Member Reviews
I enjoy historical fiction, especially when it covers more unique time periods. The Women's March definitely fits the bill, covering the suffragist movement in the United States.
Alice Paul has organized the march, after returning from England and the suffragist movement there. Joining her is Maud Malone, an agitator especially during political speeches, and Ida B. Wells, whose goal is to ensure black women are represented. In March, 1913, the Women's March takes place, much to the chagrin of the men who wish to stop it.
Loved this book! Love the author! Love the topic! It's definitely a must read for historical fiction fans, and those interested in women's rights. The story is inspired by the actual events, and is definitely a well researched piece.
I appreciate the NetGalley advance read opportunity. This book held my attention and presented a story I could appreciate long after I finished the book. Thank you
Reads too much like a history book. Really good idea, but the execution did not work for me. I would have liked more about the characters and story without the density.
Jennifer Chiaverini has done it again! Her homework is impeccable and her historical fiction is always accurate and interesting. My book club loves her books!
Thank you to Book Club Girls for the early read.
Such a good read.
Love the author she did a wonderful job telling this story.
Highly recommend
This book was absolutely wonderful. I love historical fiction and women’s history and this book was the perfect combination of both. I loved the different perspectives and I was swept away by all of the characters and the rich history. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. I will be recommending this book to a lot of my friends!
While this book focuses on an important point in US history, it seemed that it had a problem deciding if it was a fictional reincarnation of that time, or if it was a textbook. Because of that, it didn’t do justice to either genre. In fact, it was often preachy and didactic. The book was often more about race equality than it was about suffrage. Both are worthy causes, but the book is supposed to be about the latter. In actuality, the book is a series of three alternating biographies, fictionalized, of Alice Paul, Maud Malone, and Ida B. Wells-Barnett and their involvement in the suffragist movement.
The book often bogs down due to the author including too many historical references and details. There’s also lots of name dropping of high level suffragists, often with no explanation of why that name is important.
While the story made me appreciate my right to vote, knowing how fragile a thing won it was, I didn’t like the way it developed. The book has a weak ending, and the author’s note at the end of the book is actually a continuation of the tale, tying up loose threads that the body of the story did not. If you skip the author’s note, you will miss some important things.
I appreciate the brave, dedicated, and determined women who set their minds, and sometimes risked their lives, in order to get the rights they and all women deserved. Their sacrifice changed the face of politics in the United States. I did not appreciate this twenty-first century interpretation of their struggle. I did not appreciate the use of words glaringly inappropriate for the time period, like buyer’s remorse and weaponizing.
An interesting subject handled in a clumsy manner. I believe there must be more interesting, more engaging books on the subject available. I look forward to finding them.
I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley. I thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.
Lived this telling of the suffrage march as well as the side stories of each if these ladies lives.
I also learned some things about Mr Wilson that I never realized - I learn so much from these great stories.
As a long-time fan of Ms Chiaverini’s books, I was delighted to be given the opportunity to read and review “The Women’s March”. As expected, the book was well written and extensively detailed, although it did at times lean more towards being an historical narrative than a work of fiction based on actual events. The book has been extensively researched and I did learn a great deal about this period in American history of which I was previously not well versed.
The characters and descriptions of events are very inspiring and just as relatable today as they were in 1913. We have much to be grateful to these inspiring women for, even today, for all the work done since then to lead us to where we are now. I very much enjoyed Ms Chiaverini’s fictionalised narration of the women’s suffrage movement, and it has inspired me to read further about this period in history.
On the whole, a very enjoyable book, and thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read it in exchange for my unbiased review.
The campaign for woman’s voting rights lasted decades and it was not for the faint hearted. This was a very informative book about three suffragettes fighting for a woman’s right to vote. I really did not like that it read like a history book with too much facts and events and very little dialog. I did not find the three women very engaging. Just like the suffragettes, I persisted and finished this book because it was an important story to hear more about. I just wish there was more dialogue and I got a chance to feel what they were feeling as I walked with them in the novel instead we of a bystander watching them from afar.
I knew little about the Women's March prior to reading this book, and I'm glad that I picked this one up! I especially enjoyed the various perspectives, including that of women of color who were also trying to fight for suffrage despite opposition from white Southern women. I also enjoyed that it showed both the good and bad sides of the movement, illustrating that there were some major differences of opinion even within the movement. All in all an enjoyable and educational read!
