The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“We shall be useful. But just as importantly we shall be defiant, occasionally ill-mannered, and completely indomitable.”
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies is about a mature woman and the adventures she gets herself into. Lady Augusta is not your typical affluent, Regency lady of a certain age as she steps up to butts heads with society and her brother. Her sister, Lady Julia, joins along with her sister’s plans which involve doing good deeds. Another main character is brought in to mix things up as well. There are 3 main capers as you will with another mission that is intertwined throughout. This novel has romance, family, and cultural commentary. It is full of surprises and keeps you on your toes. It takes place in England and mostly around London in the Regency era. This era is not remembered for treating women well and this book addresses that head on. Women rule is this wonderful novel.
This book was an exuberant riot of fun! The sisters are adventurous, witty, and clever. And they do all this in a society that treats women as property without any sort of intelligence or agency of their own. The repartee that occurs frequently reminded me a lot of The Importance of Being Earnest which was another book I loved. The Benevolent Society was a nonstop joyride of escapades. I had a smile on my face while I was reading through many parts. I was rooting so hard for Augusta and Julia. Alison Goodman is a very good author. She writes an engaging book with excellent word use. She harkens back to a different time with her choices of locutions and makes it sound interesting instead of it having a feeling of being bogged down by unknown terms. It also highlights the differences that society at that time decided existed between men and women. I found it fascinating and it angered me all the same. The brother was an ass that needed to be slapped. He was a good antagonist. It represented the times well though which added realism. Alison did something in this book that I love when it occurs in books. It adds in queer or allusions to queer elements in a time where it was not talked about let alone accepted. Characters are introduced that are cool with it and don’t make a big deal out of it which makes my heart glow. In relation to that a character says, “my brother’s narrow idea of Christianity seems to bring more suffering into the world than relief.” This is an amazing way of phrasing it and it applies in this modern world just as much. There were some slight scenes involving low spirits and heartache, but it added to the ups and downs throughout. The dedication in the book sets the tone right off the bat. “This book is dedicated to all the women out there who no longer have the patience or desire to put up with any nonsense.”
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