4.5 Loved this book. Never heard of Margaret Fuller but now that I know about her I am interested in reading some of her books. Allison Pataki's writing is so beautiful. The audiobook narrator Barrie Kreinik also does a wonderful job. Highly recommend this book to all historical fiction readers. Looking forward to her next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books/Random House for the ARC in exchange of my honest review.

Prior to this year, I read historical fiction less frequently than other genres. I read The Magnificient Life of Marjorie Post upon my sister's recommendation. I was extremely excited to learn that Allison Pataki has another book coming out about a triumphant and successful female.

I read the book in two days even though it was 416 pages. By no means is this a light beach read. I felt smart as I was sitting at a coffee shop, reading it while sipping my chai latte with almond milk, It does feel like a history lesson. Through Ms. Fuller, readers are introduced to Ralph Waldo Emerson (who was by far my favorite character of the book), as well as Thoreau and neighbors The Alcotts. I don't even think I've read Little Women and have now added that to my never-ending TBR list. (I read Tom Lake and should have been much more familar with Our Town to appreciate that book more) I enjoyed the chemistry between Waldo and Fuller and wondered how much is factual versus fiction regarding their relationship.

More and more "great thinkers who exist on another plane" were included in the book including Nathanial Hawthorne (and I now think fo Hester Pryne in The Scarlett Letter differently! Read the author's note to learn why), Edgar Allen Poe (who called Margaret Fooler"), Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, Frederick Douglas, Chopin, William Wordsworth and many other important figures in 1840s history. While being entertaining, it does feel like a history lesson and I was googling what many of these individuals were most famous for.

It was very interesting to learn about the first American reporter to be a foreign news correspondent and travel to Europe as an unwed woman in a time where that was unheard of. The part that takes place in Italy I enjoyed the least and I think the book could have been a bit shorter to keep my interest through its entirety. Overall, I did enjoy reading about an often overlooked "leading lady at the center of our great American story."

As Elizabeth Barrett Browing reminds her friend Margaret Fuller, "No one reads the books about boring women who follow the rules."

I think Ms. Fuller could have appeared a little less buttoned up while in Italy.

I will definitely continue to read any books Allison Pataki writes and may even try to read some of her early books when I can find the time.

I was truly excited for this book but sadly, it just fell a bit short for me. I was intrigued by Margaret Fuller. I never heard of her and wanted to know more. Alas, while Margaret's life was absolutely intriguing--- she was friends with the transcendentalists, was in Italy during the revolution, paved the way for women in writing and was a pure feminist at heart, this book about her incredible life was just dry and boring. I struggled to maintain focus in the story throughout the book and not simply fall asleep. It may have been simply the time of Fuller's life... Victorian New England that just bored me. I love this author and her writing style, so I doubt it was that.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher Ballantine Books and the author, Alison Pataki for this ARC.

The book is released on March 19, 2024 if you are interested in getting a copy.

Allison Pataki's excellent historical novel puts the remarkable Margaret Fuller in the spotlight, a place she certainly belongs. Dubbed "the best read person in America" in the 1830s, Margaret was a brilliant scholar, one of the few women in America with the education to match wits with her friends Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau, Nathanial Hawthorne and other Transcendentalists in America, and such Europeans as George Sand, and Elizabeth Barrett. Her books and essays were read and discussed all over the world.

The first of nine children, her father educated her like the son he hoped for (note that he did not educate his sons to the level he did Margaret.) His death put her in the pickle of so many women in a time when women could not work outside the home--the need to support the family, a large family. She does this my teaching and writing, coming up with ideas like holding groups from women, charging tuition to educate them and teach them to speak up for their ideas and beliefs. She finally teams with Horace Greeley at the New-York Tribune, becoming the first woman to edit a paper. He sends her to Europe to cover changes happening there with the idea that she will report on the struggle to unite Italy.

All of this happened between the age of 26 and her death at 40 in a shipwreck off the coast of Fire Island. With money the great issue it always was, she, her Italian husband and child traveled by cargo ship as opposed to a passenger liner. Upon hearing the news, Emerson asked Thoreau to go to the crash site to see if the bodies and a copy of her most recent manuscript could be recovered. Nothing was found.

