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Behave
From the author of The Spanish Bow comes a lush, harrowing novel based on the real life story of Rosalie Rayner Watson, one of the most controversial scientists—and mothers—of the 20th century
“The mother begins to destroy the child the moment it’s born,” wrote the founder of behaviorist psychology, John B. Watson, whose 1928 parenting guide was revered as the child-rearing bible. For their dangerous and “mawkish” impulses to kiss and hug their child, “most mothers should be indicted for psychological murder.”
Behave is the story of Rosalie Rayner, Watson’s ambitious young wife and the mother of two of his children.
In 1920, when she graduated from Vassar College, Rayner was ready to make her mark on the world. Intelligent, beautiful, and unflappable, she won a coveted research position at Johns Hopkins assisting the charismatic celebrity psychologist John B. Watson. Together, Watson and Rayner conducted controversial experiments on hundreds of babies to prove behaviorist principles. They also embarked on a scandalous affair that cost them both their jobs—and recast the sparkling young Rosalie Rayner, scientist and thinker, as Mrs. John Watson, wife and conflicted, maligned mother, just another “woman behind a great man.”
With Behave, Andromeda Romano-Lax offers a provocative fictional biography of Rosalie Rayner Watson, a woman whose work influenced generations of Americans, and whose legacy has been lost in the shadow of her husband’s. In turns moving and horrifying, Behave is a richly nuanced and disturbing novel about science, progress, love, marriage, motherhood, and what all those things cost a passionate, promising young woman.
“The mother begins to destroy the child the moment it’s born,” wrote the founder of behaviorist psychology, John B. Watson, whose 1928 parenting guide was revered as the child-rearing bible. For their dangerous and “mawkish” impulses to kiss and hug their child, “most mothers should be indicted for psychological murder.”
Behave is the story of Rosalie Rayner, Watson’s ambitious young wife and the mother of two of his children.
In 1920, when she graduated from Vassar College, Rayner was ready to make her mark on the world. Intelligent, beautiful, and unflappable, she won a coveted research position at Johns Hopkins assisting the charismatic celebrity psychologist John B. Watson. Together, Watson and Rayner conducted controversial experiments on hundreds of babies to prove behaviorist principles. They also embarked on a scandalous affair that cost them both their jobs—and recast the sparkling young Rosalie Rayner, scientist and thinker, as Mrs. John Watson, wife and conflicted, maligned mother, just another “woman behind a great man.”
With Behave, Andromeda Romano-Lax offers a provocative fictional biography of Rosalie Rayner Watson, a woman whose work influenced generations of Americans, and whose legacy has been lost in the shadow of her husband’s. In turns moving and horrifying, Behave is a richly nuanced and disturbing novel about science, progress, love, marriage, motherhood, and what all those things cost a passionate, promising young woman.
391 pages, Hardcover
First published February 23, 2016
157 people are currently reading
2137 people want to read
About the author
Andromeda Romano-Lax
25 books414 followersAndromeda Romano-Lax worked as a freelance journalist and travel writer before turning to fiction. Her first novel, The Spanish Bow, was translated into eleven languages and was chosen as a New York Times Editors’ Choice. Her suspense novel, The Deepest Lake, was a Barnes & Noble Monthly Pick. Among her nonfiction works are a dozen travel and natural history guidebooks to the public lands of Alaska, as well as a travel narrative, Searching for Steinbeck’s Sea of Cortez. She currently lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.
RECEIVE ANDROMEDA'S MONTHLY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER: https://romanolax.substack.com/
RECEIVE ANDROMEDA'S MONTHLY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER: https://romanolax.substack.com/
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March 29, 2016
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Behave by Andromeda Romano-Lax is the story of Rosalie Rayner Watson and her marriage to psychologist John B. Watson, who came to be known as the Father of Behaviorism.
This happens to be another of those books that's tough for me to review as there is a great disparity in what I feel about the author's abilities as a writer and story teller and my overall impression of the book. I think the author did a fabulous job in articulating Rosalie's story despite the fact that aren't a lot of historical documents, etc. available to fully shape Rosalie's character. It was an easy, fast read and I enjoyed the author's writing style. However, I found both Rosalie and John to be unlikeable; their story mundane.
Rosalie is a young Vassar grad when she meets John. She lands a job as his research assistant at Johns Hopkins where they perform somewhat cruel experiments, on infants to prove John's incomprehensible theories on behavior, conditioning, and child-rearing. John is married but, as expected, they begin an a affair (not his first by any means) which ultimately results in John and his first wife divorcing. Also not surprising, Rosalie, through the years, becomes disillusioned. Why would she think he'd be faithful to her? Should she be surprised that he would be less than discreet with his paramours? What mother would want to have to hide her affection toward her children? Simply put, John is a bit of ass. But then again, perhaps she shouldn't have been so naive. But it's more than just naivete that I found objectionable about Rosalie. She was rather a cold-hearted and unfeeling in her approach to her test subjects and I was glad that I wasn't forced to read too many detailed accounts of the morally reprehensible experiments she helped perform on babies. The few I did have to read about were quite enough, thank you very much.
As for John Watson's contribution to the world, all I can say is I can't even imagine anyone believing in this man and his theories and I'm glad we're no longer referring to his parenting guides.
Though I didn't love this book, I would give any future books by Ms. Romano-Lax another chance depending on the subject.
Thanks to Soho Press via NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Behave by Andromeda Romano-Lax is the story of Rosalie Rayner Watson and her marriage to psychologist John B. Watson, who came to be known as the Father of Behaviorism.
This happens to be another of those books that's tough for me to review as there is a great disparity in what I feel about the author's abilities as a writer and story teller and my overall impression of the book. I think the author did a fabulous job in articulating Rosalie's story despite the fact that aren't a lot of historical documents, etc. available to fully shape Rosalie's character. It was an easy, fast read and I enjoyed the author's writing style. However, I found both Rosalie and John to be unlikeable; their story mundane.
Rosalie is a young Vassar grad when she meets John. She lands a job as his research assistant at Johns Hopkins where they perform somewhat cruel experiments, on infants to prove John's incomprehensible theories on behavior, conditioning, and child-rearing. John is married but, as expected, they begin an a affair (not his first by any means) which ultimately results in John and his first wife divorcing. Also not surprising, Rosalie, through the years, becomes disillusioned. Why would she think he'd be faithful to her? Should she be surprised that he would be less than discreet with his paramours? What mother would want to have to hide her affection toward her children? Simply put, John is a bit of ass. But then again, perhaps she shouldn't have been so naive. But it's more than just naivete that I found objectionable about Rosalie. She was rather a cold-hearted and unfeeling in her approach to her test subjects and I was glad that I wasn't forced to read too many detailed accounts of the morally reprehensible experiments she helped perform on babies. The few I did have to read about were quite enough, thank you very much.
As for John Watson's contribution to the world, all I can say is I can't even imagine anyone believing in this man and his theories and I'm glad we're no longer referring to his parenting guides.
Though I didn't love this book, I would give any future books by Ms. Romano-Lax another chance depending on the subject.
Thanks to Soho Press via NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 11, 2016
BEHAVE is a difficult novel to rate. It’s historical fiction and very well researched. The first half of the novel is a 2-3 star story, and the last half is a 4-5 star read. There is interesting information in the first half; I just think it could have been edited to half the pages.
