Narrated by Kirsten Potter
As a fan of historical fiction, I was eager to dive into What the Lady Wants: a Novel of Marshall Field and the Gilded Age. I haven’t read much about the rebuilding of Chicago after the Great Fire, and even less about the robber barons of that time. The fact that Ms. Rosen chose to write a very unconventional romance set against so much change in the industrial age was an added bonus. Then, add the expert narration of Kirsten Potter, and you’ve got what seems like a guaranteed success.
Delia Spencer is just seventeen when fire sweeps through Chicago. Her father runs a small dry goods store, and Delia and her sister are part of the city’s high society. After the fire, Delia’s life is irrevocably changed, and while the fire is an agent of that change, the charismatic businessman Marshall Fields is responsible for most of it.
Delia is a silent admirer of Mr. Fields for the first bit of the book. She marries a man she is fond of, and is ready to start a family of her own. Chicago is slowly rebuilt, with Mr. Field’s stunning department store taking pride of place in the city. Marshall, called Marsh by his friends, is a true visionary, and Delia can’t help but be drawn to him.
Both Marsh and Delia are unhappily married. I can’t say more without entering the dreaded arena of the spoiler. At first, they come together out of a shared sense of loneliness, but this rapidly changes into something that will consume them both, though Delia is the one most notably marked by their unconventional association.
Delia is not an entirely sympathetic character. While I felt sorry for her in many ways, I also found her selfish and shallow. She spent money like it was going out of style, went to Paris every year to shop for a new wardrobe, and, in many ways, discounted the feelings of those who got in her way. The fact that she is Marsh’s mistress for most of the book might be a dealbreaker for some. All I can say is that Ms. Rosen’s skilled storytelling makes this behavior less reprehensible than it otherwise might have been. I came away from this book with the knowledge that Delia Spencer was a flawed woman, neither true heroine nor villain. Instead, she was a product of time and circumstance.
We aren’t given the chance to see things from Marsh’s point of view. Everything is filtered through Delia’s eyes, though the story is told in third person. I wished for Marsh’s perspective. I wanted to really know him, rather than strictly see him through the eyes of a woman who idolized him. I wondered how he felt about his successful business, the two women who loved him, and the way society turned on Delia alone for their affair. I didn’t feel like I had a true sense of Marsh as a whole person.
Narrator Kirsten Potter was once again a joy to listen to. As always, she brought both the general narrative and the individual characters to life. She is adept at creating both male and female characters in a way that is completely believable.
What the Lady Wants is filled with vibrant characters of all ages and walks of life, though most are upper class. I imagine this presents quite the challenge for even the most talented of narrators, but if Ms. Potter was daunted, I certainly couldn’t tell. Her performance was smooth and seamless. She made the whole thing seem remarkably easy to pull off.
If cheating is something you absolutely cannot stand, you might want to skip What the Lady Wants. However, if you’re interested in the growth of Chicago as seen through the eyes of a prominent member of society, please give this a try. I urge potential listeners to remain open-minded. This is a multi-layered and complex story that shows us just how possible it is to dwell in shades of gray rather than in the absolutes society prefers.
Shannon
Narration: A
Book Content: B
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence: A hint of domestic
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
What the Lady Wants was provided to AudioGals by Blackstone Audio for review.