Pataki wisely writes in the first person, humanizing Margaret and showing her as someone more than a genius whose words inspire and spark thinking, but as someone who would make a wonderful friend.

Perhaps too many pages are spent on her increasingly uncomfortable visit to the Emersons in Concord but it reveals the struggle of even the most open-minded men to understand this challenging mind in the head of a young woman.

I was so excited to be approved to read and review this novel and I was engaged in every page. Thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This was an interesting read. I had never heard of Margaret Fuller before, but I have read other books by Allison Pataki, so I was fascinated by the premise. Even if it was an interesting read, I found it hard to keep up with at times because the book was so long. For some, this might be the kind of book you listen to instead of physically reading. With that being said, I want to clarify it is not a bad book at all, it was just very long. I enjoyed learning about Margaret Fuller, and I honestly felt a little sad for her that she is not more well-known in history. Given that I live in New England, I also enjoyed learning about other New England writers that Margaret interacted with. She was also a very strong and likable heroine. I am definitely going to keep an eye out for other books by Allison Pataki.

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When I began this book and Margaret Fuller is meeting Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne, I thought she must be a fictional character, but I was totally wrong. This is a fictional though very authentic biography of a real woman who was a published writer – pretty much unheard of in the 1800’s – and who was the first woman to be allowed to enter Harvard’s library. An absolutely fascinating story of a woman who reached far beyond her time.

An outstandingly written and researched novel! Allison Pataki brought to life, the incredible creation of Margaret Fuller. She was a woman and a force who emphasized reason in a time when tradition ruled. In her lifetime, the 1850’s, it was a “man’s world.” At one point, Margaret stood outside Harvard University’s library with a yearning to be allowed inside their sacrosanct walls. As a woman, that was prohibited. She was certainly among the great and forward thinkers of her time, along with Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Thoreau and Nathaniel Hawthorne. A brilliant woman who helped bring change for women, as she encouraged them, to think for themselves. I’m so grateful to have been granted this book before publication via NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine. All opinions are my own. #NetGalley, #FindingMargaretFuller, #Goodreads.

If you don't know who the Transcendentalists were, you will at least recognize the names Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Sadly, most Americans have never heard of Margaret Fuller. Alison Pataki seeks to remedy that by placing her in the midst of a novel rich with Emerson, Thoreau, and the Alcotts (as in Louisa May). But Margaret Fuller is not a ficitional character. I remember finding a paperback biography of her as a young woman. But I never read it, so Pataki has given me this gift.

There are two things that make Alison Pataki’s writing extraordinary. First, her research is impeccable. I know that because I found that biography, a sort of autobiographical journey that she wrote and Emerson and others finished. But anyone can do research. What Pataki has accomplished is a work of imagination which has the ring of truth and adds human emotion to her biographical novel.

I hope this novel is popular and widely read, for its time to bring Margaret Fuller Ossoli back from obscurity. I appreciate Alison Pataki for this excellent t attempt to do so.

Thank you to Ballantine Books for allowing me to read and review Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki. I have read books by her and have enjoyed reading them. Everytime I read a book by her I learn something new and interesting. Allison Pataki does so much history but, it does not read like a history book. In Allison Pataki author notes she writes about a women in history that the world knew nothing about.

Margaret Fuller is probably one of the most famous women you never heard of. She was a writer, journalist, editor, translator, women's rights advocate, and even the first American woman war correspondent. And she did all this before the year 1850, when she reached the ago of 40, and then met her untimely death.

Once again, Allison Pataki has found a subject worthy of her considerable talent. "Finding Margaret Fuller", is a wonderful book; both informative and entertaining. Through Ms. Fuller we are given a glimpse of the thought processes and choices of such notable celebrities of the time as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, George Sand, Frederic Chopin, William Wordsworth, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Their "conversations" with Margaret are at once interesting and compelling and offer incite into the brilliant minds of these historical figures. That is why I love a good historical novel. And no one does it better than Allison Pataki, as evidenced by this, her latest work. I highly recommend it.

Margaret Fuller was a remarkable woman. It's not a stretch to say she changed the world, and all of us would be better people if we knew more about her. However, that does not automatically make her fun to read about.

