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The Real Minerva: A Literary Historical Fiction of Three Women's Courage and Identity in Rigid 1920s Midwest
Minerva, Minnesota, in 1923 is the picture of Willa Cather-like the Northern Pacific Railway runs through a town center dominated by church steeples and the Hamilton Creamery and Pop Factory. But Minerva is also a small town of limited opportunity, a place where the status quo is firmly entrenched and rigidly enforced. Against this tableau of midwestern placidity and calm, three Minerva women assert their dignity and independence against all odds.
The troubled relationship between young Penny and her mother, Barbara, is getting worse. Disturbed by her mother's affair with the man they clean house for, Penny answers an ad to work for Cora Egan, a Chicago society woman who has fled a bad marriage and intends to raise her child alone on her grandfather's farm. Cora's situation shocks the town, but over time her presence opens a door in Penny's and Barbara's lives. Through these women, Mary Sharratt considers what it takes to reinvent the self, to claim one's true identity.
Mary Sharratt's first novel, Summit Avenue, was hailed as a "remarkablel debut . . . [that] weaves dark, evocative fairy tales and passionate longings into an incandescent coming-of-age story" (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Readers interested in feminine archetypes and women in myth will be similarly drawn to Sharratt's newest novel. Exquisite historical detail and emotional resonance infuseThe Real Minerva,an old-fashioned story with a modern spirit.
The troubled relationship between young Penny and her mother, Barbara, is getting worse. Disturbed by her mother's affair with the man they clean house for, Penny answers an ad to work for Cora Egan, a Chicago society woman who has fled a bad marriage and intends to raise her child alone on her grandfather's farm. Cora's situation shocks the town, but over time her presence opens a door in Penny's and Barbara's lives. Through these women, Mary Sharratt considers what it takes to reinvent the self, to claim one's true identity.
Mary Sharratt's first novel, Summit Avenue, was hailed as a "remarkablel debut . . . [that] weaves dark, evocative fairy tales and passionate longings into an incandescent coming-of-age story" (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Readers interested in feminine archetypes and women in myth will be similarly drawn to Sharratt's newest novel. Exquisite historical detail and emotional resonance infuseThe Real Minerva,an old-fashioned story with a modern spirit.
259 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
50 people are currently reading
638 people want to read
About the author
Mary Sharratt
14 books490 followersMary Sharratt is an American writer who lives with her Belgian husband in the Pendle region of Lancashire, England, the setting for her acclaimed 2010 novel, DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL, which recasts the Pendle Witches of 1612 in their historical context as cunning folk and healers.
Previously she lived for twelve years in Germany. This, along with her interest in sacred music and herbal medicine, inspired her to write her most recent novel, ILLUMINATIONS: A NOVEL OF HILDEGARD VON BINGEN, which explores the dramatic life of the 12th century Benedictine abbess, composer, polymath, and powerfrau.
Winner of the 2005 WILLA Literary Award and a Minnesota Book Award Finalist, Mary has also written the acclaimed novels SUMMIT AVENUE (Coffee House 2000), THE REAL MINERVA (Houghton Mifflin 2004), THE VANISHING POINT (Houghton Mifflin 2006), and co-edited the subversive fiction anthology BITCH LIT (Crocus Books 2006), which celebrates female anti-heroes--strong women who break all the rules. Her short fiction has been published in TWIN CITIES NOIR (Akashic Books 2006).
Mary writes regular articles for Historical Novels Review and Solander on the theme of writing women back into history. When she isn't writing, she's usually riding her spirited Welsh mare through the Lancashire countryside.
Previously she lived for twelve years in Germany. This, along with her interest in sacred music and herbal medicine, inspired her to write her most recent novel, ILLUMINATIONS: A NOVEL OF HILDEGARD VON BINGEN, which explores the dramatic life of the 12th century Benedictine abbess, composer, polymath, and powerfrau.
