Book Spotlight: Mistress Suffragette by Diana Forbes

SYNOPSIS:

As Penelope Stanton grows into her own in the burgeoning Women's Suffrage Movement, she is pursued by an incorrigible banker who promises to use his access and power to help her advance. But can he be trusted or are his words part of an elaborate mind game played between him and his wife?

In this superbly crafted novel, rich with historical detail, Diana Forbes transports the reader to the Gilded Age and creates an unforgettable protagonist in Penelope Stanton. Pursued by a villainous millionaire, torn between the dictates of propriety, the promptings of her own heart, and her allegiance to the fight for women's suffrage, can Penelope forge her own path? This book is impossible to put down and readers will be rooting for Penelope all the way. 

–Phyllis T. Smith, bestselling author of I Am Livia and The Daughters of Palatine Hill.

Mistress Suffragette is a delightful romp through the Gilded Age. Penelope Stanton, a young woman forced to create a new life for herself, is a witty and feisty guide through this most fascinating of eras. A very entertaining read.

--Susan Breen, author of the bestselling Maggie Dove mystery series.

For lovers of historical fiction, this debut novel by Diana Forbes is a romp through the pleasures and perils of the Gilded Age in late 19th Century New England.

--Books Pro

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Diana Forbes is a 9th generation American, with ancestors on both sides of the Civil War. Diana Forbes lives and writes in Manhattan. When she is not cribbing chapters, Diana Forbes loves to explore the buildings where her 19th Century American ancestors lived, loved, survived and thrived. She is passionate about vintage clothing, antique furniture, ancestry, and vows to master the quadrille in her lifetime. Diana Forbes is the author of New York Gilded Age historical fiction.

Diana Forbes’s Publication History:

1. "Mistress Suffragette” was published by Penmore Press in 2017.

2. “Temptation,” a chapter from the sequel to Mistress Suffragette, was published in the Saturday Evening Post’s “Great American Fiction” Contest anthology of winners in January 2017.

3. A selection from Mistress Suffragette won 1st Prize in Women’s Fiction in the Missouri Romance Writers of America “Gateway to the Best” Contest.

4. In addition, Mistress Suffragette was a Finalist in the Wisconsin RWA “Fab Five” contest in “Women’s Fiction.”

5. Mistress Suffragette won 1st Place in the 2016 Chatelaine Award, in the “Romantic and Sensual” category.

6. Mistress Suffragette was shortlisted in the 2016 Chanticleer Somerset Award for “Literary Fiction.”

7. Mistress Suffragette won the 2017 Book Excellence Award for "Romance."

8. Mistress Suffragette was awarded the Silver 2017 North American Book Award for "History."

9. Silver, 2017 NYC Big Book Awards, "Historical Fiction." 

Starred Kirkus Review:
"The book feels like it was written at the time, reading like an alternate, feminist take on The House of Mirth’s “well-born lady in reduced circumstances” with a decidedly happier ending.
A sprightly, winning historical novel about an unexpected romance—between a young woman and her own power".

MY REVIEW:

Mistress Suffragette by Diana Forbes
Book starts with A dedication page and acknowledgements.
Story starts out in Newport, RI in 1890s and we had just visited some of the mansions in the city this spring. They definitely life a different life than the regular folk.
Just hearing of the lighted driveway to the ball.. sounds so joyful.
Liked the locations they travel to and learning of how they were able to ride bicycles with the clothes they also had to wear. Voting is another matter they hope to accomplish, for women.
Unforeseen circumstances brings her mother to Boston and the accidents happen... Within a few weeks time they are summoned home to tend to Lydia who's come down with pneumonia.
Verdana and Sam travel with them to convince Newport ladies they need to fight for their rights also.
Love how this book makes history fun while telling you about it.
Penelope first thought she'd have to become a mistress to a married man to make any money to send back home to her parents but she knows better now and fights him off.
She is so smart to look for information about subjects she knows nothing of, to research them and when appropriate she brings them up into conversation that makes the others realize she does know what she's talking about and how women should fight for what they deserve.
Love the new words learned as they travel and all the new locations to me.
Interesting how Louisiana voodoo is included...Like what happens to the fashion industry over the course of the book, very detailed and descriptive.
Bayer heroin aspirin, who knew?  Can't wait to read more from this author.
Didn't see the ending coming but happy it came out that way...
Best book for me this month out of a few hundred. Ends with an epilogue and a note from the author about writing of the book,  about the author, other works from the publisher summarized and table of contents. 
I received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.