Publisher's Weekly Review
This engrossing collection, pegged to the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, brings together 12 prominent fiction writers, including Chris Bojalian, Paula McLane, and Christina Baker Kline, all of whom contribute stories set on Oct. 12, 1915, when suffragettes marched on Fifth Avenue. In an introduction, Kristen Hannah argues that women's push for the right to vote remains timely: "The ability to vote, and to access the polls, are fights we still face." Many of the stories feature historical figures such as Alice Paul and Ida B. Wells, both of whom appear in Jamie Ford's "Boundless, We Ride" and Dolen Perkins-Valdez's standout, "American Womanhood," each of which dramatize the bitter political compromises that would marginalize Black women from the movement's ranks. Another highlight is Alyson Richman's "A Woman in Movement," about a young artist who gets her comeuppance after her advertising agency boss signs her drawings with his own name. Davis's "The Last Mile" best drives home the collection's overarching message: "Perhaps all these women, no matter which branch of the organization they supported, were part of a giant wave, one set to topple the status quo." As a whole, the anthology gives assured voice and intriguing dimension to the actors of a pivotal era. (Oct.)
Booklist Review
An impressive line-up of bestselling authors contribute to this anthology, featuring short stories set on October 23, 1915, the day of an enormous march for women's suffrage in New York City. The opening stories show women making arrangements to attend ("Thylacine" by Paula McLain is the strongest of these), and the anthology proceeds throughout the day, capturing snapshots of different women's (and men's) involvement with the march. A diverse range of characters populate these stories, from a housemaid in the home of Alva Vanderbilt Belmont (in Katherine J. Chen's "Siobhán") to a Chinese American suffragette (real historical figure Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, featured in Jamie Ford's "Boundless, We Ride") to a seven-year-old with a Brownie camera, documenting the day (appearing first in M.J. Rose's "A First Step" and then recurring throughout the anthology). The authors do not shy away from the racism of the era, nor the ways that social class impacts the women united behind this cause, and this diversity of perspectives, along with the strength of the writing, make this a strong offering.Women in Focus: The 19th in 2020