Winner of the 2005 WILLA Literary Award and a Minnesota Book Award Finalist, Mary has also written the acclaimed novels SUMMIT AVENUE (Coffee House 2000), THE REAL MINERVA (Houghton Mifflin 2004), THE VANISHING POINT (Houghton Mifflin 2006), and co-edited the subversive fiction anthology BITCH LIT (Crocus Books 2006), which celebrates female anti-heroes--strong women who break all the rules. Her short fiction has been published in TWIN CITIES NOIR (Akashic Books 2006).
Mary writes regular articles for Historical Novels Review and Solander on the theme of writing women back into history. When she isn't writing, she's usually riding her spirited Welsh mare through the Lancashire countryside.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
July 30, 2015
2.5 rounded up to 3
While reading this book, I questioned much of the plausibility and some of the history, in particular that of the Mexican work crew. Having grown up in the 50s and 60s fairly close to where this book seems to be placed, I did not remember hearing of Mexican work crews in the 20s. Also, to my knowledge there was only one Dutch family anywhere near where I lived, the Dutch having settled further west and south. But it is never wise to trust one’s memory of history. A quick search on the Web revealed that such crews were plentiful in the United States in the 20s, including northwest Minnesota’s beet fields (also not near where the story took place). That said, it is quite possible there would have been crews that helped with wheat harvesting in south central Minnesota. But in the 30s as jobs became scarce for white Americans, Mexicans both legal and illegal were deported by the thousands. Thus as farming became more mechanized the need for migrant crews was replaced by mechanized farming. And over time migrants returned to the beet fields but only appeared in towns with canning factories, filling the vacancies made by students returning to school in the fall. Their stay was brief and they lived in barracks or shacks near the factories. For perhaps a month, some of the children attended the local schools in which no one spoke Spanish.
WARNING!!!! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Least plausible for me, however, was the role of murders by women in the book. Not only by the characters, but by the notorious woman mentioned who killed her children. I know this was a story based on women, but why no mention of the men? No murderers? And why were the Nelsons able to continue to terrorize the town while the women were locked up? So many murders by women in a town of 3,000 which in the 20s would have been quite a bit larger than most of the towns around. Even in the 50s and 60s most of the towns in south central Minnesota were under 2,000.
I was also disturbed with how catty all the women were, and how noble most of the men were. With the exception of Mr. H. The doctor and the shopkeeper were kinder than any of the town women to the unfortunate. I didn’t buy it.
There was just plain a lot I didn’t buy about the book in plot and story. I also felt the reconciliation between mother and daughter was too smooth. Also, the final chapter jumping ahead missed much that would have led to that. For example, how did Bess and her mother survive the Depression years in California? How did Bess track down Cora? Bess would have been 28 and traveling on her own, speaking little Spanish.
On the positive side, the female characters were well drawn, the story kept my interest and moved quickly, and the sense of place was good. I wouldn’t hesitate to read of Mary Sharratt’s books.
While reading this book, I questioned much of the plausibility and some of the history, in particular that of the Mexican work crew. Having grown up in the 50s and 60s fairly close to where this book seems to be placed, I did not remember hearing of Mexican work crews in the 20s. Also, to my knowledge there was only one Dutch family anywhere near where I lived, the Dutch having settled further west and south. But it is never wise to trust one’s memory of history. A quick search on the Web revealed that such crews were plentiful in the United States in the 20s, including northwest Minnesota’s beet fields (also not near where the story took place). That said, it is quite possible there would have been crews that helped with wheat harvesting in south central Minnesota. But in the 30s as jobs became scarce for white Americans, Mexicans both legal and illegal were deported by the thousands. Thus as farming became more mechanized the need for migrant crews was replaced by mechanized farming. And over time migrants returned to the beet fields but only appeared in towns with canning factories, filling the vacancies made by students returning to school in the fall. Their stay was brief and they lived in barracks or shacks near the factories. For perhaps a month, some of the children attended the local schools in which no one spoke Spanish.
