I love Allison Pataki and I loved this book. Margaret Fuller is someone I’d never heard of. I honestly don’t know a lot about that time period or her fellow authors, so this was an interesting read for me. Such a fascinating woman with a busy, accomplished, if short, life.

I had heard the name Margaret Fuller before reading this book (“Finding Margaret Fuller” by Allison Pataki), but I didn’t know much about her. She’s someone I think people should know about - so I’m glad that I read this book. Yes, it’s fictionalized, but Ms. Fuller lead a pretty interesting life - from being an editor to covering Italy’s rebellion to meeting famous people and being highly regarded due to her intellect … wow. I still may not fully understand what the Transcendendalist movement was (sorry, but not even Wiki helped!) but I can appreciate the host of folks who rallied about it. This is a very character driven book and for someone (me) who doesn’t like character driven books, I found this one rather interesting - you feel like you know Ms. Fuller and what’s going on. I must admit that I found the pacing to be a bit slow at times but overall, a very interesting dive into the life of a very interesting person.

A heroine
Argumentative and makes a point
brilliant and aspire to break the male-to-female stereotype
Love those she surrounds herself and love those who don't love her back

If you said yes to this list then this is the book for you. "Finding Margaret Fuller" breaks all barriers of a dacorum of what women should and should not act. Absolutely brilliant plot and is symbolic of the overall book. It was a page turn argumentative and honestly wanted to place myself into the book a few times. Over great book!

I really enjoyed this book - much like the author's book 'The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post'; this book explores the life of a woman that made a significant impact on American culture with little recognition of this impact. Despite taking AP English in High School and learning all about the Transcendendalist movement and its cast of characters - Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, etc - we learned nothing about Margaret Fuller (nor really much about Alcott, either - it was definitely focused on white men). To even learn how much these characters (and others such as Melville and Whitman) interacted and lived so close together was fascinating.

Again, like the author's book on Marjorie Post; this book was very character-driven, and Margaret Fuller was an amazing character. Ms. Pataki did a wonderful job making you feel like you really knew Margaret and what life was like for her. She did so many things that women of that were socially forbidden for women of that time and she did them without shame, which was lovely. Her passion for her work and for what she stood for in advancing women's rights were clear.

While there were a few times that I felt like this book moved a little slowly (particularly in the first half); it was overall very enjoyable and I always looked forward to picking it up and continuing with the adventure that was Margaret Fuller's life.

I absolutely love Allison Pataki, but this novel fell flat for me. Do I believe Margaret Fuller to be a scion for womanhood and our growth throughout the 19th century? Of course. Do I believe she required a full length novel depicting her every move and thought throughout her journey? Not necessarily. There are countless women who have furthered our mission, but not all of them lived incredibly exciting lives. Margaret Fuller is one of those. She moved back and forth between Boston and Bush, but didn't seem to do much. I just wasn't enthralled with her like I was with other Pataki characters.

Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki is another historical fiction novel starring a real woman. But unlike her last novel, The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post, where I knew at least the broad strokes of the protagonist, I was not at all familiar with Margaret Fuller. And I am so grateful for the introduction—what an incredible woman! Her life was incredible, and she was a woman well beyond her time. One of America's first feminists.

This is another great historical fiction by Allison Pataki. I enjoy greatly how she can make history come alive and make the story so vivid. I enjoyed this book and will be awaiting the next book!! Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book and offer you my honest opinion.

I learned a lot from this tale of the brilliant Margaret Fuller, America's first feminist. I enjoyed her story but did find my interest waning during her European travels. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well, I learned something new! Quite a few things actually. I had never before heard of Margaret Fuller, but I have read and enjoyed Ms. Pataki's books so requested an ARC. What a lovely surprise this interesting book was. A biographical novel that felt more like a novel, a delicious peek into what was a very eventful and adventurous life of a woman far ahead of her time. Why isn't she more well-known? She deserves to be. This was wonderfully written and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I will definitely be buying a paper copy and suggest if you are looking for your next unputdownable fiction read, look no further. You will be as delighted as I was!

My thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read Finding Margaret Fuller. It's dad more people aren't aware of the impact Margaret Fuller had on the arts and on society. This book givrs us a lot of interesting stories about not only Ms. Fuller, but more well-known people of this era who were the heart of the Transcendentalists; Thoreau, Emerson, Alcott, Poe, Hawthorne, Greely and others. A fascinating book!