An Inconvenient Wife

Rating:
Summary: She outsmarted them all.!!!!
Review: I couldn't put this book once I had started it. I found the subject matter & time & place great. Poor Lucy. I almost found myself in hysterics while reading about the way her husband & father treated & manipulated her. This is a great read. Don't miss this one. I will now seek out other books by this author.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing escape, a perfect historical journey
Review: I hate / love getting so involved in a book that I can't stand to put it down. It's the best sense of filling the creative well, not to mention one of those journeys into another time and place that only happens with the best historical novels. This is / was one of those. I think Megan Chance rivals Judith Ivory and Laura Kinsale for creating emotional resonance. And this time was no different. But what *was* different was that this book is not marketed as a romance, but as historical fiction. Which made it an incredibly involving, compelling, and totally satisfying read - with a twist! Adultery, murder, hysteria, hypnosis, uterine monomania *g*, asylums, neurology, phrenology, mesmerism . . . all the things missing in so many historical stories, LOL!

Just an amazingly brilliant book.


Rating:
Summary: Great story
Review: Lucy always wanted to be free to be her own woman but as she was being raised by her father, he buried her spirit by making Lucy give up anything that was important to her... religion, poetry, and painting. Once she was married, her husband did the same thing because he wanted a proper woman who acted the way a woman of the upper class should act. With no way to live out her dreams, Lucy suffered from hysteria and was not able to conceive a child. William sent her to many doctors to help her but nobody could until Victor Seth came into the picture. He was a neurologist that used hypnosis to help women with nerve problems. His treatment was unkown and criticized, but they were willing to try as a last resort before sending Lucy to the asylum. Victor made great strides with the treatment of Lucy and in the process they became involved with each other. Lucy was cured, but then she became an "inconvenience" to William because he could no longer control her. When William found out what was going on between Lucy and Victor he sent her away against her wishes which brought on a chain of events that has serious repercussions.

I found Megan Chance when she published Susannah Morrow and I really enjoyed it so I figured I would try An Inconvenient Wife too. Megan is a very talented author that has the rare ability to bring you into a story and keep you there right to the end.

Rating:
Summary: great book for weekend reading
Review: Nashville City Paper BookClub Column - May 27, 2004

An Inconvenient Wife by Megan Chance (Warner Books) is ideal for devotees of historical fiction. Lucy Carleton wants to be an asset to her husband in society but instead becomes dependent on something only Dr. Victor Seth can cure - a plot perfect for fans of both Edith Wharton and Nora Roberts.

Saralee Terry Woods is President of BookMan/BookWoman Books in Nashville, and Larry D. Woods is an attorney

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Psychological -Historical Tale
Review: This book is what I imagine would have happened to Rose (Titanic) if she had married Cal (the "bad guy")and gone on to suffer the marriage/life restrictions of her era and class. It is very well-written in first-person and occurs in Victorian New York. Lucy suffers from "hysteria," a common diagnosis of female neuroses in that time, and her socially-conscious husband takes her to the new doctor in town, Dr. Victor Seth. Dr. Seth's treatments and ensuing relationship with Lucy create interesting emotional dilemmas for Lucy, her husband and Dr. Seth. The story and plot were original, absorbing and shocking: womens' health issues were not treated back then as they are today! I highly recommend this book if you seek a change from the "cookie-cutter" variety of historical fiction or romance novels.