WARNING!!!! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Least plausible for me, however, was the role of murders by women in the book. Not only by the characters, but by the notorious woman mentioned who killed her children. I know this was a story based on women, but why no mention of the men? No murderers? And why were the Nelsons able to continue to terrorize the town while the women were locked up? So many murders by women in a town of 3,000 which in the 20s would have been quite a bit larger than most of the towns around. Even in the 50s and 60s most of the towns in south central Minnesota were under 2,000.
I was also disturbed with how catty all the women were, and how noble most of the men were. With the exception of Mr. H. The doctor and the shopkeeper were kinder than any of the town women to the unfortunate. I didn’t buy it.
There was just plain a lot I didn’t buy about the book in plot and story. I also felt the reconciliation between mother and daughter was too smooth. Also, the final chapter jumping ahead missed much that would have led to that. For example, how did Bess and her mother survive the Depression years in California? How did Bess track down Cora? Bess would have been 28 and traveling on her own, speaking little Spanish.
On the positive side, the female characters were well drawn, the story kept my interest and moved quickly, and the sense of place was good. I wouldn’t hesitate to read of Mary Sharratt’s books.
March 18, 2011
This book was an interesting historical fiction read, but I think the best part about it was that the characters created by Mary Sharratt were so complex and generally likeable despite their flaws. I was really attached to them by the end!
June 29, 2010
I chose this because one of my Etsy friend’s name is Minerva and she’s awesome. :)
So it’s set in the 1920s for most of the story. But little is said or done that couldn’t have made it set today, which is a little sad…I’ll explain in a minute. It takes place in Minerva Minnesota and tells the story of a mother and daughter, a mother and daughter, and mother and daughter: Barbara and Penny, Cora and Phoebe, and to a lesser but no less tragic degree, Hazel and Irene. Barbara and Penny live with Irene and her family as hired help.
Cora is staying at her grandfather’s farm on the edge of town. Hazel is locked away in a mental institution, suffering from a malady that doesn’t allow her to fully wake up or fully sleep. Their paths further intersect when Penny runs away from her mother, angry that she, Barbara, and Irene’s father, their employer, are having an affair. She ends up 21 miles away, at the Maagdenbergh farm just after Cora has given birth to her baby girl. Penny stays on as a hired hand, helping Cora care for the baby and the house. She vows in her heart to protect them as she learns, first secretly and then more openly, of Cora’s past. On the other side of town, Barbara’s story continues with her falling in love with Mr. Hamilton and Irene seeing that as the ultimate affront to her sick mother memory so she…well, I won’t give away the ending.
The part that saddens me is the way the town looks down on Barbara and Cora is pretty much the same as it would be now, only people may be less vocal about it. Progress, where art thou? I’m sure someone could give this a more political literary analysis. I chose to take it as it is, not looking for hidden meanings or inferences. It’s beautiful and a little haunting. I enjoyed it.
So it’s set in the 1920s for most of the story. But little is said or done that couldn’t have made it set today, which is a little sad…I’ll explain in a minute. It takes place in Minerva Minnesota and tells the story of a mother and daughter, a mother and daughter, and mother and daughter: Barbara and Penny, Cora and Phoebe, and to a lesser but no less tragic degree, Hazel and Irene. Barbara and Penny live with Irene and her family as hired help.
Cora is staying at her grandfather’s farm on the edge of town. Hazel is locked away in a mental institution, suffering from a malady that doesn’t allow her to fully wake up or fully sleep. Their paths further intersect when Penny runs away from her mother, angry that she, Barbara, and Irene’s father, their employer, are having an affair. She ends up 21 miles away, at the Maagdenbergh farm just after Cora has given birth to her baby girl. Penny stays on as a hired hand, helping Cora care for the baby and the house. She vows in her heart to protect them as she learns, first secretly and then more openly, of Cora’s past. On the other side of town, Barbara’s story continues with her falling in love with Mr. Hamilton and Irene seeing that as the ultimate affront to her sick mother memory so she…well, I won’t give away the ending.
