Thank you, Putnam, for this review copy!
"The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf" is a genuinely immersive, moody, and atmospheric read. The cover evokes old Hollywood vibes of whiskey-filled, smoke-laden rooms1. I was thoroughly engaged with Margaret's story, her sense of unbecoming or unraveling, and found Arsén's writing to be stylish and powerful7.
At times, the plot lost focus, which might have been intentional to capture the unfolding challenges the couple faced and the push-pull dynamics of an affair, Shakespeare, theater, and performance14. However, as a reader drawn into this world, these moments occasionally felt overly alienating.
This novel is recommended as a solid read with strong writing and engaging historical fiction. It explores women's lives (both public and private), marriage, affairs, theater, and complex relationships2. The story delves into the desire for something more or different—a yearning to break free from one's current self and perceived image, venturing into a realm of new possibilities, albeit at a potential cost.

This one took a minute to pull me in. Once it did, though, I was hooked. Not whimsical like Shoot the Moon, this book has teeth - sharp teeth. I enjoyed Lady MacBeth’s cameos. I did not like Margot at all, but Westley and Edie were my faves. There’s probably an entire book out there with Edie’s story and I’d certainly read it.

I do not really know what to say about The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf, by Isa Arsén. It was not what was described in the publisher's blurb. Loved the character of Wesley, and some of the time, I actually liked Margaret quite a bit. I thought her nurturing of Wesley and their relationship seemed very good. I was unprepared for the suicide attempt. There was not much of a set up for that event. There are some factual errors that an editor should have caught, but I am sure another reviewer will spell that out at some point.

I love Shakespeare. I have seen so many performances and know the plays well, and I was excited about learning more about the staging and the actors. I liked this novel until I didn't. The portions in New Mexico are too slow and too dreary. and dark. New Mexico isn't just Breaking Bad, and so more drug use? Really? The whole portion in New Mexico was just so difficult to get through. Just about every trigger warning could be listed--suicide, drug use, violence, and a few more that I m not mentioning.

I am sure that there are many people who will like and enjoy reading this novel. It just did not work for me. Thank you to Putnam and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC. The above reflect my views. 2.5 stars, bomber to 3.

To avoid arrest for his sexuality, Wesley enters into a marriage of convenience with his best friend — and fellow stage actor — Margaret. When Margaret finally lands her dream role, Lady Macbeth, her happiness is short-lived however after suffering a breakdown following opening night. Unable to find work, Margaret spends her days wandering about the city and playing the happy housewife until she learns Wesley has been invited to join a theater troupe set to perform in the desert for the summer. Margaret believes this is just what she needs to reignite her passion...only to discover her already complicated marriage will see drama the Bard himself couldn’t have imagined.

1950s, Shakespeare, I was sold from the start and The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf was one of my most anticipated releases of the new year. Immediately I was hooked and genuinely expected this to be a Top Read, 5-star favorite of 2025.

Once Margaret and Wesley leave New York, however, the book spiraled. A drug-fueled affair, a surprise pregnancy, murder. And that’s not including the actual visitations (? hallucinations?) Margaret has of Lady Macbeth.

I had such high hopes going into this one and enjoyed it a great deal early on but expected something different than what I got out of it.

The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf by Isa Arsén is an amazing read!
An enthralling and entertaining story.
I enjoyed reading this book tremendously.

3.75

This is a dark, dramatic, and sexy historical novel that follows Margaret, an up-and-coming stage actress in the 1950s in a lavender marriage with her best friend and costar, Wesley. After a Lady Macbeth-inspired (literally) mental breakdown, Margaret ends up prescribed uppers and mandatory time off. Unable to take sitting at home, she accompanies Wesley to the middle of nowhere, New Mexico, for a summer Shakespeare performance. While there, the two end up in an ongoing ménage à trois with the charming and mysterious costume designer, Felix. But as opening night draws nearer, Margaret's idleness and her increasing drug dosage combined with the intensity of her relationships begin to spiral. Haunted by her own depiction of Lady Macbeth, she wonders if she's doomed to meet the same fate and if it's her own fault.

I really enjoyed Margaret's perspective in this, and her relationship with Wesley was so deep and compelling and fascinating. Their on-page chemistry was great, and I was rooting for them the whole way through. I am a Shakespeare nerd, so the parallels between the characters' lives and their roles on stage were a fun device to read about, and very well done. The writing itself was also lovely, clearly thoughtful and deep but not so flowery that it tried to compete with the Shakespearian source material or undermined the messages. If you enjoy theater and historical fiction through a feminist and queer lens, definitely check this out. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was immediately taken by Isa Arsen’s gorgeous writing when I read her debut, Shoot the Moon, last year. I am so pleased to say that she has successfully avoided the sophomore slump with her newest.

"𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦'𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸: 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦." - 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘩

Stage actors Margaret Shoard and her best friend Wesley enter into a marriage of convenience. When a director takes an interest in them both, and invites them to join the cast of his Shakespeare performance for the summer, things become complicated as they enter into an affair that will test them and their relationship.

