THE BACHELOR LIST

Author: Jane Feather ISBN: 0553586181 2/2004 HISTORICAL Publisher: BANTAM
Time Period: 1906 Turn-of-the-Century

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

How ironic, that after finishing Jane Feather's Turn-of-the-Century THE BACHELOR LIST, that I switched on the television in time to catch the last 40 minutes of HBO's movie "Iron Jawed Angels". If you haven't seen it, it's about the fight for women's suffrage in the U.S.. Very heady stuff, featuring a lot of strong and courageous women, and a movie that somewhat changed my thoughts on THE BACHELOR LIST and how I was going to write up my review.

Jane Feather has started a new trilogy about three close-knit sisters (all redheads, btw), the first book of which focuses on the eldest, Constance Duncan. She's the new modern Englishwoman: determined, driven, intelligent, educated, no-nonsense, and ready to take on the world for the cause of women's suffrage - as long as it's anonymously. After her father loses the family's fortunes in an investment scheme gone bad, Constance, with the help of her sisters Prudence and Chastity, finds a way to make money and keep them all solvent. That's not an easy task in this day and age, when opportunities and jobs for women are very limited. The three anonymously publish a newssheet called The Mayfair Lady, which not only contains gossip, but also focuses on women's political views that wouldn't normally be put forth to the public. They also operate the Go-Between, a match-making service to which they act as go-betweens to the parties involved.

Max Ensor is a rising politician at Parliament. When he meets up with Constance, he sees more than just a woman who attracts him, he sees a woman he can use to get inside the newly formed suffragette organization, WSPU. At the same time, Constance, who's determined to live her life unwed and under no man's thumb, similarly finds herself attracted to this dark and charismatic politician, with the possibility of converting him to “her” side, making him into a useful ally for the movement at Parliament.

The romance between Max and Constance is comparable to Frank Sinatra and Eva Gardner. Sparks and tempers flare between these two like 4th of July fireworks, both in and out of the bed. But to be honest, the hardest part of this romance is simply liking Constance. It's hard. She's strong, stubborn, and spoiled; definitely aristocratic and privileged. I do understand those parts of her personality better after watching "Iron Jawed Angels", but she also struck me as somewhat meddling and close-minded. Not an easy person to be fond of. Max, on the otherhand, was rather liberal in his thinking for the time, I thought. Though he's not the fondest of the suffrage movement and he thinks as other men of the time do—that women have their places at home—he's also willing to listen. Even when he discovers Constance is no virgin, he seems to take her revelation in an open-minded sort of way.

What made this book a so-so read for me, though, was the "busy-ness" of some of the conversations. I found myself skipping much of the dialogue at times, especially when taking place between the sisters. Too many conversations that don’t say much, and seem to go on for far too long. However, Feather effectively pulls you into that Turn-of-the-Century era: in the characters’ mannerisms, dress, speech and actions, these people all come to life in that other time and place. Bravo to her for that.

I've just started the next in the series, THE BRIDE HUNT, which is Prudence's story. So far it seems to be steaming ahead a little bit better than its predecessor. Let's hope this locomotive doesn't lose any power as I climb up the hill to the third one...I'm hoping these books will simply get better the further along I go.

Nancy Davis