fatal flaw. That right there is the linchpin of drama.
Lastly, what I found most enjoyable and satisfying about the book is the nuance despite all the drama. The author never sides with anyone outright, and that's key. As written, the reader may see when the state is using James Chapman as an example of a good man slandered by his power-hungry, sexpot wife, even as she fights for her children. We may also see that the Shakers valued order and peace above cooperation with any law or sinners, which made keeping the Chapman children an act of God and one that had to be done. I'd highly recommend a thorough reading!