The great irony of this story is that Margaret, having longed to play the role of Lady Macbeth, is herself the Lady Macbeth of this very loose retelling (with a hint of Hamlet for good measure). The complexity of her marriage to Wesley, as well as the shifting power dynamic between them, is just one of the many fascinating elements in this powerhouse of a novel.

This story is provocative and sexy at times, turbulent and heartbreaking at others. It is steeped in the history of old Hollywood, and yet maintains a fresh youthful quality that makes it feel so modern. I don’t know how Arsen pulls it off, but the intricacy of her stories combined with her beautiful prose has made me a fan for life.

Read if you like:
▪️old hollywood
▪️lgbtq rep
▪️Shakespearean plays
▪️Masters of Sex vibes
▪️literary fiction
▪️unconventional love affairs

Thank you Putnam for the advanced copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC! On paper, this sounded like it would become a new favorite but it just didn’t work for me. The pacing was too slow of a burn for too little payoff. Motion finally kicks in toward the end but still left so much to be desired. Many out there will certainly love this but I was severely disappointed.

I think once you get the feel for this book it is a pretty solid read. It has some vibes of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but also goes into some pretty hard topics that people had to deal with in the 50s with homophobia, depression and addiction.

This book is described as a sexy mid century novel. That made me believe it would be a somewhat fun look at the theater world during the 1950s and a couple who marry not for love but to protect one from the government. Instead this book was a heavy, dark read that was a bit twisted at times.

Though I enjoyed this book my second attempt at reading it, I found it was a bit too heavy of a read for me. I really didn't form any kind of attachment to the characters and just found them to be ok.

This wasn't a bad book, just not what I was expecting.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy.

⭐️ REVIEW ⭐️

📖 The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf by @arsen.prose 📖

Thank you to #NetGalley and @putnambooks for the opportunity to read this eARC and provide my honest thoughts.

Synopsis: A sexy, atmospheric mid-century novel about two Shakespearean actors in an unusual marriage during one summer that will drive them closer than ever or rip them apart for good.

Emojis: 🎭🪞🩸💊♥️🏳️‍🌈🗡️

🌟Rating: 3.75/5 stars (Rounded to 4/5)🌟

My thoughts: The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf was not something I would usually pick up, but I’m glad that I did. This book was an emotional and raw portrait of sacrifice, the search for love/acceptance in many forms (self, friend, partner, public), and the struggle for power over one’s demons. There are challenging themes throughout the plot which may make this read sensitive for some (see trigger warnings).

The first half of the book was a bit slow, but by the middle of the book, I was hooked and found myself unable to put it down. Some of the plot points were a bit odd (traveling out into the middle of nowhere to perform for no one and getting mixed up with members of a drug ring), and a few of the Shakespeare references likely went over my head, but I enjoyed those that didn’t. Overall, I am glad I gave this book a shot, and found it captured and held my attention.

I hope you consider giving this one a chance. If you do, let me know your thoughts!

Trigger Warnings: suicide attempts, drug abuse, sexual assault

There’s just so much in this book. Best friends, Margaret and Wesley, get married to save him from the HUAC, ok that’s a story that happened a lot in old Hollywood. The story takes us through their marriage while they are acting in Shakespeare plays. Things are going well until Margaret hurts herself and Wesley will do anything to help her. Her doctor on the other hand is a pill pusher not a healer, but life goes along at an even pace until Wesley takes an out of town job and meets a man. Margaret also meets this man and his interference will change both their lives.

I loved the story so much that I chose this for my January book. There are a few things that might bother some readers, graphic sex scenes, assault, drug use, very old Hollywood true crime themes.

Margaret Wolf, who was raised in a troubled household in Kentucky, uses her career as an actress—preferably as Lady MacBeth—to express her annoyance. Margaret meets Felix Haas, a costume designer and tailor, when she and her husband decide to take their company to New Mexico to perform summer stock. The individuals in charge of the summer stock take advantage of Margaret and Wesley, who have no other pals. They exact their retribution with their backs to the wall. The character development is superb. As the narrative progresses, it becomes unexpected to learn that every character has a Manichean battle. It helps the reader empathize with each character. The book comes to a terrifying end. The conclusion raises the question of whether enduring a catastrophe makes one more resilient in What will you be able to do in the next act, a nasty struggle to eat or be eaten?

