Gulliver's wife

We all know the story of Gulliver's Travels but in this novel Lauren Chater creates the untold story of Lemuel Gulliver's wife, Mary, who remains at home caring for their two children, Bess and  Johnny, while her husband sails away to explore new lands. But this is basically the story of Mary and Bess and I soon became immersed in their world.

Wapping in the early 1700s could be a dangerous place for women and children, especially those living without the protection of a man. In order to support the family, as well as pay her husband's debts, Mary trained as a midwife and developed a successful practice supporting the many working class families near her home. Then Gulliver, who had been reported lost at sea three years earlier, returned home and Mary encountered new challenges in order to protect her family and their way of life. Not only expecting life in his house to return to how it had been before he departed, Gulliver is obviously unwell and his recounting of strange stories to anyone who will listen threatens the professional reputation that Mary has built up in his absence. Mary is also wary of a new acquaintance who has returned to England with Gulliver.

Having just celebrated the International Women's Day (March 8) it was interesting reading about 1700s England which was definitely a time of male domination in most aspects of life. In this book the author tells her story interweaving a variety of social themes within an atmosphere of danger - society's attitude to women working to survive and protect family members, conflicts arising when male surgeons threatened the dominance of the women's profession of midwifery plus the relationship between Mary and her daughter who idolises her father and wants to go to sea, an impossible notion. I thoroughly enjoyed escaping into Mary's world for a short time.

Thank you to Better Reading and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read a preview copy of this book, due for publication early April. #BRPreview