Please join me in welcoming historical fiction author, A.B. Michaels onto Oh look, another book. A.B. Michaels is taking her book, The Madness of Mrs. Whittaker, on tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club and I am so excited to be taking part in the tour because her book is fabulous!!
The Madness of Mrs. Whittaker
(The Golden City, Book Six)
By A.B. Michaels
Book Six of The Golden City series, The Madness of Mrs. Whittaker explores two major forces of early twentieth century America: the religious movement called Spiritualism and treatment of the mentally ill. Like all of A.B. Michaels’ novels, it is a stand-alone read.
You know what I am going to say – the cover is gorgeous! If I had a penny every time I said that, I would have enough money to buy all the books I want. Alas, no one, not even my husband, is willing to spend that much money on books for me, so that will not be happening any time soon.
Let me tell you about this book. Mae is the mother of a young boy and the wife of a man who recently passed away. When she upholds his practically dying wish and goes with his sister to a Spiritualism group, she finds, not a group of people she can easily say are silly enough to believe such a thing and walk away from, but a medium who is convinced Mae’s father wants to talk to her, and wants her to atone for leaving him.
When Mae’s mother-in-law, Ida, has Mae committed to an asylum, for thinking that the dead are talking to her, which Mae only told her when Ida asked, after pushing Mae to attend the group in the first place. Mae finds herself between a rock and a hard place. If she tries so much as shuffles out of line, Mae finds herself being punished, even if her actions are those of a well-meaning person. The asylum, it seems, is not somewhere to help these women get better, but a place to put those that people do not want in society, many times for the most ridiculous of reasons—to save a family name from being tarnished, or God forbid because these women had their own ideas. The asylum is a terrible place, and it made for some very difficult reading. The systems in place are not there to help but to train these women to be quiet wives, to attend to their husbands and do little more than the stereotypical wife and mother should. There is a whole irony that while Mae went into the asylum sane, she may not be when she leaves, if that can ever happen.
I’m going to say that this book might not be for everyone. This is not to say that I did not thoroughly enjoy it, which I did, nor want to read it again, which I do. There are some scenes and some issues surrounding it, regarding mental health, that I feel would be harmful to some readers, and I want to forewarn any of those readers should they read my review and wish to read the book themselves. This book does deal with the stigma of mental health, especially in the past, wherein it was frowned upon and kept hidden at all costs, and the abuse Mae suffers in the asylum is simply unimaginable.
I must say, there is a character, Anton, who is an absolute darling. He is a single father to very young twin girls, and he attends the same Spiritualism group that Mae does, not that he believes in it. When Anton meets Mae, obviously sparks fly, and their children get along wonderfully, as if Mae’s son adopts Anton’s girls as his little sisters, automatically accepting the responsibilities of teaching them games and looking after them. Truthfully, Mae and Anton’s relationship is so sweet that I would happily read an entire book of their picnics and feelings for each other.
While I struggled with some of the scenes in this book, the author’s note at the end was so much worse, when I realised that the things that Mae and the others in the asylum had gone through happened to real people, and that it was almost common practice. Nevertheless, I greatly enjoyed the rest of the book, especially so the romance and Anton’s determination to save and protect Mae.
I received my copy from The Coffee Pot Book Club, but you can buy yours at your favourite online bookshop, HERE. Although The Madness of Mrs. Whittaker is Book 6 in The Golden City saga if does standalone. If, you would like to read the series from the beginning, click on the book's name and buy your copy at your favourite online store:
The Art of Love (Book 1)
The Depth of Beauty (Book 2)
The Promise (Book 3)
The Price of Compassion (Book 4)
Josephine’s Daughter (Book 5)
The Madness of Mrs Whittaker (Book 6)
A.B. Michaels
A native of California, A.B. Michaels holds masters’ degrees in history (UCLA) and broadcasting (San Francisco State University). After working for many years as a promotional writer and editor, she turned to writing fiction, which is the hardest thing she's ever done besides raise two boys. She lives with her husband and two spoiled dogs in Boise, Idaho, where she is often distracted by playing darts and bocce and trying to hit a golf ball more than fifty yards. Reading, quilt-making and travel figure into the mix as well, leading her to hope that sometime soon, someone invents a 25+ hour day.
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Thank you so much for your supportive review of my latest novel. You're right - as I researched this book, it was quite disturbing to read about what many women experienced during that period--and their plight was an improvement on what had gone on a century before! Although there is still much work to be done, our country has made tremendous progress in the treatment of women and those with mental and emotional illness.
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