Following historical novel blogs – and the Gilded Hour

I am a writer and I love to read, especially good quality books, so I’ve started following some historical novel blogs. I have joined Reading the Past which gives in-depth reviews of novels from many historical eras.

I’m a member of the Historical Novel Society and I read both their on-line and print reviews.

I find it really helpful to get a good idea about the book before I read it as my time is pretty limited and I want to spend my reading time well. If it weren’t for the light rail I wouldn’t get to read at all. Right now I’m reading The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati. It is a compelling look at life in New York City in the 1890s with crushing poverty and Anthony Comstock on the battleground against immorality. Comstock was discussed in a previous blog of mine. He was the Post Master General and fought against vise- primarily information on women’s health, especially contraception. Under his direction distributing contraceptive information was a crime for which health care providers were jailed. In the Gilded Hour he is a major character. In Longing for Home he is mentioned.

The Gilded Hour is the story of two cousins who are women physicians. One woman is a surgeon and the other is a general medical doctor. I relate to the characters because I find myself caught up in the work of helping others and because I struggle to balance my work with my personal relationships. I also like that the plot is not predictable nor is it too easy – the characters need to work toward their goals.