This story gave me good insight to three women of importance in history I didn’t have much knowledge of before. It gave me a better understanding of this time in history and the struggle different women had.
I just reviewed The Women's March by Jennifer Chiaverini. #TheWomensMarch #NetGalley
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This work of historical fiction describes the woman suffrage procession of 1913 in Washington DC on the day before Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration in great detail. It centers on three leaders of the suffrage movement: Alice Paul, who had worked with the suffrage movement in Great Britain and organized the procession; Maud Malone, a librarian and strong advocate for women’s rights; and Ida B. Wells-Barnett, a journalist, born into slavery, who fought to have women of color included in the suffrage movement. These courageous women sacrificed much in their devotion to this cause. The procession was marred by assaults from men who tried to block the procession. This was a key turning point in public opinion, but it took until 1920 for the 19th Amendment to be passed.
I was looking forward to this book because of my interest in women’s history and my desire to learn more about this march.. However, I was disappointed and had difficulty completing the novel because it was overburdened with too many details and read like a dry history book more than a novel The struggles of these dedicated women is an important story, and I’m glad I learned more about it, but I would have liked a stronger connection to the feelings of the protagonists.
If you looked at the usual coverage of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote, you might think there were a couple of marches, followed by the amendment being issued. The Women's March gives much of the actual story of the work that went on both behind the scenes, and in the public venue. Jennifer Chiaverini uses the stories of three women involved to give the reader a much more nuanced view of the fits and starts, the politicizing within the group, and the state and federal officeholders. Winning the right to vote was not a dainty affair, and the decisions made to make the amendment more palatable to the public also meant that some of the groups backing the amendment would find themselves disenfranchised. Jennifer Chiaverini is not shy about presenting the less savory aspects of politicking and deal-making behind the scenes.
I'd recommend The Women's March for adult, YA, and advanced juvenile readers. Just expect to hear a lot of "They did what?!?" while reading the book.
I actually did not finish this book. I was very disappointed, because I expected this to be a much loved book of mine this year. The reality was that this was not much of an historical fiction because the book lacked character development and a plot. There are an incredible amount of facts, which I appreciated, but I never became invested in any of the characters. The plot was non-existent and in fact became hard to follow because I was mostly reading fact after fact. I thought that this would have been an excellent book had it been written as a narrative nonfiction book.
I really enjoyed this book. The diversity in the cast of characters gave credence to the research that went into the novel. I think we all know about the major names in the fight for women's vote but there were different points of view given a voice in this novel. Super relevant in todays' climate as we strive to be more inclusive. I didn't know much about the African American fight for the vote and having one of their champions as a main character helped me learn. The author's note in the back was most informative.
I was surprised how much I did not know about the Women's March before I read this book. I had to look up more information about Alice Paul, Maude Malone, and Ida B Wells. I love when I can pick up a book and be educated while enjoying the story line also. Give this book a spin and I think you will like it.
I learned a lot while reading this book, thigh sometimes it felt a little more like a history lesson than a compelling novel. Still, the characters were engaging (if tough to keep straight in some cases), and it was a very important moment in history.
I absolutely loved her quilt novels! However, this novel was tough to get through, with mostly facts and events rather than the personal relationships and emotional connections of her other books.
This book was one of my most anticipated this year. Because I did a presentation about Women's Suffrage in 6th grade, I have some knowledge about the work of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, but I had never heard about The Women's March in 1913. In learning about it, I couldn't help but think of the present parallels. I will not go into those as I do not want to say what happened in the final stages of the women's procession in Washington D.C. and do not want to politicize my review. By reading (and listening to) this novel, I gained such an appreciation for the women who marched 200 miles to fight for a woman's right to vote. I feel as though I not only gained perspective on these courageous women, but also Woodrow Wilson. This novel was extremely thought-provoking and relevant to today's issues. Saskia Maarleveld was an awesome narrator as always! If I had any criticism, it is that this novel read closer to a history book. It was definitely narrator- intensive with very little dialogue. I feel like more dialogue between the characters might have drawn me in. Overall, the information gained from this book was overwhelming, which I consider a positive, and I feel this subject matter is vital for all women to learn; however, it challenged my attention span due to the amount of information given.