I found this book to be very slow in the beginning. It definitely doesn't start in medias res. We had to be introduced to every famous name, just in case we didn't recognize them, and then spend a few more chapters flitting around them with nothing happening, before the book actually picks up. In my opinion, the first seven chapters could easily have been condensed into one chapter and had the few remaining bits of important info sprinkled through later chapters.

Nothing really starts to happen until about 40% but even then it's still rather slow. There's a bit of interesting stuff here and there but not enough for me to want to keep reading once I reached the end of a chapter. The whole thing felt rather aimless, almost more of a biography than a novel with a plot, but perhaps that was the point? If so, I think the author should have focused on the more interesting things in Margaret Fuller's life instead of showing us so many boring moments. Margaret definitely wrote interesting things and seems to have influenced many famous people, but judging by this book, her life wasn't very exciting. She doesn't seem to have really *done* much other than write, which doesn't make for a very interesting novel subject. She goes for walks with Emerson and Thoreau, she complains about her money woes, she had less-than-scintillating conversations with Hawthorne, she writes books and articles, she hosts roundtable discussions with other women, she hears Poe read some poems and argues with him, but in general there was never anything gluing my eyes to the pages. Margaret wanders around living her intellectual life, but it's not very fun to read about.

It's not until about 65% that Margaret really starts to do stuff that is interesting to read about. This is where I would have started the book if I were writing it, as so much of what came before didn't seem worth writing about. Not that Margaret wasn't living an exciting life all this time, it just wasn't exciting when viewed from the outside. I don't mean to be too harsh, because there were some interesting parts in the first 2/3 of the book, but my eyes glazed over more often than not, only perking up when another famous name was dropped for the seemingly sole purpose of enlivening a book that relied far too much on these cameos doing the heavy lifting. But there was so much about Margaret's time in Europe that is barely mentioned that I would have liked to know much more about. Not just the famous names, but to know more what Margaret thought about these ancient cities from the point of view of an extremely learned woman born in such a young country. She briefly touches on her thoughts about Victoria's Britain and as soon as we moved on I thought to myself "We spent fifty pages on flowers but this gets a few paragraphs?!?!" The romance in Italy was somewhat ick for me, but it was nice to see Margaret getting to finally live a bit of life. It rounds out her character nicely and I was surprised it didn't take up a larger portion of the book, though I'm rarely a fan of high romance in historical fiction.

All in all, this made me want to do some research of my own on Margaret Fuller and possibly read some of her writings, but I was very underwhelmed by the book itself.

I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Happy to receive this ARC from @netgalley ! @allisonpataki is a go to historical fiction author for me.

In this book we learn about Margaret Fuller - “the most well read woman in America”. Do you know who she is? I did not, and I really should have!

Margaret Fuller was one of the first women thinkers and writers in our country. She spent time with Thoreau, Emerson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Horace Greeley, Nathaniel Hawthorne - and Louisa May Alcott. She was the first American female war correspondent and leader of the women's rights movement.

In this well-researched story, we meet Margaret as a young woman in New England. She is part of the Transcendentalists and their first publication. Unusual for her day, she is an independent, unmarried woman who lives life on her own terms. Her "Conversations" are the first for women - encouraging them that their thoughts and ideas matter.

As Margaret ages we follow her to Italy, where war is raging. Not to spoil the story, but her life changes there and the book moves fast from that point.

I learned so much! I want to know more about the Transcendentalists and this time in our world's history. And, I want to read more about Fuller and Louisa May Alcott.

Pick this book up - you're in for a treat!

4.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and the author for this book.

As a lover of historical fiction I found this book particularly eye-opening. I had never heard anything about Margaret Fuller until I read this book. She was a truly amazing woman, and I can not believe she is not taught as a part of American history!

A unit of women in American history should be included in ever high school history class with Margaret Fuller included in that unit!

Highly recommend.

This historical fiction features a “who’s who”of 1830s American literary greats. While not a great fit for me, I could see this being a big hit for fans of strong female characters with untold tales of historical significance.

Well written, this book centers on Margaret Fuller, an American journalist and author. She was the first woman war correspondent and this book covers her trials and journey for women's life beyond the home. Pataki is well known for her historical fiction, and this book does not disappoint.

