Review of The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin

The tone of The Secret Book Society is darker than I'd anticipated, but appropriate as Martin explores weighty issues for women in Victorian England. The power of books and of friendship ultimately triumph in Martin's historical fiction.

The women in Madeline Martin's Victorian London exist within tightly constrained rules and at the whims of their fathers' or husbands' often controlling, sometimes abusive, always limiting requirements. But when three women, all strangers to each other, are invited to the reclusive, three-times-widowed Lady Duxbury's home for tea, they discover a space where they can speak frankly about their lives and also about the revolutionary, modern, feminist books they secretly trade among themselves (and must hide from the aforementioned men).

The guidance from Lady Duxbury, their new friendships, and their new reads are rejuvenating and inspiring forces for the young aspiring poet, the outspoken American with a fortune, and the mother cowering from her cruel husband. But all of the women of the time have a great amount at stake: they could find themselves committed unvoluntarily--and potentially permanently--to an asylum if the men in their lives determine that they are too headstrong, passionate, or inconvenient.

If you'd like to raise your blood pressure by reading about a bunch of destructive men subjugating women--sometimes seemingly on a whim and at other times systematically, in order to destroy their spirit and force complacency--this book should do the trick. The male characters in The Secret Book Society are generally one dimensionally negative figures, although one father seems mildly redeemable and one husband feels promising in showing potential layers and redemption. Only one love-filled marriage is put forth.

The characters spend little time discussing books (although now-classic feminist novels are mentioned), as their life issues become their collective focus for discussion and support.

The story becomes truly dark as it progresses, which I had expected, but the issues explored within that time around women's lack of autonomy in all areas of their lives warrant a grim tone. The end of the story involves a dramatic death and the promise of solidarity for the women who move forward in their lives with each other's support.

I listened to The Secret Book Society as a library audiobook through Libby.

More Books about Books and Victorian-Set Novels I've Loved

For Bossy reviews of other books about books, please check out the titles at this link. For other Victorian-set novels, check out this link.

Madeline Martin is also the author of The Librarian Spy, The Last Bookshop in London, The Keeper of Hidden Books, and The Booklover's Library.