"The Chaperone". There were 9 people present. They were Julie, Madeleine, Kathy,
Sarah, Donna, Nancy, Betsy, Janet and Nettie. Everyone completed the book and
liked it. Some of us did not realize that the character Louise Brooks was an old
talkie film star of the 1920's.
Betsy did her homework and had her book club questions and topics for discussion.
We felt that the main character was Cora the chaperone rather than the starlet Louise.
Cora and Louise come from Wichita, Kansas where a woman has her place and
she is still constrained not only by her corset but by the mores of the time.
The two women form a "bond" and Cora's world becomes wider because of her
association with a young rebellious Louise. Remember women were fighting for the
vote, integration of black and white was far away, prohibition was in full swing
and sex and homosexuality were definitely undercover.
This is really not a coming of age story but a coming into one's self as it is Cora who
opens up and flowers while in New York. She was orphaned and sent out on the orphan
trains that went west. Her commitment to accompany Louise to New York was really
more about her quest to learn about her her parents and origins. Though she meets her
mother finally she does not pursue the relationship. When she returns home with a lover
who poses as her brother she continues to grow. She does fund raising for unwed mothers
and is very successful. She also works with the women's movement for rights. So she
becomes very comfortable in her skin and feels she is where she "belongs".
Julie chose a book by Mark Helprin called, "In Sunlight and In Shadow" which is
set in New York City..
It is 720 pages long so we decided to delay the meeting till April 9th.
Happy reading.
