Wow! What an incredible book. Sarah Waters has created a marvelous piece of historical fiction set in England 1922 in a genteel Camberwell neighborhooWow! What an incredible book. Sarah Waters has created a marvelous piece of historical fiction set in England 1922 in a genteel Camberwell neighborhood. The war has ended. Many have died, including the protagonist’s two brothers and her father. Those that returned from the war are disillusioned. Frances Wray and her mother are left bankrupt by their father who squandered away their money. They have dismissed the servants and are now taking in boarders. Frances does all the cleaning and cooking herself, while her mother is out, so that she will not have to watch her daughter stooping to that occupation.
The guests who become “the paying guests” are a young couple of the clerk class, Mr. and Mrs. Barber (Leonard and Lilian.) Mr. Barber is talkative and makes Frances uncomfortable with his innuendos. Mrs. Barber hides herself away at first, but soon she and Frances develop a close friendship. As they grow closer, Frances divulges to Lilian that she had been in love with a woman, Christina, but was made to put an end to the relationship by her parents. In a time when London has been devastated by war, the family brought down by multiple deaths and financial ruin, certain societal norms are not to be challenged.
The knowledge that Frances is a lesbian or had a lesbian lover seemingly creates a tension or barrier to their friendship. Lilian avoids Frances until the night of Lilian’s family party which she had invited Frances to many weeks prior in Mr. Barber’s stead as he had a supper to attend that evening.
At the party, Mrs. Barber dances freely with several gentleman and even with Frances. After returning home, they find Leonard has been assaulted and is in the kitchen with a bloodied nose and face. Later that evening, Frances and Lilian return to the kitchen and embark on their steamy sultry love affair making love in the pantry. The love affair continues and their feelings continue to grow until Leonard is accidentally murdered which is ruled a homicide. This leads to a coverup, incredible tension, outing of other affairs, and the need for deep secrecy of their own love affair.
This book is amazing on so many levels. The historical piece seems so spot on and well done. There was never a point where anything seemed even questionably out of the time period. I felt as if I were dwelling in London in the 1920s alongside these characters. The character building and tension that was created were so well done. I must admit I was getting antsy during the investigation and the trial that seemed to go on for so long, but that was the point. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. It keeps me questioning Lillian’s motives while still hoping the romance will last. This novel would make an excellent independent film with sexy enthralling characters. It would be amazing! It is an incredibly written book that I highly recommend to everyone. The one caveat is that it can seem to be going really slow at some points, which I didn't mind, but might not appeal to some....more
I consider myself quite open to LGBTQ people and the movement for greater recognition and consideration, especially in terms of legal rights. However,I consider myself quite open to LGBTQ people and the movement for greater recognition and consideration, especially in terms of legal rights. However, I went to school at a time when transgender individuals were not identifying themselves as such, in contrast to today where there are several transgender children in the school system in my town. So, in a way, I was uninformed on much of the difficulties faced by transgender individuals and this book changed that for me. It really opened my eyes to what it means to be transgender. Being transgender in today’s society is easier than it’s ever been, but that is not saying much. There are so many inherent biases built into our culture. It takes a very loving, supportive family, school and community to create a safe environment for transgender children.
This biography does an amazing job of giving an unbiased straightforward approach to the life and struggles of the Maines family who adopted identical twin boys at birth. It was clear very early on that one of the twins, Wyatt, was identifying as a girl. He wore tutus and high heels, played with barbies, and hated his penis. Wayne and Kelly Maines were very loving parents who did everything they could to honor who their child really was. It took Wayne, an avid hunter and air force veteran, longer to come around to the idea that Wyatt was really a girl, but once he did, he fully embraced it. He became a huge supporter of his daughter and advocate of trangender rights in the public.
Amy Ellis Nutt, a health and science writer at the Washington Post, skillfully offers research, statistics and other information within this biography that provides insight into the history, politics, biology and sociology regarding this complex subject.
The Maines family found tremendous support in some places. However, Nicole also had to endure the bullying and stalking behavior of a peer that led to her being banned from the girls’ bathroom in grade school. The Maines family filed a lawsuit which they eventually won in the Maine Supreme Court against the school system in Orono bringing transgender rights movement even further. This became the first lawsuit granting transgenders the legal right to use the bathroom of their perceived gender, rather than their biological gender. Maine became the second state (behind California) to have such a law in place.
This is a book that might your perspective. It is a very timely with all the recent legal changes regarding transgender rights. This book demonstrates the strength and courage of an amazing girl who had an incredible family to support her and together they helped to change the law. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the subject. I really think it is an important book for everyone to read, in order to grasp and understand transgenderism better from a historical, biological and most importantly personal point of view.
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