The Colony Club

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Synopsis

From New York Times bestselling author Shelley Noble comes a thrilling historical novel about the inception of the Colony Club, the first women’s club of its kind, set against the dazzling backdrop of Gilded Age New York. 

When young Gilded Age society matron Daisy Harriman is refused a room at the Waldorf because they don’t cater to unaccompanied females, she takes matters into her own hands. She establishes the Colony Club, the first women’s club in Manhattan, where visiting women can stay overnight and dine with their friends; where they can discuss new ideas, take on social issues, and make their voices heard. She hires the most sought-after architect in New York, Stanford White, to design the clubhouse.

As “the best dressed actress on the Rialto” Elsie de Wolfe has an eye for décor, but her career is stagnating. So when White asks her to design the clubhouse interiors, she jumps at the chance and the opportunity to add a woman’s touch. He promises to send her an assistant, a young woman he’s hired as a draftsman.

Raised in the Lower East Side tenements, Nora Bromely is determined to become an architect in spite of hostility and sabotage from her male colleagues. She is disappointed and angry when White “foists” her off on this new women’s club project.

But when White is murdered and the ensuing Trial of the Century discloses the architect’s scandalous personal life, fearful backers begin to withdraw their support. It’s questionable whether the club will survive long enough to open.

Daisy, Elsie, and Nora have nothing in common but their determination to carry on. But to do so, they must overcome not only society’s mores but their own prejudices about women, wealth, and each other. Together they strive to transform Daisy’s dream of the Colony Club into a reality, a place that will nurture social justice and ensure the work of the women who earned the nickname “Mink Brigade” far into the future.

Synopsis source: The StoryGraph

Review

Genre(s): Historical Fiction
HB&W Rating: 4 stars
View on StoryGraph, Goodreads
Buy on Barnes & Noble, Amazon

This was my pick for this month’s book challenge prompt, Back in Time.

I really enjoyed this foray into Gilded Age New York. With POVs from two historical figures and a third fictional female architect, this book made me feel all the feminist feelings: anger, frustration, and dread for the hardships these women faced, as well as hope, joy, and pride of accomplishment at all they achieved, all they continued to achieve after.

My love for historical fiction, especially that featuring female historical figures finally getting their due, was enough to draw me to this story. But as someone who is fascinated by architecture and briefly considered a career in it, this story appealed even more to me. The history of The Colony Club was unknown to me prior to this book, and Noble did a fantastic job at describing it. In fact, upon finishing the book, I immediately hit the internet for old pictures of the club. The Trellis Room did NOT disappoint.

I related so much to Nora, the lone woman in the drafting room. That was literally me in my senior year of high school drafting class (and computer programming class, and AutoCAD class…you get the idea). The pranks played and comments made by her male counterparts, the disrespect she endured either by ignoring it or laughing along like she was in on the joke, the suggestive and/or crude comments…I could sympathize with it all too well. I admit that she annoyed me a bit with her snobbery, as George calls her out, but I can also understand where she was coming from, so I forgave her.

Elsie and Daisy were a little less well-drawn to me and Nora definitely dominated page time, but I feel like there was enough there to bring them to life. Luckily, there is plenty of suggested reading in the Author’s Note at the end of the book if you want to know more about these trailblazing women.

If you enjoy historical fiction showing women behaving badly (not staying in the small boxes men put them in), then you’ll enjoy this book.

Until next time,

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