That said, it’s an historical fiction novel about the wife (Rosalie Rayner) of the renowned founder of Behaviorist Psychology, John Watson. The fiction part is author Andromeda Romano-Lax’s idea of Rosalie. Lax incorporated known facts of Watson’s life into the novel, and added her own fiction of what Rosalie could have been like. As an idea for a novel, I am very fond of those historical fiction novels about the wives of famous, very strong and controversial men. It would take a special woman to partner and stay married to such a man.
The book follows Rosalie’s life as a young biology student at Vassar through her marriage to Watson. What I found amazing in the novel is the Behaviorist theories and non-attachment parenting. In nature versus nurture, the Behaviorist believes in total nurture. A baby must learn all behaviors. Nothing is inherent or genetic. For example, when a baby is born, Watson’s idea was to immediately begin toilet training, as it’s a learned behavior. The infant is on a schedule: awake at 6:30 am; feed a few minutes; held over the toilet until pee and/or poo(laxatives are used if necessary); back to feeding; independent play(I personally heard of more than one infant dropped in the toilet using that method). Watson believed it would be best to raise babies in a baby farm, away from the mother. He believed the mother’s love was the problem impeding all baby progress. He based his theories on an experiment he did with Rosalie on an unknown baby, whom he referred to as Little Albert while he and Rosalie were at John Hopkins University. The experiments with that baby are amazing in their questionable, ethical and thought provoking methods. No physical harm was done to the baby, although the emotional toll is questionable. Watson and Rosalie coauthored a parenting book that was published in 1929 which explains much of our grandparent’s behaviors towards child rearing. It was believed that loving a child was detrimental to the emotional growth of a child. The good thing that came out of that theory is that it was an adversary to the growing popular belief of Eugenics at that time.
This is a fabulous novel that reveals how far humanity has come with regard to the ethical limits of scientific study. It also tracks societies parenting ideals of that time period. It has made me more forgiving of what I used to judge as harsh parenting of my Grandparents and my in-laws. It is an amazing revelation of parenting of that time period. Plus, it caused me to research the characters and the Little Albert Studies.
That said, it’s an historical fiction novel about the wife (Rosalie Rayner) of the renowned founder of Behaviorist Psychology, John Watson. The fiction part is author Andromeda Romano-Lax’s idea of Rosalie. Lax incorporated known facts of Watson’s life into the novel, and added her own fiction of what Rosalie could have been like. As an idea for a novel, I am very fond of those historical fiction novels about the wives of famous, very strong and controversial men. It would take a special woman to partner and stay married to such a man.
The book follows Rosalie’s life as a young biology student at Vassar through her marriage to Watson. What I found amazing in the novel is the Behaviorist theories and non-attachment parenting. In nature versus nurture, the Behaviorist believes in total nurture. A baby must learn all behaviors. Nothing is inherent or genetic. For example, when a baby is born, Watson’s idea was to immediately begin toilet training, as it’s a learned behavior. The infant is on a schedule: awake at 6:30 am; feed a few minutes; held over the toilet until pee and/or poo(laxatives are used if necessary); back to feeding; independent play(I personally heard of more than one infant dropped in the toilet using that method). Watson believed it would be best to raise babies in a baby farm, away from the mother. He believed the mother’s love was the problem impeding all baby progress. He based his theories on an experiment he did with Rosalie on an unknown baby, whom he referred to as Little Albert while he and Rosalie were at John Hopkins University. The experiments with that baby are amazing in their questionable, ethical and thought provoking methods. No physical harm was done to the baby, although the emotional toll is questionable. Watson and Rosalie coauthored a parenting book that was published in 1929 which explains much of our grandparent’s behaviors towards child rearing. It was believed that loving a child was detrimental to the emotional growth of a child. The good thing that came out of that theory is that it was an adversary to the growing popular belief of Eugenics at that time.
This is a fabulous novel that reveals how far humanity has come with regard to the ethical limits of scientific study. It also tracks societies parenting ideals of that time period. It has made me more forgiving of what I used to judge as harsh parenting of my Grandparents and my in-laws. It is an amazing revelation of parenting of that time period. Plus, it caused me to research the characters and the Little Albert Studies.
April 17, 2016
I found Behave by Andromeda Romano-Lax to be deeply moving. It's the story of Rosalie Watson, John Watson's (the father of behaviorism" second wife.
The story follows Rosalie from a young girl at Vassar, eager to make her mark in science through her intense infatuation with Watson and its many repercussions. Watson is a married man and their affair costs him not only his marriage but his professorship-and Rosalie's as well. They marry and Rosalie puts her career aside to help Watson and raise their children. But Watson's ideas of non-attachment parenting go against Rosalie's instincts as a mother. Nevertheless, she attempts to squash her own desires to show affection in order to meet her husband's expectations and notions of how a modern child should be raised.
The story is heartbreaking in its depiction of the destruction of a young woman's hope and dreams and her efforts to make an intense passion grow into a mature relationship.
John Watson comes off very badly here-brilliant more even as an ad-man than as a scientist but selfish, arrogant, and determined to impose his ideas on those around him, regardless of the cost.
I thank Netgalley and Soho Press for the opportunity to read this wonderful book.
The story follows Rosalie from a young girl at Vassar, eager to make her mark in science through her intense infatuation with Watson and its many repercussions. Watson is a married man and their affair costs him not only his marriage but his professorship-and Rosalie's as well. They marry and Rosalie puts her career aside to help Watson and raise their children. But Watson's ideas of non-attachment parenting go against Rosalie's instincts as a mother. Nevertheless, she attempts to squash her own desires to show affection in order to meet her husband's expectations and notions of how a modern child should be raised.
The story is heartbreaking in its depiction of the destruction of a young woman's hope and dreams and her efforts to make an intense passion grow into a mature relationship.
John Watson comes off very badly here-brilliant more even as an ad-man than as a scientist but selfish, arrogant, and determined to impose his ideas on those around him, regardless of the cost.
I thank Netgalley and Soho Press for the opportunity to read this wonderful book.
February 8, 2017
John B. Watson is known as the "Father of Behavioural Psychology", although it is B.F. Skinner who is generally attributed with that title for his work in the 1970s. Psychology was a very new science in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; Freud postulated about neuroses and ego in the unconscious while this new branch countered those theories completely, and more. Human beings, behavioural psychologists contended, were a product of ONLY being shaped by their reactions to outside forces.
Behave tells the story of the magnetic John Watson and Rosalie Raynor, a budding psychology graduate from Vassar, who intersected at John Hopkins University when experiments on behaviour were just beginning. Babies from the university hospital, whose mothers left them, were the test subjects for a range of experiments and Rosalie became John's assistant.
Very little is known about the real Rosalie, except for bare bone facts. The author, Andromeda Romano-Lax, has tried to create the person that she might have been considering her life at the hands of the mercurial, narcissistic and demanding man who became her husband. She lost her accreditation because their affair started when he was married, working at John Hopkins and both lost their jobs. Watson went on to a successful career in advertising, using his background to shape sales while continuing to write for academic and popular magazines.
Rosalie became the mother of their two sons, bound to raise them by John Watson's strict behavioural standards; essentially the children were an extended experiment of the work begun professionally. An article written by her in the ’30s talks about how she would have preferred to have shown more physical affection rather than handshakes.
Unfortunately, I found a great deal of Rosalie's introspection repetitive. With few facts to form a character around, it seems that this was the author's avenue to build upon, rather than any other. Also unfortunate is that the Afterword, which could have illuminated Rosalie so much, and perhaps heightened my appreciation more of what felt like internal soliloquies and navel gazing, would have been brilliant if placed as a Preface.
Disappointingly, the author misspelled granddaughter and actress Mariette HarTley's name,nor was she lauded her for her work in the field of mental illness and addiction. The modern story connected to Rosalie Raynor makes the life of this pioneer even more compelling.