The part that saddens me is the way the town looks down on Barbara and Cora is pretty much the same as it would be now, only people may be less vocal about it. Progress, where art thou? I’m sure someone could give this a more political literary analysis. I chose to take it as it is, not looking for hidden meanings or inferences. It’s beautiful and a little haunting. I enjoyed it.
May 20, 2024
Good story! Although you could anticipate some of the events in the story, they were well told. I really cared about the characters and the secrets they held. Well told story.
May 4, 2018
One of the most enjoyable books I have read this year - but then so far everything I have read by this author has been great! Fabulous storyline!
January 12, 2024
3.5 rounded down. I enjoy her writing and thorough research, from delivering babies to how to shoot a winchester rifle. (Is it really a spoiler alert that if a character learns how to shoot a gun, they *will* end up shooting a gun.)
One thing I had no idea about was the "sleeping sickness" that spread after the Spanish flu. According to the interwebs, "Encephalitis lethargica assumed its most virulent form between October 1918 and January 1919. In the United States the epidemic peaked from 1920 to 1924. It is estimated that as many as one million people were diagnosed with encephalitis lethargica during the epidemic period. signs and symptoms often included lethargy, insomnia, sleep reversal, headache, vomiting, vertigo, dry mouth, hiccups, dysuria, tremors, and diplopia and lasted 3–21 days. A mild to moderate fever was common. Some patients never progressed. Until about 1920, a somnolent-ophthalmoplegic form was the most common. Patients developed progressive somnolence until they became stuporous or comatose. The face was characteristically impassive and mask-like.
From an interview with Sharratt, she says "In writing The Real Minerva, I chose the form of a historical novel set in the Twenties to present three heroines struggling against the kind of overwhelming social strictures many of us today would have a hard time imagining. The Real Minerva poses a question: is it possible to leave your past behind and become someone wholly different? What if you are a woman living on the fringes of society in a claustrophobic small town? I wanted to take the great Twenties myth of the Self-Made Man, a la The Great Gatsby, and recast it through a female lens. How would my three heroines attempt to reinvent themselves?"
There's a lot of Greek references, from the name of the town (Minerva) to Penelope (Penny). If I knew more about the Odyessy I'd be able to connect more.
One thing I had no idea about was the "sleeping sickness" that spread after the Spanish flu. According to the interwebs, "Encephalitis lethargica assumed its most virulent form between October 1918 and January 1919. In the United States the epidemic peaked from 1920 to 1924. It is estimated that as many as one million people were diagnosed with encephalitis lethargica during the epidemic period. signs and symptoms often included lethargy, insomnia, sleep reversal, headache, vomiting, vertigo, dry mouth, hiccups, dysuria, tremors, and diplopia and lasted 3–21 days. A mild to moderate fever was common. Some patients never progressed. Until about 1920, a somnolent-ophthalmoplegic form was the most common. Patients developed progressive somnolence until they became stuporous or comatose. The face was characteristically impassive and mask-like.
From an interview with Sharratt, she says "In writing The Real Minerva, I chose the form of a historical novel set in the Twenties to present three heroines struggling against the kind of overwhelming social strictures many of us today would have a hard time imagining. The Real Minerva poses a question: is it possible to leave your past behind and become someone wholly different? What if you are a woman living on the fringes of society in a claustrophobic small town? I wanted to take the great Twenties myth of the Self-Made Man, a la The Great Gatsby, and recast it through a female lens. How would my three heroines attempt to reinvent themselves?"
There's a lot of Greek references, from the name of the town (Minerva) to Penelope (Penny). If I knew more about the Odyessy I'd be able to connect more.