Picture yourself in Massachusetts in the mid 1800s. Think of these men- Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne, Poe, Greeley. Add Margaret Fuller to this list of men, but who is she? Fuller was a brave pioneer for women’s rights. ! She was a writer, a teacher, a reader, an editor , always looking for her next challenge and adventure.
The story begins when Fuller is invited to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s home to be a companion to his ill wife. This is when Fuller begins her lifelong friendship with Emerson. While staying in Concord, she also meets Thoreau, Hawthorne, and the family of Louisa May Alcott. Talk about name dropping!
As the years pass, Fuller creates a first- a women only literary salon, where women meet to listen to each other and discuss current events. This leads to meeting Horace Greeley, the founder of the NY Tribune.
Fuller, a single woman, is always looking for more, so when Greeley offers her a job reporting from Europe she doesn’t hesitate to say yes. She leaves her friends and family to be the first female foreign new correspondent and eventually ends up in Rome, where she discovers love and has a child. Her travels through Europe were full of love,fear and hardships. Such a powerful part of her story.
This story is one I hadn’t heard of and I savored every minute of it. What a strong, brave woman Margaret Fuller was. Why did it take so long for me to learn about her? Thank you Allison Pataki for this amazing story, also to NetGalley and Ballantine books for the ARC.

This book is the fictionalized story of the life of Margaret Fuller. Margaret was a talented writer and passionate about women's right and expanding people's mindsets. She lived in a time and place where she found herself surrounded by many well-known names who also were successful in the publishing world. I was entertained as those familiar names such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Edgar Allan Poe became characters in the story. Though a fictional re-telling, this book is a great opportunity to learn about a woman from history that may not be as well known, and whose life was cut too short.

“Finding Margaret Fuller” is about one of the most consequential women in American history that you‘ve never heard of, Margaret Fuller. Fuller was a writer, journalist, and contemporary of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, the Alcott family, and many others. She was an advocate for abolition and women’s rights.

This is feminist historical fiction, and for fans of Pataki’s last book, The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post, looking for a similar vibe in this book they should know this one feels much more serious.

The first two thirds of this book were an easy read. It felt a little more tedious towards the end when Margaret gets to Italy, maybe because I didn’t know anything about the unification of Italy before reading this book so the topic felt a little confusing at times.

The whole book is a little lacking in heart but captivating and full of stories I’ve never heard before and I’d absolutely recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

Emerson, Thoreau, Alcott (Bronson and Louisa May)…Margaret Fuller? Most readers of American fiction and essays know the first few names on this list. They may be less familiar with Margaret Fuller. However, by the time that readers close this book, they will fully appreciate her life with its successes, challenges and tragedy.

Young Margaret was a highly intelligent child, whose father took her education most seriously. When he died, Margaret was left feeling that she needed to support her family. She did that while also being part of the transcendentalist movement and more.

One aspect of the book that I really liked was the way in which icons became human. For example, early in the novel, Margaret visits Emerson and his second wife. Waldo, as Margaret is invited to call him, engages in a flirtation with Margaret. It is in moments like this, that readers get to look at great American figures in a new and less iconic way. Similarly, as the story opens, Thoreau is a young man working for the Emersons, and just beginning his writing career. Bronson Alcott is running a school, while Louisa May is still a child.

Pataki has written a number of works of historical fiction. She has another success on her hands here.

Many thanks toNetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.

Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki is a historical novel that explores the life of one of America's most influential women, who was a writer, journalist, feminist, and activist in the 19th century. The book traces Margaret Fuller's journey from her childhood in Massachusetts, where she showed exceptional talent and courage, to her adulthood in New York, Europe, and Rome, where she became a prominent figure of the Transcendentalist movement, a champion of women's rights, and a supporter of the Italian revolution.
The book provides a detailed and captivating portrait of a remarkable woman who challenged the conventions and expectations of her time and made a lasting impact on American history and culture. The book is not only informative and educational, but also entertaining and enjoyable. The book is ideal for readers who are interested in historical fiction, biographical fiction, women's fiction, or literary fiction. The book is also a useful introduction to Margaret Fuller and the Transcendentalist movement, as well as a tribute to her achievements and contributions. The book is highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about this extraordinary and influential woman.