Review: The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell

The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell

William Klaber

St. Martin’s Press, 2015

278 pages (Hardcover)

4 stars

At a time when women did not commonly travel unescorted, carry a rifle, sit down in bars, or have romantic liaisons with other women, Lucy Lobdell boldly set forth to earn men's wages. Lucy Lobdell did all of these things in a personal quest to work and be paid, to wear what she wanted, and love whomever she cared to. But to gain those freedoms she had to endure public scorn and wrestle with a sexual identity whose vocabulary had yet to be invented. In this riveting historical novel, William Klaber captures the life of a brave woman who saw well beyond her era.

The Rebellion of Miss Lucy Ann Lobdell is the fictionalized account of Lucy's foray into the world of men and her inward journey to a new sexual identity. It is her promised memoir as heard and recorded a century later by William Klaber, an upstream neighbor. Meticulously researched and told with compassion and respect, this is historical fiction at its best.

 
-- Description from Barnes & Noble*

Please be aware: There may be spoilers below, though I have tried not to reveal too much. Also, I refer to the main character as Lucy Ann and use feminine pronouns for convenience. I have no judgments regarding the lifestyle that is depicted in this book.

Lucy Ann Lobdell lived in a time when a woman’s place was behind her husband, and if she were a spinster, much scorn was brought upon her. Lucy Ann lived much of her young life as a woman: she married and had a daughter. When her husband deserts her, and work is scarce, she is compelled to find a way to provide for her daughter. After cutting her hair and donning her brother’s clothes, she heads away from her family to find a new life using her grandfather’s moniker, Joseph Lobdell. Unfortunately, bad times befall Lucy.

The Rebellion of Lucy Ann Lobdell is an important work. Not only because it is the fictionalized account of a woman who dared to live life her in a way that might have been lost to history, but because her struggles are still relevant today. This story came to be because Lucy’s secret did not--could not--stay a secret. The truth was discovered almost every time she headed to a new locale. Oftentimes she was met with violence for her "deception."

It seemed as time went on, things only got worse for Lucy Ann. When she eventually returned to society, most seemed to accept that she was different and let her be. However, some were offended by her, claiming her behavior went against God and Nature.

I’m glad this story has been told. Lucy Ann faced many ordeals throughout her life. Society would like to think things are different now. Women are treated better. Individuals who feel different are free to live their life. Except they really aren't.

Consider this title for your book club. It’ll open the door to many themes that face the world today, such as the continued inequality of women in the workplace and blaming victims.

Further Reading:

*Note: “A slightly different version of this title was first published in the United States by Greenleaf Book Group Press in 2013.”

Review: Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule

Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule
Jennifer Chiaverini

Dutton, 2015
Historical Fiction
386 pages (Hardcover)

3 stars


In 1844, Missouri belle Julia Dent met dazzling horseman Lieutenant Ulysses S Grant. Four years passed before their parents permitted them to wed, and the groom’s abolitionist family refused to attend the ceremony.

Since childhood, Julia owned as a slave another Julia, known as Jule. Jule guarded her mistress’s closely held twin secrets: She had perilously poor vision but was gifted with prophetic sight. So it was that Jule became Julia’s eyes to the world.

And what a world it was, marked by gathering clouds of war. The Grants vowed never to be separated, but as Ulysses rose through the ranks—becoming general in chief of the Union Army—so did the stakes of their pact. During the war, Julia would travel, often in the company of Jule and the four Grant children, facing unreliable transportation and certain danger to be at her husband’s side.

Yet Julia and Jule saw two different wars. While Julia spoke out for women—Union and Confederate—she continued to hold Jule as a slave behind Union lines. Upon the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, Jule claimed her freedom and rose to prominence as a businesswoman in her own right, taking the honorary title Madame. The two women’s paths continued to cross throughout the Grants’ White House years in Washington, DC, and later in New York City, the site of Grant’s Tomb.

Mrs. Grant and Madame Jule is the first novel to chronicle this singular relationship, bound by sight and shadow.

--Description from Amazon

In the end, I made peace with this inappropriately named book. This novel should be titled “General Grant and Mrs. Grant” or some other variation as it is a beautiful fictionalized version of the relationship between General Grant and his wife Julia from Mrs. Grant’s perspective.

Her slave, also Julia, renamed Jule, features very prominently in the prologue, then disappears for extended periods. The assertions that this book tells a tale of a slave who “forged a proud identity of her own” are exaggerated. It’s understandable because what is written about Jule is confined to memoirs of Julia Grant, and Chiaverini admits that much of Jule’s life is imagined. This is historical fiction, I expect that; however, the title and description are quite misleading.

At times it can run a little dry. At others, I found myself rolling my eyes at how simpering and awed Julia is by Ulysses. Of course, this can be chalked up to the time period and that much of information is available through Julia Grant’s memoirs, which, I imagine, have a Barbara Walters lens. My interest in Civil War history and having read other historical fiction novels about this period is what kept me reading (and it’s our book club title).

It sounds like I’m complaining, and I am, but only a little. I did like this and found that I was entertained when appropriate and also emotional toward the end. The bottom line is if this is your type of novel, read it. If not, pick up something else.



A great fictionalized historical view of the Civil War: