The Distaff Side : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Atmosphere, Interesting Plot
Review: I enjoyed reading this book. It was an engrossing story and the characters were well drawn and varied. The details of the time were good and I especially enjoyed the atmosphere. My main criticism was that it seemed a little rushed for two reasons:

1) The ending was a bit of a let-down. For a book that took us so deeply into the feelings of the characters, it was a little disappointing to just cruise over so much territory. Although I liked the idea of seeing some of the characters many years later, I would have liked something between that and the earlier sections, or I would have liked to follow more of the characters later in time.

2) There were some errors that made me feel the book was rushed to print. On page 6, there is a zero at the end of the word "important." On page 222, there is a stray apostrophe after the word "princess." On page 263, Nikolai refers to Mai's "sons." On page 219, "Dashkov" appears twice with an "h" and twice without. I mention these things in case the author or editor is reading this. :)

I do recommend this book as a fun and engrossing read. I wish that the author had made more of it, though, since it seems there was a lot of unexplored territory that could have added more depth to the novel.

Rating:
Summary: an excellent read in spite of the faulty editing
Review: In 1917, young Bertie Langham is all set to marry his longtime friend, the beautiful, rich and very eligible Mai Binnington, when his controlling mother, Augusta, discovers that Mai is (gasp) a suffragette. Forcing Bertie to take a stand -- i.e. that he demand Mai give up her association with the suffragettes, the Langham-Binnington alliance soon unravels, leaving Mai and Bertie to find other marital partners. Mai, soon finds herself engaged to another friend from childhood, Ned Fielding; while Bertie, at his mother's prodding finds himself being captivated by the mysterious Princess Zhenia Dashkov. What follows is a highly sympathetic yet satirical look at life amongst the British upper class as Mai and Bertie try to navigate matrimonial waters with partners who are a lot more than their placid facades imply they are...

It's true, that because so much happens within the 280 odd pages, and because the book covers a time period where so much happened, you'd expect a much thicker book, with a lot more drama. However, I found myself enjoying Elizabeth Palmer's understated book and her spare prose style immensely. Without resorting to over the top melodrama or descriptions, she was still able to vividly paint a scene, convey an impression and make her characters come alive and be easily recognizable. This is no mean feat, and it definitely made reading "The Distaff Side" a pleasure. On the other hand, it was also true that the editing job was not well done, and I do hope that the author took her publishers to task about this. On the whole though, this was a very enjoyable and absorbing read: the writing was superb and the characters, whether you liked them (Mai) or really disliked them (Augusta), were fully realised and not caricatures. In fact I could imagine a very tasteful Masterpiece Theatre production based on "The Distaff Side" as I was reading this clever novel. An excellent read, esp if you enjoy books with women as central figures.