I'm glad that I know more than I did prior to reading this novel. With a couple of adjustments, I would have been able to say that I truly enjoyed it too.
3.00 to almost 3.5 stars
Behave tells the story of the magnetic John Watson and Rosalie Raynor, a budding psychology graduate from Vassar, who intersected at John Hopkins University when experiments on behaviour were just beginning. Babies from the university hospital, whose mothers left them, were the test subjects for a range of experiments and Rosalie became John's assistant.
Very little is known about the real Rosalie, except for bare bone facts. The author, Andromeda Romano-Lax, has tried to create the person that she might have been considering her life at the hands of the mercurial, narcissistic and demanding man who became her husband. She lost her accreditation because their affair started when he was married, working at John Hopkins and both lost their jobs. Watson went on to a successful career in advertising, using his background to shape sales while continuing to write for academic and popular magazines.
Rosalie became the mother of their two sons, bound to raise them by John Watson's strict behavioural standards; essentially the children were an extended experiment of the work begun professionally. An article written by her in the ’30s talks about how she would have preferred to have shown more physical affection rather than handshakes.
Unfortunately, I found a great deal of Rosalie's introspection repetitive. With few facts to form a character around, it seems that this was the author's avenue to build upon, rather than any other. Also unfortunate is that the Afterword, which could have illuminated Rosalie so much, and perhaps heightened my appreciation more of what felt like internal soliloquies and navel gazing, would have been brilliant if placed as a Preface.
Disappointingly, the author misspelled granddaughter and actress Mariette HarTley's name,nor was she lauded her for her work in the field of mental illness and addiction. The modern story connected to Rosalie Raynor makes the life of this pioneer even more compelling.
I'm glad that I know more than I did prior to reading this novel. With a couple of adjustments, I would have been able to say that I truly enjoyed it too.
3.00 to almost 3.5 stars
July 13, 2016
Behave by Andromeda Romano-Lax is a fictional biography of Rosalie Rayner Watson, the wife of the founder of behaviorist psychology, John B. Watson. Rosalie was one of the most controversial scientists and mothers of the 20th century. Rosalie helped her husband John with his research on child behavior and publish the 1928 parenting guide that was revered as the child-rearing bible. With quotes such as “The mother begins to destroy the child the moment it’s born.”
After graduating from Vassar in 1920 Rosalie won a coveted research position at Johns Hopkins where she meets and begins to work with John. The study conducted controversial experiments on hundreds of babies to prove behaviorist principles. During that time Rosalie began an affair with the married John which was highly scandalous in the 1920's. The book then follows the couple throughout their lives with their research and raising their own children.
Behave is not really the type of read I would normally pick up for myself but I was invited to view this one and thought to myself why not, this could be interesting. I actually found myself quite fascinated with the book fairly on and am glad I did give this one a chance.
Going into this one I didn't know anything about Rosalie or John so it was all new to me. The author has come up with this fictional recount of their lives based on the information found about the couple. There are a lot of things mentioned throughout the era this takes place in which really brought me back to that time in history. I will say though during the research phase of the book I'd find myself just cringing, I can't imagine studies like in the book would ever be done in today's society but it was an interesting look at this couple that spent their lives studying human behavior and response.
Overall, a fascinating look into this historical couple, while it's a work of fiction it's based on facts found about their lives.
I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....
After graduating from Vassar in 1920 Rosalie won a coveted research position at Johns Hopkins where she meets and begins to work with John. The study conducted controversial experiments on hundreds of babies to prove behaviorist principles. During that time Rosalie began an affair with the married John which was highly scandalous in the 1920's. The book then follows the couple throughout their lives with their research and raising their own children.
Behave is not really the type of read I would normally pick up for myself but I was invited to view this one and thought to myself why not, this could be interesting. I actually found myself quite fascinated with the book fairly on and am glad I did give this one a chance.
Going into this one I didn't know anything about Rosalie or John so it was all new to me. The author has come up with this fictional recount of their lives based on the information found about the couple. There are a lot of things mentioned throughout the era this takes place in which really brought me back to that time in history. I will say though during the research phase of the book I'd find myself just cringing, I can't imagine studies like in the book would ever be done in today's society but it was an interesting look at this couple that spent their lives studying human behavior and response.
Overall, a fascinating look into this historical couple, while it's a work of fiction it's based on facts found about their lives.
I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....
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May 24, 2020Fascinating exploration of the life of Rosalie Rayner, an aspiring scientist who married behavioral psychologist John Watson and became Mrs. John Watson instead of following her own career.
I loved the way the narrator of this novel is both defensive of her life choices, and regretful of them. Watson, the precursor to B.F. Skinner and the originator of behaviorism, is completely believable as an egotistical yet fragile man intent on pushing his theories and protecting his fame, no matter who is hurt by it. Romano-Lax imagines Rayner to be both pliant and defiant of her husband's extreme views of parenting. Historical figure Mary Cover Jones appears early and late in the book as a friend of Rayner's, a fellow Vassar graduate, and an example of a woman of science who made better choices.
The novel works in that very tricky area of fiction about real people. It allowed me to speculate about Rayner's life, especially because the historic record about who she really was, and why she made the choices she did, is scant.
I loved the way the narrator of this novel is both defensive of her life choices, and regretful of them. Watson, the precursor to B.F. Skinner and the originator of behaviorism, is completely believable as an egotistical yet fragile man intent on pushing his theories and protecting his fame, no matter who is hurt by it. Romano-Lax imagines Rayner to be both pliant and defiant of her husband's extreme views of parenting. Historical figure Mary Cover Jones appears early and late in the book as a friend of Rayner's, a fellow Vassar graduate, and an example of a woman of science who made better choices.
The novel works in that very tricky area of fiction about real people. It allowed me to speculate about Rayner's life, especially because the historic record about who she really was, and why she made the choices she did, is scant.
March 13, 2016
Worth Getting in Bed For? Yes. Rosalie Rayner Watson comes to life through the pages of Romano-Lax’ s Behave. We see the character mature from an idealistic and entitled young woman to a harried young mother who realizes the choices for women who want it all, in the Twenties and thirties, are limited. At times, I simply forgot I was reading a book that wasn’t taking place right now as the story is still so relatable, right down to the male professor and/or executive and his power both in and out of the classroom or boardroom. The fact that this novel is based on real people and the theory of behaviorism, a seemingly flawed study, is all the more fascinating. This really is an interesting novel that is well worth the read.
Provided by NetGalley
April 17, 2016
What a different novel! I had to keep reminding myself much of this book came from the author's imagination even though based on real people and events. Very well researched and written! This is difficult for me to review for several reasons. 1) As one with a scientific background, I was appalled at John Watson's cavalier behavior regarding subjects; controls; parameters; data reproduction & manipulation and 2) His total self-indulgence and lack of empathy. As a human being, I found many other traits and practices to be completely arrogant, sexist, racist, etc.... I hated his treatment of his wife and all others who adored him and let him be a spoiled brat. The Behaviorist publishings were really too flawed to be taken seriously, and, yet they changed the world for awhile. Then, there was Rosalie, the real subject of this novel, who was smart and wild and ready to take on everything but got lost in him and his life/wants/temperament/needs and turned herself into a tortured creature whose life was given up with no overt protest. And their children.....I can't go there. I don't think I'm spoiling anything as his life is well documented and hers was known to be painful. I learned a lot and do recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley and Soho Press for a chance to read this for an honest review.