The Unbecomming of Margaret Wolf by Isa Arsen is an atmospheric read. Set primarily in NYC in the 1950s. Our FMC, Margaret, is an actress in a Shakespearean Theatre troupe, and Wesley our MMC joins the group. Margaret and Wes are the leading actors of this troupe and become best friends. Wes is gay, and that can be a problem in this era. He begs Margaret to marry him because he fears he is being investigated by the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. Of course Margaret agrees - Wes is her best friend and she loves him. The theatre group decides to put on the Scottish play and Margaret gets the role she believes she was born to play, Lady MacBeth. All seems to be going well, but Margaret has anxiety about the play and begins having conversations with the Lady. After the triumphant opener, Margaret falls apart. She is replaced in the role because she has been hospitalized and when released, she can't get cast because they all think she's crazy. She begins seeing a therapist and he prescribes uppers - a white powder that she inhales. For the summer, the theatre troupe is invited to the desert of New Mexico to put on a play. It is for a large sum of money so they say yes and Margaret goes with to accompany Wes. On the journey, Margaret and Wes meet a man they are both interested in. This story contains suicide ideation, a violent sexual assault and a violent murder scene. I think the writing is good as it hooked me from the start. Margaret and Wes have decent character development, but the story itself is slow moving and the remaining characters really do not get any real development and deserve better. I give this book 3.75 stars and want to thank #netgalley and Penguin Publishing for my advanced reader copy.

👉🏻For my friends who want a sexy, atmospheric mid-century novel about two Shakespearean actors in an unusual marriage.

THE UNBECOMING OF MARGARET WOLF by Isa Arsén

Thanks to G. P. Putnam's Sons | Penguin Random House for the advance review copy via #NetGalley. (Available 7 Jan 25)

To protect him from professional ruin, Margaret marries her best friend and fellow Shakespearean actor, Wesley. Recovering from a desperate attempt to shuffle off her mortal coil and hopped up on therapist-prescribed amphetamines, she then joins him for a performance in the New Mexico desert. There, they both fall for a handsome costume designer who is more than he appears, and whoo boy, do things get debauched quickly.

The story, set in the 1950s, is dark but fascinating, disturbing but powerful, and full of bad decisions and figurative demons. This is Arsen’s second novel, and I also enjoyed her debut novel (though it was very different from this one). Her characters pull you in and make you want to stay and watch whatever happens next.

You’ll want to check the TW; there’s sex, violence, and sexual violence. (Not to mention drug use, self-harm, and suicidal ideation.) While not gratuitous, it’s very clear what is happening.

In Isa Arsen's The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf, actress Margot meets actor Wesley Shoard, who is gay and on HUAC's radar. The two marry and Margo's psyche slowly begins to unravel. Bored at home as a housewife, Margot accompanies Wesley and a troup of actors on a road trip to New Mexico for a theater festival. Margot becomes addicted to the "nerve powder" provided by her psychiatrist to stem her ennui. Both Margaret and Wesley become intrigued by a man they meet in the acting troup. The sharply written novel examines addiction, marriage, a woman's place in the world, and how all three mingle together.

The Unbecoming of Margaret Wolf by Isa Arsén is a captivating novel that will appeal to readers who enjoy fiction centered around the theater and the United States during the mid-twentieth century. This book is a great choice for fans of authors such as Patti Callahan Henry and Marie Benedict.

Margaret Wolf finally gets the role of her lifetime--Lady Macbeth. But she is too consumed by the part--with nearly tragic results. Taking a break from acting, she struggles with her new role, as wife of Wesley, another actor, who she agrees to marry primarily to protect him from too-close scrutiny. Her therapist prescribes uppers to help her get through her days, and with an inadequate supply for her growing habit, she accompanies Wesley to a sketchy summer theater in New Mexico where both she and Wesley get involved with Felix, a devious Austrian costume designer.

Set in the 1950s, this novel captures a period of time, where everyone smoked and drank, hid their so-called "proclivities," and unashamedly used amphetamines to get through the day. Decidedly unusual, this novel will capture your attention. The dual settings of Manhattan and New Mexico are equally fascinating. #TheUnbecomingofMargaretWolf #NetGalley

This book actually hurt me to DNF, and it may be a soft DNF for now (I made it to 50%). I had high hopes going into this one, as although it seemed to be a bit dark, the plot sounded very interesting. This book is marketed as a historical fiction, with two Shakespearean actors in the 1950s, with an LGBTQ romance. I do like what this book was aiming to do, it focuses on the tragedy that certain LGBTQ historical figures had to overcome, but also the love and relationships that many LGBTQ people in the 1950s were able to find. The themes are very heavy and dark, with a suicide attempt at the beginning of the story. The writing was quite beautiful and Shakespearean-esqe, and I did appreciate how beautiful and descriptive the writing was. However, the book ultimately just felt too heavy for me to continue with right now. I found the beginning of the book quite slow to get into and combined with the darker themes, I'm not sure this book was right for me. I also found it hard to connect with Margaret as a character, which made it more difficult to want to push through the rest of the book. Probably not the right book for me right now, but I expect many will enjoy it!!

Thanks to Putnam for the free book!

I'll be the outlier. I struggled to get into this- it felt mannered and all to0 literary at first. Margaret is an interesting character but she wasn't one I cared about. I liked the 195os setting but as has been noted elsewhere, there are some inconsistent details that should have been caught in the editing process. Thanks to the publisher for the Arc. Over to others-many of whom I'm sure will enjoy it.