April 3, 2024
Not compelling. This novel, which is set in Minnesota in the early 1920's, shows the difficulties of three women who live on the fringes of society.
Penny, 15, lives with her mother in the household of a wealthy businessman. Barbara is the housekeeper for the family because Mrs. Hamilton is in a coma due to sleeping sickness. When Penny finds that her mother is submitting to Mr. Hamilton's sexual advances, she runs away to take a job with Cora Egan, who is expecting a baby. Cora has run away from her husband in Chicago and is trying to manager her family's farm. Penny just happens to arrive just after Cora has given birth to a baby girl. Cora recovers from childbirth very quickly and resumes he habit of dressing and acting like a man. Over the next months, Cora and Penny form an uneasy relationship, but they both need the other.
Chapters telling Barbara's story of falling in love with her employer are interspersed with Penny's chapters. The mother and daughter make sporadic and unsuccessful attempts to reconnect. When Cora's husband shows up to claim his baby daughter and take Cora back to Chicago, violence is unleashed that changes the lives of everyone involved.
There is an imbalance to these stories. Penny's story takes much more of the books chapters than Barbara's story. There are implausible and heavyhanded elements scattered throughout the novel. There is a second episode of violence inserted in the story that sends it over the top for melodrama. The novel is named after the town that they live in, but the people of the town play only a marginal role in the story, and that is presented in a flat, dull manner. I never felt that I was being shown what a small town in 1920's Minnesota was like. There are some time discrepancies in the plot. And Cora's brother is introduced at the height of the plot, is a witness to the violence, and then disappears.
The last chapters try to wrap up the story, but the epilogue actually leaves more questions unanswered.
I found this novel dissatisfying.
Penny, 15, lives with her mother in the household of a wealthy businessman. Barbara is the housekeeper for the family because Mrs. Hamilton is in a coma due to sleeping sickness. When Penny finds that her mother is submitting to Mr. Hamilton's sexual advances, she runs away to take a job with Cora Egan, who is expecting a baby. Cora has run away from her husband in Chicago and is trying to manager her family's farm. Penny just happens to arrive just after Cora has given birth to a baby girl. Cora recovers from childbirth very quickly and resumes he habit of dressing and acting like a man. Over the next months, Cora and Penny form an uneasy relationship, but they both need the other.
Chapters telling Barbara's story of falling in love with her employer are interspersed with Penny's chapters. The mother and daughter make sporadic and unsuccessful attempts to reconnect. When Cora's husband shows up to claim his baby daughter and take Cora back to Chicago, violence is unleashed that changes the lives of everyone involved.
There is an imbalance to these stories. Penny's story takes much more of the books chapters than Barbara's story. There are implausible and heavyhanded elements scattered throughout the novel. There is a second episode of violence inserted in the story that sends it over the top for melodrama. The novel is named after the town that they live in, but the people of the town play only a marginal role in the story, and that is presented in a flat, dull manner. I never felt that I was being shown what a small town in 1920's Minnesota was like. There are some time discrepancies in the plot. And Cora's brother is introduced at the height of the plot, is a witness to the violence, and then disappears.
The last chapters try to wrap up the story, but the epilogue actually leaves more questions unanswered.
I found this novel dissatisfying.
December 5, 2022
A good read includes Minnesota and three strong women who whatever is necessary.
Amazon: A “memorable [and] entertaining” novel of three strong women in 1920s small-town Minnesota by the author of Revelations (The Washington Post Book World).
Winner of the Willa Literary Award
Finalist for the Minnesota Book Award
In a Midwestern farming community in 1923, as book-loving Penny enters adolescence, her mother, Barbara, pulls her out of school to send her to work. Destined to become a cleaning woman like her mother, Penny sees no escape from her bleak existence—until a scandalous figure arrives in the town of Minerva, Minnesota: Cora, very pregnant, very headstrong, and very alone, has come to make a home on her grandfather’s farm.
