Reliance, Illinois

March 21, 2016
Volmer’s lively second historical novel (after Crown of Dust) tracks the coming-of-age of 12-year-old Madelyn Branch, who in 1874 moves with her young unwed mother, Rebecca, from Kentucky to the Mississippi River town of the title. Rebecca, the mail-order bride of a German printer, pretends that Maddy is her little sister. Maddy, feeling neglected, develops a crush on erratic photographer and veteran William, who, in an underdeveloped subplot, may be involved in the death of a servant girl. The novel picks up steam when Maddy is taken in by glamorous, narcissistic Miss Rose Werner, heir to the town’s richest family and an outspoken proponent of women’s rights. In Rose’s mansion, Maddy takes lessons with bloomer-clad novelist Mrs. French, nurses Rose’s invalid father, and makes friends with the kitchen staff and enemies with Violet, Rose’s protégé. Cameo appearances by Samuel Clemens and suffragette Mary Livermore help establish historical context. Volmer tempers a tendency to didacticism with touches of humor. Although the plot sometimes lurches and rushes to tie up its loose ends, the novel has smart touches of humor and is well grounded in its place and time. This novel will appeal to readers curious about the lives of women in the post–Civil War Midwest.