October 9, 2015
Fascinating, horrifying, terrific. I remember all the main stream stuff we learn in Psych 101 but this is what they don't want you to know in school. Its a inside story and so good.
January 26, 2016
What an unbelievable story about the father of American Behaviorism and the ideas that people once accepted as good parenting! You will love Rosalie Rayner even through her faults. I loved this.
May 24, 2017
Very well written, but a disturbing account of experiments on infants.
I still don't fully understand what the goal of the experiments were and how poking, prodding and scaring babies proves anything besides the scientist's own inhumanity.
This is one book where I couldn't stand the main character, a sociopathic psychologist, more so because he was an actual person. What a sadistic, immature, narcissistic, womanizing bully John Watson was! He never did anything throughout the book to redeem himself to me.
I never warmed up to the protagonist -Rosale Raynor, his wife either. She was a scientist also and assisted him in his experiments and helped him write his child rearing books, which apparently became best sellers.
I understand I am viewing this from a modern point of view and ideas were different in the 1920's, but still, I just didn't have much respect for her staying with a jerk like that, and worst of all, subjecting her children to his whims.
I would still recommend this book - it is an interesting story of her life with him and well worth reading, from a historical perspective.
I still don't fully understand what the goal of the experiments were and how poking, prodding and scaring babies proves anything besides the scientist's own inhumanity.
This is one book where I couldn't stand the main character, a sociopathic psychologist, more so because he was an actual person. What a sadistic, immature, narcissistic, womanizing bully John Watson was! He never did anything throughout the book to redeem himself to me.
I never warmed up to the protagonist -Rosale Raynor, his wife either. She was a scientist also and assisted him in his experiments and helped him write his child rearing books, which apparently became best sellers.
I understand I am viewing this from a modern point of view and ideas were different in the 1920's, but still, I just didn't have much respect for her staying with a jerk like that, and worst of all, subjecting her children to his whims.
I would still recommend this book - it is an interesting story of her life with him and well worth reading, from a historical perspective.
July 21, 2016
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was interested in this book because I have a background in psychology and in history. This look at the early Behaviorist movement, especially through the eyes of a woman, sounded interesting. Also, I was a big fan of Masters of Sex! That's the Showtime show dealing with Masters and Johnson and their groundbreaking work on human sexuality ( and their long affair).
I am beginning to notice a big trend in historical fiction. It's the "great man through the eyes of the woman he did wrong" trend. It might be about Hemingway's first wife, Beryl Markham herself, Mamah Cheney( Frank Lloyd Wright's long term mistress) or Clara Driscoll working for Tiffany but getting no credit. Paula McLain, Nancy Horan, Susan Vreeland and more, this stuff is all over the place! And there's nothing really wrong with that. However, it is beginning to feel like the same story told over and over. Yes, it was truly horrible to be an intelligent woman back in the day. It sucks to fall head over heels for some talented man, only to find he has feet (and knees, and upward...) of clay. And yep, you're probably going to get cheated on and/or left. None of these women (all of whom really existed) are at fault for their horrible treatment and all of them were young and naive when they met these guys. However, I myself am getting more and more jaded reading about it all the time.
What saves such a book for me? Characters that rise above stereotype. Writing that is truly able to place me in a different time (and sometimes setting). So far, all these books are pretty lacking in even wry humor, so I don't expect that. And so the question is whether "Behave" delivered these things for me.
And the answer, as you can probably tell by my star rating, is no. We have yet another young and innocent intellectual who can't see that she's a moth drawn to the flame which has consumed other women. She wasn't enough of a character for me to truly identify with her, partly because Watson himself was shown from the very start to pretty much be a jerk- not many shades of gray. Not even close to 50! (ha ha, it's late, deal with it.) The setting is New York post WW1, and it wasn't vivid enough to transport me.
There's sort of a sub-genre here. There's apparently a lot to be said about the plight of women in times past and how it relates to us today. This book does not rise to the top of that subgenre and I didn't have the patience to finish it, because I already knew how it ended after the many other books I've read like it. (If you think I didn't play fair, know that I did skim and skip to the end and found no surprises.)
I was interested in this book because I have a background in psychology and in history. This look at the early Behaviorist movement, especially through the eyes of a woman, sounded interesting. Also, I was a big fan of Masters of Sex! That's the Showtime show dealing with Masters and Johnson and their groundbreaking work on human sexuality ( and their long affair).
I am beginning to notice a big trend in historical fiction. It's the "great man through the eyes of the woman he did wrong" trend. It might be about Hemingway's first wife, Beryl Markham herself, Mamah Cheney( Frank Lloyd Wright's long term mistress) or Clara Driscoll working for Tiffany but getting no credit. Paula McLain, Nancy Horan, Susan Vreeland and more, this stuff is all over the place! And there's nothing really wrong with that. However, it is beginning to feel like the same story told over and over. Yes, it was truly horrible to be an intelligent woman back in the day. It sucks to fall head over heels for some talented man, only to find he has feet (and knees, and upward...) of clay. And yep, you're probably going to get cheated on and/or left. None of these women (all of whom really existed) are at fault for their horrible treatment and all of them were young and naive when they met these guys. However, I myself am getting more and more jaded reading about it all the time.
What saves such a book for me? Characters that rise above stereotype. Writing that is truly able to place me in a different time (and sometimes setting). So far, all these books are pretty lacking in even wry humor, so I don't expect that. And so the question is whether "Behave" delivered these things for me.
And the answer, as you can probably tell by my star rating, is no. We have yet another young and innocent intellectual who can't see that she's a moth drawn to the flame which has consumed other women. She wasn't enough of a character for me to truly identify with her, partly because Watson himself was shown from the very start to pretty much be a jerk- not many shades of gray. Not even close to 50! (ha ha, it's late, deal with it.) The setting is New York post WW1, and it wasn't vivid enough to transport me.
There's sort of a sub-genre here. There's apparently a lot to be said about the plight of women in times past and how it relates to us today. This book does not rise to the top of that subgenre and I didn't have the patience to finish it, because I already knew how it ended after the many other books I've read like it. (If you think I didn't play fair, know that I did skim and skip to the end and found no surprises.)
February 13, 2016
I've been stewing over this one for a while, and I'm a bit more objective now than when I first finished it. When I first finished the book, I wanted to give it two stars and go on a long rant.
I won't do that, but I'll still explain where my head was: Rosalie Raynor is an idiot. A vapid, dumbest-smart-girl-you'll-ever-meet woman with no backbone. She was Watson's mistress before she became his wife, and then was stunned when she found out Watson was sleeping with other women and going out with other women behind her back later. Really, Rosalie? You expected to be the one to "cure" him of his philandering ways? She cowed to whatever he wanted, turning herself from a trained and active scientist working on getting all of her school accreditations to a depressed stay-at-home wife who has no idea how to run a household or raise a baby.
There was nothing in her story to make me connect to her. There was never a point while I was reading that I went, "Yes, I want her to succeed," because she was so idiotic about how she handled her own life.
BUT. The author did a brilliant job of writing Rosalie's story. It's a fairly hefty book that meanders--it never seems to have a climax, it just trucks along--but once I was hooked, I was hooked the whole way. I wanted to see what other nonsense Watson spouted and Rosalie automatically agree. It wasn't until Rosalie's later years that I started to thaw my hatred of her. She recognized her mistakes both in marriage and in the lab, so added back some points in her column.
It does serve as an interesting read for anyone studying sociology or psychology. Nature versus nurture. Watson would tell you everything is nurtured, and it was pretty fascinating getting into his head space. I know that this is still fiction and may or may not be accurate, but I appreciated how the author was able to weave a story that followed all the major points in Watson and Rosalie's lives. I just wish I had liked them a little more.