Intrigued by this curious new resident, Penny sets out to work for Cora, setting into motion events that will change multiple lives. Drawing on her mother’s and grandmother’s stories of Minnesota farm life in the early twentieth century, acclaimed author Mary Sharratt has created a suspenseful and moving novel about the strength of women and the unexpected friendships that form between them.
“A paean to the bond between mothers and daughters . . . engrossing.” —Booklist
“Wonderful.” —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times-bestselling author of With or Without You
Read less
Amazon: A “memorable [and] entertaining” novel of three strong women in 1920s small-town Minnesota by the author of Revelations (The Washington Post Book World).
Winner of the Willa Literary Award
Finalist for the Minnesota Book Award
In a Midwestern farming community in 1923, as book-loving Penny enters adolescence, her mother, Barbara, pulls her out of school to send her to work. Destined to become a cleaning woman like her mother, Penny sees no escape from her bleak existence—until a scandalous figure arrives in the town of Minerva, Minnesota: Cora, very pregnant, very headstrong, and very alone, has come to make a home on her grandfather’s farm.
Intrigued by this curious new resident, Penny sets out to work for Cora, setting into motion events that will change multiple lives. Drawing on her mother’s and grandmother’s stories of Minnesota farm life in the early twentieth century, acclaimed author Mary Sharratt has created a suspenseful and moving novel about the strength of women and the unexpected friendships that form between them.
“A paean to the bond between mothers and daughters . . . engrossing.” —Booklist
“Wonderful.” —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times-bestselling author of With or Without You
Read less
December 21, 2019
This is a novel about the complicated bonds that can develop between women - especially mothers and daughters. The story is primarily told from 15-year-old Penny's point of view. Set in a small town in Minnesota in 1920's, Penny lives and works with her mother in the household of a wealthy business man with an ailing wife and three daughters. After an argument, Penny goes to work for Cora Egan, a mysterious woman on her own miles from town who dresses like a man and has an infant daughter to take care of on her own. Penny's relationship with her mother, Cora and Cora's baby as well as the town members merge together into two explosive confrontations which leave Penny forever changed. This is a solid read - especially if you like novels about strong women and early twentieth century northwestern America.
September 6, 2023
Social Media loves to post drama. Today it was women telling the moment they realized why their boyfriend's ex broke up with him.
Most were just dead weight - women realizing they're unpaid housekeeping, catering, childcare, and sex for their man, who sees no problem with his doing no work at all. The other stories were that plus verbal and/or physical abuse.
In the old days, those women would just be stuck. There are even men campaigning now to bring back the rules to keep a woman from escape. No wonder stories of escape are appealing.
Oh, I guess there was one story about a guy who just had poor table manners. That woman requested that he improve & he did. They're still together.
Most were just dead weight - women realizing they're unpaid housekeeping, catering, childcare, and sex for their man, who sees no problem with his doing no work at all. The other stories were that plus verbal and/or physical abuse.
In the old days, those women would just be stuck. There are even men campaigning now to bring back the rules to keep a woman from escape. No wonder stories of escape are appealing.
Oh, I guess there was one story about a guy who just had poor table manners. That woman requested that he improve & he did. They're still together.
December 26, 2022
As a Minnesotan for 56 years and an Iowa "farm girl" in my first incarnation I was drawn to the setting for this book. The best part of the novel was certainly the characters of Penny, her mother Barbara, and Cora Egan. They were finely drawn and believable. The rights of women in 1920's America was the other significant "character". Cora flees from a physically abusive husband rather than attempting to fight him in court. At the time beating your wife was often regarded as a husband's right if she did not obey. Incest plays a role. The book was compelling reading and had a knowledge of rural Midwestern life typical of Willa Cather. Recommend. Kristi & Abby Tabby
January 18, 2022
I've nearly read all of Mary Sharratt's books at this point, and this has to be my favorite of them all. Even better than Daughter's of the Witching Hill, which claimed that title one day before. I finished it in a day, and in that time every character in this novel was near and dear to my heart. Mary Sharratt has a special gift, and this book is yet another must-read from who is quickly becoming my favorite author.
