I love it when a friend tells me about a book she just read and describes it so lovingly (I think so) that I just have to read it. I needed an airplane book, so before I left, I made it to Kona Bay (our used book store) to see if it was there, and it was! This is Fannie's story, a book written as a novel rather than a biography, of what it was like to live under the shadow of a great writer, Robert Louis Stevenson. At the same time, she was a feisty, intelligent woman who also had a need to live a meaningful life on her own terms. There is so much nuance in this. It is NOT about a woman who was forced by societal morés to make her life secondary to Stevenson. It was about the choices that this strong woman made for love, at the same time attempting to maintain her sense of self-worth. Whether or not she does maintain is explored, and I believe left for the reader to sort through. I love how this writer weaves RLS into it, history into it, and never loses the focus on Fanny. Thanks Patti, this was a great recommendation.
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