Victorian America was a different culture for women. Natasha Bauman's debut novel, The Disorder of Longing, centers on Ada Caswell Pryce, a wife in an unhappy marriage. Ada is strong-willed; she longs for her university days when she was free; she drinks wine with the housekeeping staff; and she provides feminist books to the maid.
Her husband Edward is intent on curbing her wild behavior, but she thwarts him at every turn, such as sneaking out for midnight horseback rides along the Charles River. To counter Ada's behavior, Edward restricts her daily activities and her relationships, then carefully choreographs her sexuality. Unable to bear another day of her demeaning existence, Ada secretly plots ways to leave.
The Disorder of Longing is selling cheap today for $3.42.
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