April 4, 2022
Solid story, interesting characters. There’s a heavy-handed nod to Greek mythology, and the color red appears as a symbolic motif along with birds of all sorts. The author does not weave these elements together tightly; otherwise, this story of love, loyalty, and redemption would’ve scored a “five” on my star scale
August 26, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My first written by Sharratt. I'm anxious to read other titles. The story is heart wrenching but also heart warming. I particularly enjoyed the relationship developed between Cora and Penny. Loved the ending. Felt sorry for Irene. She desperately was reaching out for help. Good read.
July 7, 2022
What a great story about strong women and friendship. I loved this book! It was also interesting to see consider how little power women had in the first part of the 19oo's, especially in a small town. It makes me so grateful to have been born much later.
December 10, 2023
Must read
Beautiful prose capturing courageous women who make the ultimate sacrifice for love. Truth, lies, love, hate and the murky waters we must swim to distinguish between opposing forces.
Beautiful prose capturing courageous women who make the ultimate sacrifice for love. Truth, lies, love, hate and the murky waters we must swim to distinguish between opposing forces.
December 14, 2017
This is the story of three strong women in 1923 small town Minerva, Minnesota.
I loved it.
I loved it.
June 30, 2018
Absorbing read about three women and the choices they make.
Read
August 7, 2021to-read
August 24, 2022
This was an excellent book about the 1920's in Minerva, a small town. It was about spousal abuse, and friendship and growing up. I really liked it. I will read more of Mary Sharratt's books.
November 26, 2022
A good read.
February 2, 2023
Ok sort of wierd
October 22, 2012
it is 1923. In Minerva, Minn, the owner if the factory, Mr. Hamilton has had to put his wife away. She contacted sleeping sickness. Thereafter he begins an affair with his live in hired woman, Barbara Niebeck. Her daughter, Penny suspected and after a flight, Penny flees and finds herself twenty three miles of town where Cora Viney has tried to have her baby by herself. Penny stays on to help Cora while back on the Hamilton place her mother continues her affair with her boss. Mr. Hamilton's oldest daughter Irene once back from camp begins to suspect and spy. Although her mother is in a hospital, she is still alive and Irene views all this as a betray of her mother.
Cora Viney is trying to hide from an abusive husband never dreaming he has hired a private detective to find her.
With this setting in place and two young unsettled girls involved, events unfold in this small town in rural Minnesota which will soon scandalize the town and settle the fates of both Irene and Penny.
Read on to find out!
Personally when I set out to read this, I was not sure if I would like it but Mary Sharratt never disappoints, not even in her earlier novels of which this is one. It is a story that will stay with you for a long time.
Cora Viney is trying to hide from an abusive husband never dreaming he has hired a private detective to find her.
With this setting in place and two young unsettled girls involved, events unfold in this small town in rural Minnesota which will soon scandalize the town and settle the fates of both Irene and Penny.
Read on to find out!
Personally when I set out to read this, I was not sure if I would like it but Mary Sharratt never disappoints, not even in her earlier novels of which this is one. It is a story that will stay with you for a long time.
December 30, 2007
Not quite as compelling as Summit Avenue, this book was still beautifully written. Sharrat is a master of characterization and getting historical details right. The plot parallels that of Summit Avenue, with its exploration of women trying to break away from limited gender roles, living on their own in defiance of society's expectations, etc. This book has a slightly darker viewpoint than her earlier novel--more violence, more focus on women's vulnerabilities in a society that forces them to be dependent on men. Still, the major female characters' inner strength wins out in the end, so the message is still hopeful and inspiring. Not that Sharrat, I think, tries for a specific moral--she's too good of a writer for that--but her stories do carry the weight of a complex ethical perspective and a concern for human moral values and how they might hold up against forces like poverty and prejudice.
