The Widow Nash

This was a really fascinating story! I'm not usually that into historical fiction but this totally grabbed me! It has a lot of potentially heavy themes - death by syphilis, suicide, chronic illness, natural disasters, rape, police corruption - but it never felt depressing to me.

A big part of that is due to the heroine, who's an unusual character for a wealthy young woman in 1904 America - far from being sheltered, she's lived as her father's assistant and companion as he traipses the world scouting mines, investigating earthquakes (his hobby and obsession), having sex with any willing woman, and trying every new “cure” for his syphilis. He certainly has faults, but he treats Dulcy as a thinking human with agency, not as a delicate flower. As a result, she is capable and spirited, and even when trapped and victimized she takes her fate into her own hands.

This leads her to a new life in a fairly large and established town in Montana. One thing I loved was the startling modernity of life there. People aren't panning for gold and watching shootouts in the dusty street - they're going out for Chinese food, writing articles about quack medicine, and of course fooling around in various secretive ways!

There's a bit of a mystery, and a bit of thriller, but mostly this is a character study and the story of Dulcy's set of friends in town, with flashbacks to her relationship with her dad and grandmother.

This was a great binge-read for a weekend. It's the captivating adventurous story of a headstrong and wide-travelled young woman. There's secrecy, an eccentric father, a violent ex-fiance, a mystery, an escape, a new life, a reinvention, a new freedom, a love story, all set in the early days of the 19th century in America. The side characters were well sketched and intriguing, I especially enjoyed cold Henning and his soft spot for Dulcy.

Let me preface this review by saying that historical fiction isn't really my thing. That said, this was an intriguing, but challenging book. I found it confusing at times, and the author's style to be a bit cumbersome, but the overall story is fantastic. I was torn between giving up and dying to know what happened.

Dulcy, (eventually the Widow Nash), has travelled the world with her eccentric father. In fact, she even accepted the marriage proposal of her father's business partner, Victor... a HUGE mistake. After her father's death, she is desperate to get away from her now ex-fiancé. Desperation and fear drives the rest of the book.

Her memories of traveling the world with her father show a huge amount of research by the author. I wondered at times if all the reminiscing was necessary, but it did add a certain flavor to the book. Plus, wanting to know if Dulcy could successfully change her identity made me want to finish the book. It was worth hanging in there. The ending was well-thought out, believable, and satisfying. If you have started this book and are wondering if you should finish it, I would vote yes.