Goodreads giveaway, yay!
I won't do that, but I'll still explain where my head was: Rosalie Raynor is an idiot. A vapid, dumbest-smart-girl-you'll-ever-meet woman with no backbone. She was Watson's mistress before she became his wife, and then was stunned when she found out Watson was sleeping with other women and going out with other women behind her back later. Really, Rosalie? You expected to be the one to "cure" him of his philandering ways? She cowed to whatever he wanted, turning herself from a trained and active scientist working on getting all of her school accreditations to a depressed stay-at-home wife who has no idea how to run a household or raise a baby.
There was nothing in her story to make me connect to her. There was never a point while I was reading that I went, "Yes, I want her to succeed," because she was so idiotic about how she handled her own life.
BUT. The author did a brilliant job of writing Rosalie's story. It's a fairly hefty book that meanders--it never seems to have a climax, it just trucks along--but once I was hooked, I was hooked the whole way. I wanted to see what other nonsense Watson spouted and Rosalie automatically agree. It wasn't until Rosalie's later years that I started to thaw my hatred of her. She recognized her mistakes both in marriage and in the lab, so added back some points in her column.
It does serve as an interesting read for anyone studying sociology or psychology. Nature versus nurture. Watson would tell you everything is nurtured, and it was pretty fascinating getting into his head space. I know that this is still fiction and may or may not be accurate, but I appreciated how the author was able to weave a story that followed all the major points in Watson and Rosalie's lives. I just wish I had liked them a little more.
Goodreads giveaway, yay!
October 3, 2016
A dnf, though I got through more than half.
The story of two early behavioral scientists, male and female, and their interactions with each other. That's about it. No, seriously. It starts out heavy in the science and the various experiments done on babies, and that's the interesting part. Some of the work they did on infants borders on child abuse, but that's hardly surprising. The lack of compassion for their subjects shines through and tells us more about the scientists' behavior than that of the little kids they worked with. No one is seriously injured, at least not in the pages I read, but boy did they make those kids cry.
But when the story evolved (devolved) into a story of them having sex, sex and more sex, and finding ways to hide the sex - he was married; she was not - then I thought okay, what am I reading here? Sex is sex; it can be interesting in a book like this, but when that's all you got?
It's a book which can't make up its mind. Is it about the early work of two behaviorists who got over-involved with each other? Or is it a story based on what the behaviorists were working on during the early part of the 1900's? For example the theories,the experimentation, the overt turn from inherited traits influencing behavior? Well, I dunno.
I do not know which it is.
The story of two early behavioral scientists, male and female, and their interactions with each other. That's about it. No, seriously. It starts out heavy in the science and the various experiments done on babies, and that's the interesting part. Some of the work they did on infants borders on child abuse, but that's hardly surprising. The lack of compassion for their subjects shines through and tells us more about the scientists' behavior than that of the little kids they worked with. No one is seriously injured, at least not in the pages I read, but boy did they make those kids cry.
But when the story evolved (devolved) into a story of them having sex, sex and more sex, and finding ways to hide the sex - he was married; she was not - then I thought okay, what am I reading here? Sex is sex; it can be interesting in a book like this, but when that's all you got?
It's a book which can't make up its mind. Is it about the early work of two behaviorists who got over-involved with each other? Or is it a story based on what the behaviorists were working on during the early part of the 1900's? For example the theories,the experimentation, the overt turn from inherited traits influencing behavior? Well, I dunno.
I do not know which it is.
March 16, 2016
Rosalie, as a young Vassar grad working as a research assistant, has an affair with the psychologist, John Watson, running the program that derails his career and ruins any hopes she may have had for one. Rosalie becomes his second wife and puts all of her ambitions on hold to run their home and raise their children becoming so depressed she has trouble even doing that. When she discovers John is still having affairs she is even more depressed. The story is based in the 20s and 30s and the stereotypes of the women of those eras explains a lot of how she could let herself go from promising college graduate to submissive housewife. After her death her young sons are left to be raised by not their father but the psychologist and they are denied the comfort of love and affection to prove his theories on child raising. Sometimes these characters are not very likable but due to the time in which the story is written it is understandable how Rosalie lost herself. I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.
April 25, 2016
This book gets a three star rating because of the writing style of Andromeda.
If I was rating this book on the characters in the story it would get a -3 rating. John Watson and his wife Rosalie were not nice people. They did experiments on babies, especially Albert B. [To make clear this was new research in the scientific field and the experiments would never be allowed today but in the 1920s they were, thus a lot of strange research was allowed to proceed.] They practiced un-attachment parenting - otherwise do not show your children love through verbage or touching. Rosalie (page 251) reflects while editing John's book Behaviorism states "The future will be no better than the past until we understand these behaviors in the present. he would have said, No one can master scientific parenting because no one asks the hard questions. No one takes the risks. As Rosalie states on page 285 "One just can't listen to the older generation. They'd produce a nation of morons if they could." So true, and if we as a society believed the scientific evidence of John Watson's experiments we would all be morons today. Thank you society for moving forward to have compassion when raising our children. I believe society today is so much better off without adopting Watson's views.
While reading I wondered how Rosalie was going to react when within her own marriage John continued having adulterous affairs. Not surprised with how Rosalie coped with this.
Would I recommend this book to others - probably not.
If I was rating this book on the characters in the story it would get a -3 rating. John Watson and his wife Rosalie were not nice people. They did experiments on babies, especially Albert B. [To make clear this was new research in the scientific field and the experiments would never be allowed today but in the 1920s they were, thus a lot of strange research was allowed to proceed.] They practiced un-attachment parenting - otherwise do not show your children love through verbage or touching. Rosalie (page 251) reflects while editing John's book Behaviorism states "The future will be no better than the past until we understand these behaviors in the present. he would have said, No one can master scientific parenting because no one asks the hard questions. No one takes the risks. As Rosalie states on page 285 "One just can't listen to the older generation. They'd produce a nation of morons if they could." So true, and if we as a society believed the scientific evidence of John Watson's experiments we would all be morons today. Thank you society for moving forward to have compassion when raising our children. I believe society today is so much better off without adopting Watson's views.
While reading I wondered how Rosalie was going to react when within her own marriage John continued having adulterous affairs. Not surprised with how Rosalie coped with this.
Would I recommend this book to others - probably not.
June 2, 2016
Fans of Masters of Sex will appreciate this fictional exploration of Dr. John Watson and his research that was revered by so many to not spoil children based on his research that he developed during his time at Johns Hopkins. Disturbingly, tests are performed on infants to yield responses from them, all being assisted by Rosalie Rayner. An affair develops between the two that taints their reputation in the medical community and adds strain to an already difficult marriage. When they have children of their own, Dr. Watson uses his own research as a basis for how they are to parent which creates uncomfortable moments for the reader. Despite it being an uncomfortable storyline, it held my interest all the way through, even when the characters were most unlikable.
Read More HERE: http://www.momadvice.com/post/may-201...
Read More HERE: http://www.momadvice.com/post/may-201...
February 6, 2016
Loved this book! I'd love to give it 4.5 stars. I was excited to see a new book by Romano-Lax because her Novel, The Spanish Bow, is one of my all time favorites! This historical fiction novel will horrify you and at the same time pull at your heartstrings. It's a thought provoking look at the founder of behaviorism, John Watson, and the woman behind him. You will fall in love with Rosalie Raynor Watson as she struggles to love her children under the watchful eye of her famous psychologist husband and his scientific theories.
