Finding Margaret Fuller, Allison Pataki, author; Barrie Kreinik, narrator
This is a rather remarkable story about a little-known early feminist. The novel offers a veritable tableau of the many famous, near famous, and creative people of her era, like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Emily Bronte, George Sanders and David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allen Poe, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Louisa May Alcott, and so many more. Margaret Fuller was able to interact with all of them as an equal, the young and the old, the famous and the not-yet-famous. Her character and her demeanor seemed to encourage others to accomplish whatever goals they hoped to achieve. Born in 1810, this story of Margaret Fuller begins around 1836, when she was single and approaching her 26th birthday. It continues until her untimely and tragic death in 1850, when she was just 40 years old.
When the novel about Margaret’s life begins, the reader learns that she was raised by a demanding father who insisted on educating her far beyond what was considered necessary or appropriate for most women of her time. As a result, she had few friends and few male suitors. They found her intimidating, but not Nathaniel Hawthorne. He found her work and conversation stimulating and encouraged her to do more. For her part, Margaret was thrilled to discover a man who would entertain conversations with her without feeling threatened by her knowledge or intelligence. Hawthorne had admired the work she was doing and invited her to be a guest in his home. At that time, his wife was pregnant and often in bed a little under the weather. Thus, Margaret often went walking with him and their friendship grew with each conversation. His inspiration encouraged her independence and success.
For several years, Margaret, a journalist, wrote columns for The Tribune. She was their first female foreign correspondent and had been living in Italy. There, she met and married an Italian soldier in the service of the Pope. When the people revolted against his rule, the Pope fled. However, the violence turned back in his favor, with soldiers firing upon unarmed citizens; he soon returned to power. Although her correspondence was valuable, alerting the world to the plight of the people, they were soon in further danger. Her husband had been a soldier opposing the Pope, and he was now being hunted. They now fled, and soon they decided to relocate to America. The journey home, unexpectedly, turned out to be more treacherous and more dangerous.
Margaret was a woman ahead of her time. She was unafraid to explore the world without a chaperone, which was generally considered unwise and unsafe. It was thought that women needed the protection and support of a man in order to flourish and survive. For example, the author George Sanders, was a woman who wrote under the persona of a man. All the power resided in the hands of men. Had Margaret lived longer, she would have accomplished so much more for the cause of women’s rights and civil rights. She was an inspiration to so many.
Perhaps Margaret Fuller was scandalous, living a life of freedom that was unknown to women, but she was aware of the shortcomings of her time, of the unequal opportunity afforded to men and women, white people and people of color, the rich and the poor, the religious and the secular and she endeavored to right those wrongs. ( )

Free spirited Margaret Fuller fights against the stereotypes and expectations of women. After spending a summer with Ralph Waldo Emerson, she quickly becomes one of his confidants. Through her connection with Emerson she meets many of the famous writers and Transcendentalists of the era. However, she longs for romance, and a story of her own.

The book started pretty slow. It took a while for me to get into the story and characters. I enjoyed reading about Fuller's time in Europe, however that was only a short part of the novel. I also enjoyed learning about famous novelists and how their lives were entwined. Overall,, 3 out of 5 stars. ( )

Another fascinating Historical Fiction by Allison Pataki about a relatively unknown 19th century woman. She was an intelligent woman who was home schooled by her father. She was revered by some of the best known writers of their time, Emerson, Thoreau and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The explores.in life from the age 26 through her untimely death at 40. She was a thinker and and a doer and if she lived her she would have been as well known as Susan B. Anthony. ( )

I work as a librarian and not too long ago, while working on a project in the 19th-century literature section, I came across a very old set of books written by one Margaret Fuller. I felt the same kind of curiosity the author of this novel certainly felt, especially once one learns that Fuller was friendly with more well-known figures like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and more. I also appreciated her life story, which involves plenty of professional struggles (particularly when one Bronson Alcott, father of Louisa May, forgot to pay her) and a late in life love story. Overall, I like this novel and I feel like I gained a greater understanding of 19th-century American literature from it. ( )

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Margaret Fuller is a force to be reconned with. From her famous friends (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathanial Hawthorne, Elizabeth Barrett-Browning, a young Louisa May Alcott) to her commitment to writing (journalist, translator, editor, writer) to being a member of the transcendentalism movement and an advocate for women’s rights. To say she was remarkable is an understatement.

Heavily character driven at the beginning, I had a hard time getting into the beginning of this story. It was very slow with its flowery (1800 appropriate) speech and name dropping. Although revered by her famous friends, she seemed to be taken advantage of, mainly due to her being a woman. The story dragged for me until about 2/3 of the way in, then seemed to follow more of a story of her time overseas until her dramatic ending, which is hinted at in the first chapter. The writing is excellent and research top notch. Even though this wasn’t a hit for me, I enjoyed learning about this amazing women who was ahead of her time. I recommend Ms. Pataki’s earlier books, The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post and Beauty in the Broken Places.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC. This is my honest opinion. ( )