September 12, 2014
THE REAL MINERVA is powerful and beautifully written novel. Barbara, Cora, Penelope: three women's lives that SHARRATT intertwines in a beautifully choreographed tale. These strong, singular women's stories are about struggling surviving, living and loving fiercely and without compromise. The roles and societal structure that defined small-town life in the 1930s shape the destinies of Barbara, Cora, and Penelope. Each has a secret to keep. Each must find a way to escape and reestablish their lives. THE REAL MINERVA is historical fiction as well as feminist literature at its best. SHARRATT is a masterful author. I have very much enjoyed her novels that I've read so far: ILLUMINATIONS, THE VANISHING POINT, THE DAUGHTERS OF THE WITCHING HILL and, of course, THE REAL MINERVA. I look forward to reading her first novel, SUMMIT AVENUE, as well as her upcoming novel, THE DARK LADY's MASK.
August 26, 2022
Unlike most reviewers, I didn't love this book. While the writing was certainly excellent, and the characters were interesting, I found the plot implausible. Why throw in a second unlikely and gruesome murder, therefore making the whole thing feel like an over-the-top soap opera? The conflict with Cora's abusive husband provided plenty of tension and should have been the focus of the suspense. The added melodrama detracted from what could have been a poignant story about women's friendship and mutual support. To top it off the author added a third completely unrelated murder, pushing things to an almost ridiculous degree. WHY? This could have been a four or even five star novel if the author had exercised more restraint and kept events within believable bounds. The Real Minerva didn't need all that sensationalistic violence to make it's point.
January 19, 2015
Probably a 4.5.
While the narrator, partly due to age, didn't break new ground, I thought that the parts of the book from her mother's point of view were fresher, if difficult to read sometimes.
The stereotypes of small town life, particularly Minnesota small town, were well-drawn. I found the desire for self-sufficiency matched with the desire for love and connection and interesting juxtaposition.
The characterization is strong too. Every character is written in such a way that you care about him or her, even if you disagree with their decisions. Also, the editing is well done in the sense that there is so much going on in so few pages.
While the narrator, partly due to age, didn't break new ground, I thought that the parts of the book from her mother's point of view were fresher, if difficult to read sometimes.
The stereotypes of small town life, particularly Minnesota small town, were well-drawn. I found the desire for self-sufficiency matched with the desire for love and connection and interesting juxtaposition.
The characterization is strong too. Every character is written in such a way that you care about him or her, even if you disagree with their decisions. Also, the editing is well done in the sense that there is so much going on in so few pages.
July 1, 2013
This was a pretty good story. Two grown women and two 15 year old girls each make choices that are, in the least, not in line with the norms of the day in rural Minnesota in the early 1920's and, at most, extremely desperate. The most interesting aspect for me was thinking about a "justified" murder. If you murder one person to save another, you have still killed someone. And if someone takes the blame to save the murderer, the one who killed may escape jail time and social stigma but still lives with the burden of their action for the rest of their life.
September 5, 2024
I loved Mary Sharratt's 'The Vanishing Point' so much so that I went searching for other books by this author. While not nearly as gripping as 'The Vanishing Point', 'The Real Minerva' was still a good read. This book took us back to an earlier time when women were challenged by far more issues that today are no longer accepted as 'the way it is.' Sharratt's 'Minerva' is a story of strong women overcoming various real events and challenges.
December 15, 2010
I really enjoyed reading this book.It was a quick and an interesting read. It is the story about 3 different women who have in common that they are strong even though they might not know it.
Some of the plot was a surprise to me and that does not happen that much so that was nice. I am planning on trying to find this author's first book and i hope she will write more. Loved The Vanishing Point.
Some of the plot was a surprise to me and that does not happen that much so that was nice. I am planning on trying to find this author's first book and i hope she will write more. Loved The Vanishing Point.
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