February 22, 2018
This was about the most toxic of toxic masculine men I've ever had the misfortune to read about.
Which isn't to say that I didn't like the book, because I did. It takes skill to write an absolutely terrible character well enough to make your readers actually hate them instead of just knowing that they should, and Romano-Lax succeeds there. John Watson was an entitled, arrogant MAN who absolutely believed he was right without ever questioning whether his own ideas were correct or where they might have come from, or that he might be biased. No, his point of view was always the right one. And it takes skill to paint a nuanced portrait of such a terrible person, which is also successful here. His one decent quality seems to be that he was against eugenics at a time when it was all the rage, and that he was unusually not racist.
There aren't as many books about famous scientists as there are about famous writers and artists throughout history, and when there are, they tend to be about physicists and astronomers, with a couple of biologists thrown in. Psychologists are an outlier, and one with such bizarre and utterly dangerous ideas about raising children is fascinating, and on that front the book delivers. There are multiple, detailed discussions and analyses of psychological theories of the time, and the research that went into the book is obvious.
The author says in her author's note that she wrote this book to give voice to a woman who slipped through the cracks of history, and that it was comparatively difficult given the fact that Rosalie Raynor Watson had slipped through those cracks, but perhaps because of that lack of sources, you still won't get a good feel for her as a character. The conflict between his belief in scientific parenting and her desire to show actual love for her children is a comparatively small part of the book. That said, her feelings about largely giving up her own career are given much more attention.
I did appreciate, though, how the author points out that even if a scientific theory is wrong, sometimes horribly, dangerously so, it can still be influential because of the work that is done later to refute it.
Which isn't to say that I didn't like the book, because I did. It takes skill to write an absolutely terrible character well enough to make your readers actually hate them instead of just knowing that they should, and Romano-Lax succeeds there. John Watson was an entitled, arrogant MAN who absolutely believed he was right without ever questioning whether his own ideas were correct or where they might have come from, or that he might be biased. No, his point of view was always the right one. And it takes skill to paint a nuanced portrait of such a terrible person, which is also successful here. His one decent quality seems to be that he was against eugenics at a time when it was all the rage, and that he was unusually not racist.
There aren't as many books about famous scientists as there are about famous writers and artists throughout history, and when there are, they tend to be about physicists and astronomers, with a couple of biologists thrown in. Psychologists are an outlier, and one with such bizarre and utterly dangerous ideas about raising children is fascinating, and on that front the book delivers. There are multiple, detailed discussions and analyses of psychological theories of the time, and the research that went into the book is obvious.
The author says in her author's note that she wrote this book to give voice to a woman who slipped through the cracks of history, and that it was comparatively difficult given the fact that Rosalie Raynor Watson had slipped through those cracks, but perhaps because of that lack of sources, you still won't get a good feel for her as a character. The conflict between his belief in scientific parenting and her desire to show actual love for her children is a comparatively small part of the book. That said, her feelings about largely giving up her own career are given much more attention.
I did appreciate, though, how the author points out that even if a scientific theory is wrong, sometimes horribly, dangerously so, it can still be influential because of the work that is done later to refute it.
May 20, 2016
This review originally appeared on Everyday eBook
Behave: A Provocative Fictional Biography by Andromeda Romano-Lax
As a mother, perhaps the worst thing you could ever hear is, "The mother begins to destroy the child the moment it's born," a quote from John B. Watson, the founder of behaviorist psychology and writer of the bestselling 1928 parenting guide, Psychological Care Of Infant And Child. Watson's name is famous; his wife, Rosalie Rayner Watson, is not at all known, despite being a co-writer of the book and a research assistant on the studies that were the basis of the book. Andromeda Romano-Lax decided to delve into Rosalie's life and has written an engaging, sometimes fascinating fictionalized version of Rosalie's experiences from her own point of view in her new book, Behave.
Rosalie was a smart, pretty woman studying psychology at a time when women were still expected to get married and have children. If they went to college, it was solely to get their "MRS" degree. Rosalie, however, graduated from Vassar and began studying at Johns Hopkins; she became a graduate assistant to John Watson. She assisted him with the "Little Albert" experiment. This "experiment" would come to haunt both her and Watson, while also being the basis of all of Watson's theories on behaviorism and parenting.
While being a fictionalization of real lives and a look at an arguably faulty theory that would affect a generation, Romano-Lax's book is much more than historical fiction. It is an exploration of a woman whose ambitions were ahead of their time. It is an examination of motherhood and the constant self-critiquing of whether or not one is doing right by their children. It is a look at an imperfect marriage and how two people navigate each other and expectations.
Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20. It is easy to read their story today and view Watson's studies as horrific, his theories as completely out of line, and his own behavior, including multiple affairs, as disgusting. It is also somewhat easy to be annoyed at Rosalie and think her naïve and weak. However, it is important when reading historical fiction to remember the circumstances of the time period. Watson's intentions were seemingly good, if partnered with ego. The long-term affect of human experimentation was unknown. Women's opportunities were slim to none; the year Rosalie graduated from Vassar was the year the Nineteenth Amendment finally passed in Congress. To me, the whole story is heartbreaking. John and Rosalie's sons suffered greatly from their early childhood experiences; they both suffered from depression and attempted suicide, one completing the act. Rosalie could have been a brilliant scholar on her own, adding to psychology and academia in unknown ways.
Behave brings the story of an unknown woman in history to the limelight, highlighting her place in the evolution of the world. We still hear about John Watson and his contributions to psychology. It is now time that we honor the work that Rosalie Rayner Watson did and her important contributions to John Watson's repertoire.
Behave: A Provocative Fictional Biography by Andromeda Romano-Lax
As a mother, perhaps the worst thing you could ever hear is, "The mother begins to destroy the child the moment it's born," a quote from John B. Watson, the founder of behaviorist psychology and writer of the bestselling 1928 parenting guide, Psychological Care Of Infant And Child. Watson's name is famous; his wife, Rosalie Rayner Watson, is not at all known, despite being a co-writer of the book and a research assistant on the studies that were the basis of the book. Andromeda Romano-Lax decided to delve into Rosalie's life and has written an engaging, sometimes fascinating fictionalized version of Rosalie's experiences from her own point of view in her new book, Behave.
Rosalie was a smart, pretty woman studying psychology at a time when women were still expected to get married and have children. If they went to college, it was solely to get their "MRS" degree. Rosalie, however, graduated from Vassar and began studying at Johns Hopkins; she became a graduate assistant to John Watson. She assisted him with the "Little Albert" experiment. This "experiment" would come to haunt both her and Watson, while also being the basis of all of Watson's theories on behaviorism and parenting.
While being a fictionalization of real lives and a look at an arguably faulty theory that would affect a generation, Romano-Lax's book is much more than historical fiction. It is an exploration of a woman whose ambitions were ahead of their time. It is an examination of motherhood and the constant self-critiquing of whether or not one is doing right by their children. It is a look at an imperfect marriage and how two people navigate each other and expectations.
Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20. It is easy to read their story today and view Watson's studies as horrific, his theories as completely out of line, and his own behavior, including multiple affairs, as disgusting. It is also somewhat easy to be annoyed at Rosalie and think her naïve and weak. However, it is important when reading historical fiction to remember the circumstances of the time period. Watson's intentions were seemingly good, if partnered with ego. The long-term affect of human experimentation was unknown. Women's opportunities were slim to none; the year Rosalie graduated from Vassar was the year the Nineteenth Amendment finally passed in Congress. To me, the whole story is heartbreaking. John and Rosalie's sons suffered greatly from their early childhood experiences; they both suffered from depression and attempted suicide, one completing the act. Rosalie could have been a brilliant scholar on her own, adding to psychology and academia in unknown ways.
