Book Stop Corner

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Kami Garcia, a New York Times bestselling author has been quoted while saying:

“We don't get to chose what is true. We only get to choose what we do about it.”

Louisa Treger, an English author, has portrayed the life and times of a writer named, Dorothy Richardson, who was the peer of Virginia Woolf, lover of H.G. Wells, and ultimately got stuck between the crossfire’s of her past and a new era of unconventional world where she desires to be a writer of modernist fiction, in her debut novel, The Lodger.

Synopsis:
Dorothy exist just above the poverty line, doing secretarial work at a dentist's surgery and living in a seedy boarding house in Bloomsbury, when she is invited to spend the weekend with a childhood friend. Jane recently married a writer who is hovering on the brink of fame. His name is H.G. Wells or Bertie as he is known to friends.

Bertie appears unremarkable at first. But then Dorothy notices his grey-blue eyes taking her in, openly signaling approval. He tells her he and Jane has an agreement which allows them the freedom to take lovers, although Dorothy is not convinced her friend is happy with this arrangement.
Not wanting to betray Jane, yet unable to draw back, Dorothy free-falls into an affair with Bertie. Then a new boarder arrives at the house—striking unconventional Veronica Leslie-Jones, determined to live life on her own terms—and Dorothy finds herself caught between Veronica and Bertie. Amidst the personal dramas and wreckage of the militant suffragette movement, Dorothy finds her voice as a writer.

For a first time author, Treger's writing can be compared to any noteworthy author's work. Her prose is completely poetic and very polemical since she has crafted a fiction based on factual data and real life events! We have read so many biographies, but I never read such a profound biography which happens to be a fiction! Treger has painted the picturesque image of the late 20th century in London. From eating habits to sociopolitical changes, all were described very intricately. And from Dorothy's life, we get to see the hardships faced by a woman who chooses the road to independence rather than depending on a man and such women used to lead a life just above the poverty line. Whoever reads this book in this 21st century, can relate to Dorothy and may find Dorothy as a very striking character. Her fight to get a life of completely independence as a writer and as a lover and not bound by the marital strings can be very well apprehended the women of this century. But imagine how she struggled in a different century, when the society decided a women's fate rather than their brain and mouths.

Dorothy's relationship with the famous author, H.G. Wells is written with much compassion and vividness. Their physical encounters will not only stir you up but will also make you see the darkness behind their affair. Dorothy even develops feeling for another house guest of her best friend, Veronica, and the author has written this forbidden relationship with so much depth!

It's not only a novel about forbidden love stories and illicit love affairs, but it's about the women who were looked upon as out casted by the society during the 20th century. And Dorothy's illicit affair with Wells made her a writer, and she wrote 13 volumes of an autobiographical tale, Pilgrimage , which remains forgotten by us!

Louisa Treger has done enough research about her Dorothy character to deliver a brilliant yet subtle novel. She not only takes us back in time and place but also fills up us with a fire inside to understand the narrow-mindedness of a gender partial society. In one world, I can say that this novel is written with utmost passion thus resulting into something so riveting and evocative. This tale will not only make you think but it'll touch the very soul of your heart!

Verdict: You can't miss this deeply moving tale!

Courtesy: I'm very thank to the author, Louisa Treger for providing me with a review copy of her book. 
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Author Info:
Born in London, Louisa Treger began her career as a classical violinist. She studied at the Royal College of Music and the Guildhall School of Music, and worked as a freelance orchestral player and teacher. Louisa subsequently turned to literature, gaining a First Class degree and a PhD in English at University College London, where she focused on early twentieth century women’s writing.
Married with three children, she lives in London.
Visit her here 

Book Purchase Links:

• Amazon US 
• Amazon India 

 
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