If you are craving a good courtesan story in the tradition of Fanny Hill and Moll Flanders, Mistress Suffragette is just what you are looking for. Personally, I am a little weary of novels featuring heroines who stomp their feet and claim that they will "not be treated like property" and demand to be "respected" and talk about "dignity". It seems like some authors put their own 21st century thoughts into the heads of 19th century women. It's a form of wishful thinking and projection. Newsflash: not every woman objects to being objectified or treated like property. I know we are not supposed to talk about it, but it's true. Penelope Stanton, the heroine of "Mistress Suffragette" - almost an oxymoron title - is someone who looks at her family's financial predicament without needless pathos. She does throw a temporary pity-party after her father loses his fortune and her fiance/cousin breaks the engagement, but she also recognizes the opportunities for social advancement - and sexual gratification - that life throws her way. The novel explores the benefits and perils of the mistress position. The fact is that mistresses of influential men had a lot more latitude and mobility than official wives. But what happens if you fall out of favor with your benefactor? The novel is original and refreshing because it highlights the market crash of the 1890s, a topic that is not frequently explored in literature. It is also refreshing that the novel is not set primarily in New York. This is not an Edith Wharton knock-off.
My thoughts:
A young woman without prospects at a ball in Gilded Age Newport, Rhode Island is a target for a certain kind of “suitor.” At the Memorial Day Ball during the Panic of 1893, impoverished but feisty Penelope Stanton draws the unwanted advances of a villainous millionaire banker who preys on distressed women—the incorrigible Edgar Daggers. Over a series of encounters, he promises Penelope the financial security she craves, but at what cost? Skilled in the art of flirtation, Edgar is not without his charms, and Penelope is attracted to him against her better judgment. Initially, as Penelope grows into her own in the burgeoning early Women’s Suffrage Movement, Edgar exerts pressure, promising to use his power and access to help her advance. But can he be trusted, or are his words part of an elaborate mind game played between him and his wife? During a glittering age where a woman’s reputation is her most valuable possession, Penelope must decide whether to compromise her principles for love, lust, and the allure of an easier life.
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