...And Ladies of the Club

...And Ladies of the Club

by Helen Hooven Santmyer

Ohio State University Press

c1982

Berkley Edition c 1985

pg1433 (that's not a typo)

A Penny For My Thoughts

An interesting fact about Helen Hooven Santmyer is that she finished this book at the spry age of 88. 

 And Ladies of the Club publicity photo
 (credit: Charles Steinbrunner/Dayton Newspapers, Inc.)

The Gist

This is a biggie, a saga, an epic.  Set in fictional Waynesboro, Ohio, the story begins in 1868 and continues to 1932.  We follow the lives of two women, Anne and Sally.  Just graduating from the local woman's college, they begin a town literary society for women.  The story walks with them through courtship, young marriage, child rearing, old age and finally death.  

A mark of an excellent book:  The main characters are so well-developed and realistic that you can't entirely love or hate anyone.  It's a tale of lives lived out, with all the mistakes, heart-aches and happinesses that real people experience in a long, full life. I couldn't even despise Anne's husband, the lout, just more a sense of pity.

 

A Page From My Readers Journal  

A device that Santmyer uses in this book taxed my self-control.  At the beginning of each chapter there's a list of current literary club members and a list of 'In Memoriam' members.  If you look ahead you will know who's going to die - or not.  I practically had to bind the pages together to keep from looking ahead.  

Another thing that actually shocked me, after reading her biography, is the way she portrays the Presbyterians.  Her treatment of them is downright biting.  Reading her biography I found out that she herself was a loyal Presbyterian, and taught in a Pres. school, until it was taken over by the Baptists. It doesn't make much sense and I would love to be able to ask her what she was aiming at.  Her life story really fascinates me. 

This is one for the Tea and Books Challenge