Behave brings the story of an unknown woman in history to the limelight, highlighting her place in the evolution of the world. We still hear about John Watson and his contributions to psychology. It is now time that we honor the work that Rosalie Rayner Watson did and her important contributions to John Watson's repertoire.
April 9, 2016
From the author of The Spanish Bow comes a lush, harrowing novel based on the real life story of Rosalie Rayner Watson, one of the most controversial scientists—and mothers—of the 20th century
“The mother begins to destroy the child the moment it’s born,” wrote the founder of behaviorist psychology, John B. Watson, whose 1928 parenting guide was revered as the child-rearing bible. For their dangerous and “mawkish” impulses to kiss and hug their child, “most mothers should be indicted for psychological murder.”
Behave is the story of Rosalie Rayner, Watson’s ambitious young wife and the mother of two of his children.
In 1920, when she graduated from Vassar College, Rayner was ready to make her mark on the world. Intelligent, beautiful, and unflappable, she won a coveted research position at Johns Hopkins assisting the charismatic celebrity psychologist John B. Watson. Together, Watson and Rayner conducted controversial experiments on hundreds of babies to prove behaviorist principles. They also embarked on a scandalous affair that cost them both their jobs—and recast the sparkling young Rosalie Rayner, scientist and thinker, as Mrs. John Watson, wife and conflicted, maligned mother, just another “woman behind a great man.”
With Behave, Andromeda Romano-Lax offers a provocative fictional biography of Rosalie Rayner Watson, a woman whose work influenced generations of Americans, and whose legacy has been lost in the shadow of her husband’s. In turns moving and horrifying, Behave is a richly nuanced and disturbing novel about science, progress, love, marriage, motherhood, and what all those things cost a passionate, promising young woman.
--My thoughts. Wow, two people who really by today's terms would be in big trouble. I am addicted to covers and so I thought what the heck let's go for it. I couldn't imagine not hugging my children or strapping them to the toilet? What is that all about. Where was the mother's instinct? I am sure lots of people are going to be talking about this book, you can't help but think about it. I actually gave it more stars because it is written so well. Just the subject matter. Wow. Well written but angers me. Romano is a bloody brilliant writer! That is all I have to say!
“The mother begins to destroy the child the moment it’s born,” wrote the founder of behaviorist psychology, John B. Watson, whose 1928 parenting guide was revered as the child-rearing bible. For their dangerous and “mawkish” impulses to kiss and hug their child, “most mothers should be indicted for psychological murder.”
Behave is the story of Rosalie Rayner, Watson’s ambitious young wife and the mother of two of his children.
In 1920, when she graduated from Vassar College, Rayner was ready to make her mark on the world. Intelligent, beautiful, and unflappable, she won a coveted research position at Johns Hopkins assisting the charismatic celebrity psychologist John B. Watson. Together, Watson and Rayner conducted controversial experiments on hundreds of babies to prove behaviorist principles. They also embarked on a scandalous affair that cost them both their jobs—and recast the sparkling young Rosalie Rayner, scientist and thinker, as Mrs. John Watson, wife and conflicted, maligned mother, just another “woman behind a great man.”
With Behave, Andromeda Romano-Lax offers a provocative fictional biography of Rosalie Rayner Watson, a woman whose work influenced generations of Americans, and whose legacy has been lost in the shadow of her husband’s. In turns moving and horrifying, Behave is a richly nuanced and disturbing novel about science, progress, love, marriage, motherhood, and what all those things cost a passionate, promising young woman.
--My thoughts. Wow, two people who really by today's terms would be in big trouble. I am addicted to covers and so I thought what the heck let's go for it. I couldn't imagine not hugging my children or strapping them to the toilet? What is that all about. Where was the mother's instinct? I am sure lots of people are going to be talking about this book, you can't help but think about it. I actually gave it more stars because it is written so well. Just the subject matter. Wow. Well written but angers me. Romano is a bloody brilliant writer! That is all I have to say!
July 26, 2016
An astonishingly disturbing and well-written account of the little-known Rosalie Raynor Watson, the "second" Mrs. John B. Watson, father of Behaviorism, BEHAVE is should be on the top of everyone's to-read list, if not for the writing, the "contribution"gleaned from behaviorism.
While that may be a very broad statement, I do mean it. Though I may be a bit biased having a background and strong interest in child psychology/psychiatry. BEHAVE (Soho Press, February 2016) is a fictional biography of Rosalie, a promising Vassar graduate with a keen scientific mind. Yet her story is harrowing in that it's not as straightforward as one may think--or perhaps you'll find it predictable, as others have mentioned. To me, BEHAVE was about the 1920s, science, progress, motherhood, marriage, child psychology, and love.
I did find the first few pages/chapters a bit slow and hard to get into, but the pacing quickly picked up. It's in no way 'easy' reading but that's due to some of the subject matter (slightly inhumane experiments done with babies on fear response), but it's well-presented and researched.
Rather than going into plot specifics (because other reviews have), I'll say that BEHAVE made me want to review the literature on behaviorism, look for photos of Rosalie and John on Google, and fall into a discussion with others about the book. That, to me is the sign of a 'good book.' Later, I felt my mind wandering to my own parenting behaviors, coming to the realization that as parents we are not carpenters, but gardeners, cultivating a child who will grow and change into their very own person.
Gracious to the author and Soho Press for this review copy. For all my reviews, including author interviews, please see: www.leslielindsay.com
While that may be a very broad statement, I do mean it. Though I may be a bit biased having a background and strong interest in child psychology/psychiatry. BEHAVE (Soho Press, February 2016) is a fictional biography of Rosalie, a promising Vassar graduate with a keen scientific mind. Yet her story is harrowing in that it's not as straightforward as one may think--or perhaps you'll find it predictable, as others have mentioned. To me, BEHAVE was about the 1920s, science, progress, motherhood, marriage, child psychology, and love.
I did find the first few pages/chapters a bit slow and hard to get into, but the pacing quickly picked up. It's in no way 'easy' reading but that's due to some of the subject matter (slightly inhumane experiments done with babies on fear response), but it's well-presented and researched.
Rather than going into plot specifics (because other reviews have), I'll say that BEHAVE made me want to review the literature on behaviorism, look for photos of Rosalie and John on Google, and fall into a discussion with others about the book. That, to me is the sign of a 'good book.' Later, I felt my mind wandering to my own parenting behaviors, coming to the realization that as parents we are not carpenters, but gardeners, cultivating a child who will grow and change into their very own person.
Gracious to the author and Soho Press for this review copy. For all my reviews, including author interviews, please see: www.leslielindsay.com
March 31, 2016
This is a hard read. The title is perfect! Almost any mother/woman would cringe throughout this fictional biography of Rosalie Rayner's life. At times I had to stop reading for the night simply because the subject matter was so disturbing. Whether it was because the female character, Rosalie Rayner, was attracted to a major idiot (really want to use a harsher noun), the brutal treatment of newborns, the backwards notions of the early 1900s, or some similarities to my own life...this book was ickie! The idea that the she went along with John B. Watson's ideas and experiments on child raising even though her inner self said it wasn't right, made me sick. The couple strapped their own sons onto the toilet every morning to encourage bowel movements. They left them in the bathroom, alone, strapped to the toilet!! Can you imagine? They only were allowed to touch their sons with a handshake. No hugs, no kisses. The subject matter is monstrous. The author decently expanded a non-fictional couple's professional and personal life with her own fictional additions. She did a fairly decent job with the facts.
