The Literary Undoing Of Victoria Swann

In Gilded Age Boston, The Literary Undoing Of Victoria Swann tells the story of a successful woman author of novels filled with romance and adventure who becomes a champion of women’s rights as she takes on the literary establishment and finds her true voice both on and off the page. Things drastically change for Victoria as she takes a stand against her publishers wishes and wants to tell stories with reality in them Victoria loses her husband and her income as she joins legions of hard working women who are her biggest friends and a new young Harvard educated editor becomes her ally.

Writing & Characters

I like the characters of Victoria and Jonathan Cartwright the editor.  You want to root for Victoria and Johnathan wants to help her. The writing was easy to read while at the same time being descriptive. I do think it sometimes read as a text book and sometimes it changed points of view too quickly without warning. I also felt that the book was missing something.  Overall it was still a great book.

Setting

I like that the book took place during The Gilded Age. Anyone who watches The Gilded Age on HBO as well as books about writing and books will enjoy The Literary Undoing Of Victoria Swann.

Inspiration For The Story

My favorite part of the novel was in the acknowledgements section Virginia mentioned that an actual woman author Gail Hamilton was the inspiration for the fictional Victoria Swann. I thought that was interesting.

Overall

At the end of the day if you enjoy historical fiction, especially books that take place during the Gilded Age & books about books and writing this book is for you.