It's important to remember while reading this fictional account that John B. Watson really (non-fictionally) was a leading child rearing specialist of his time. His second wife, Rosalie Rayner, was intelligent in her own right but gave up her own professional future when she married. The couple met in the laboratory while he was still married to his first wife. Their romance was nauseating and temporarily ruined both careers.
Thank you, Net Galley, for allowing me to read this novel on my kindle free of charge in exchange for a review.
It's important to remember while reading this fictional account that John B. Watson really (non-fictionally) was a leading child rearing specialist of his time. His second wife, Rosalie Rayner, was intelligent in her own right but gave up her own professional future when she married. The couple met in the laboratory while he was still married to his first wife. Their romance was nauseating and temporarily ruined both careers.
Thank you, Net Galley, for allowing me to read this novel on my kindle free of charge in exchange for a review.
April 13, 2016
Have you ever heard it said there’s no manual for parenting? It’s not technically true, actually. If you go looking, there are lots of them, more than you could read in a lifetime, each claiming to offer the definitive guide to raising kids right.
Whatever that means.
To John B. Watson, one of the first behavioral psychologists and author of a wildly popular parenting guide, raising children right meant not spoiling them with kisses and cuddles, starting toilet training in the first few weeks of life, and using fear as the primary method of motivation and coercion, among other horrifying things. Behave is the story of his second wife, Rosalie Rayner, a mysterious and somewhat tragic figure now mostly lost to history.
Rosalie began a promising career in science in 1920, a time when women in the field were few and far between. Bright and ambitious, Rosalie wanted to study psychology and make a name for herself in academia, but when she embarked on a very public affair with John Watson, her superior at Johns Hopkins, her life took a turn. Alongside all the personal drama between the two scientists is an exploration of the ambivalence Rosalie felt over the years about John’s beliefs and methods, including his interactions with their own children. And who can blame her, when he was scaring children with loud noises and claiming rocking chairs encouraged dependence?
It seems the definitive guide to parenting is still yet to be written.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
Whatever that means.
To John B. Watson, one of the first behavioral psychologists and author of a wildly popular parenting guide, raising children right meant not spoiling them with kisses and cuddles, starting toilet training in the first few weeks of life, and using fear as the primary method of motivation and coercion, among other horrifying things. Behave is the story of his second wife, Rosalie Rayner, a mysterious and somewhat tragic figure now mostly lost to history.
Rosalie began a promising career in science in 1920, a time when women in the field were few and far between. Bright and ambitious, Rosalie wanted to study psychology and make a name for herself in academia, but when she embarked on a very public affair with John Watson, her superior at Johns Hopkins, her life took a turn. Alongside all the personal drama between the two scientists is an exploration of the ambivalence Rosalie felt over the years about John’s beliefs and methods, including his interactions with their own children. And who can blame her, when he was scaring children with loud noises and claiming rocking chairs encouraged dependence?
It seems the definitive guide to parenting is still yet to be written.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
March 12, 2016
Title: Behave
Author: Andromeda Romano-Lax
Publisher: Soho Press
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Behave" by Andromeda Romano-Lax
My Thoughts....
This is a interesting historical fiction however, based on a true storyabout 'parenthood, marriage, feminism, mistakes, sex, science, and religion,' The author really does her job giving the reader a believable story that is well written of a 'fictional biography of Rosalie Rayner and her husband psychologist John B.Watson 'bringing out the fundamentals of raising a child. "Behave" was definitely one of those reads that will very thought provoking even though it is fiction as she author gives us the reader 'quotable material on many pages.' I will say this novel left me in ...well one that was definitely not a happy read, however, if this author was trying to stimulate the readers...well I think she got there.
Author: Andromeda Romano-Lax
Publisher: Soho Press
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Behave" by Andromeda Romano-Lax
My Thoughts....
This is a interesting historical fiction however, based on a true storyabout 'parenthood, marriage, feminism, mistakes, sex, science, and religion,' The author really does her job giving the reader a believable story that is well written of a 'fictional biography of Rosalie Rayner and her husband psychologist John B.Watson 'bringing out the fundamentals of raising a child. "Behave" was definitely one of those reads that will very thought provoking even though it is fiction as she author gives us the reader 'quotable material on many pages.' I will say this novel left me in ...well one that was definitely not a happy read, however, if this author was trying to stimulate the readers...well I think she got there.
June 28, 2016
After being stunned by the content of this story, even though I pretty much knew the underpinnings, hanging on and seeing it up close and personal from Rosalie's perspective was very hard. I kept reading, gradually realizing this was Rosalie's own story, and it was painful. This is a baby-and-bathwater sort of book -- with such disturbing facts and dreadful personal behavior (the dirty bathwater), it was hard to remember to "judge" it as a novel, a piece of literature (the baby). It's too easy to throw the struggling and flawed baby which is Rosalie's growing story out with the dirty bathwater of hubris and damage ... too easy to review only the content rather than the written work and Rosalie's voice propelled by her time and ambition and unexpected love. Looking at the ugly truths of history is a good thing, pain and all. A brave work, well-written by a fine author.
March 26, 2016
Behave is a disturbing novel centering on one of the pioneers of behavioral research, John Watson, and his second wife. It's easy to consider this a novel, rather than a novelized biography.
I found the "inside baseball" on what went on in those psychology behavior labs scary, and would have liked to have seen more on the outcome of the lives of any child who spent part of his infancy in the labs.
I did not find Rosalie to be a relatable character. She seems to live in a world in which she expects actions without consequences. Maybe she is a product of her time in that regard; maybe it was her personality. But she had no qualms about pursuing what she wanted, regardless of pain that would inflict on anyone else involved.
Review based on ARC from Netgalley.
I found the "inside baseball" on what went on in those psychology behavior labs scary, and would have liked to have seen more on the outcome of the lives of any child who spent part of his infancy in the labs.
I did not find Rosalie to be a relatable character. She seems to live in a world in which she expects actions without consequences. Maybe she is a product of her time in that regard; maybe it was her personality. But she had no qualms about pursuing what she wanted, regardless of pain that would inflict on anyone else involved.
Review based on ARC from Netgalley.
March 20, 2016
Set in the 1920’s-1930’s Andromeda Romano-Lax’s BEHAVE tells the imagined story of real life behavioral psychologist John Watson with a focus on his second wife, Rosalie Raynor, a fellow psychologist. Both John and Rosalie’s characters are richly drawn on a canvas of truth, detailing their scandalous union and questionable theories/books on child rearing. The novel is interesting and enlightening, shedding light on a woman definitely overshadowed by her famous husband. An entertaining read… (Thanks to Net Galley for providing me with a copy.)
did-not-finish
February 4, 2017Unfortunately this one just wasn't really working for me. Lately there seem to be a string of novels about women in previous decades in careers that used to be men only (as in every career except the oldest profession, haha).... this is a fine endeavor but they start to feel formulaic. In this case I was not connecting with the female character nor the topic. If you are super into psychology, it may be more of a win for you, because it gets into the ethical dilemmas of research surrounding behaviorism.
January 2, 2016
I won this book from a GoodReads Giveaway (Advance Uncopyedited Edition). I enjoyed the book overall, but found it a bit hard to get into at the beginning. The story is a glimpse into the life of Rosalie Rayner Watson's life. It is heartbreaking throughout the story watching her struggle to find herself as a woman, professional, and mother. I think many women will be able to relate to these struggles she faces over her lifetime.
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