A powerful, unforgettable reflection on womanhood, identity, and quiet rebellion.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is not just a story—it is a mirror, held up to a time in history that feels both distant and dangerously familiar. Set in 1963, in a seemingly idyllic American suburb, this novel peels back the veneer of domestic perfection to reveal the emotional isolation, silenced ambition, and quiet desperation experienced by so many women who were told they had everything—yet felt like nothing.

Through the lives of Margaret, Viv, Bitsy, and Charlotte, Marie Bostwick captures the aching truth of what it meant to be a woman at a time when femininity was defined by submission, silence, and sacrifice. These women are not rebels in the way we often imagine revolutionaries. They are mothers, wives, neighbours. But what makes them extraordinary—and so deeply human—is their willingness to begin asking the forbidden questions. Why am I not happy? Is this all there is? What would life look like if I mattered, too?

The introduction of The Feminine Mystique into their book club becomes more than just a reading choice—it becomes a call to consciousness. Their discussions crack open the foundation of their lives, unearthing the grief and rage and longing that had been buried under layers of politeness and expectation. This is a book about the power of story—not just the stories we read, but the stories we are allowed to tell about ourselves.

It explores the intersections of femininity and masculinity—how men, too, were shaped and confined by the cultural narratives of the time. Walt, Margaret’s husband, is particularly well-drawn, offering a glimpse of how empathy and partnership can flourish when vulnerability is permitted to exist within masculinity.

This novel is rich with themes that feel urgently relevant: the need for financial independence, bodily autonomy, the invisibility of older women, the social pressure to conform, the stigma around divorce, and the way women are often gaslit into believing they should be grateful for lives that quietly break them.

But most of all, The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a story about courage. About the strength it takes to say no, and the deeper strength it takes to say yes to your own truth. It is a celebration of friendship, of books, of the profound and transformative magic that happens when women gather—not to gossip, but to grow.

We owe it to the women who came before us—and to the ones we’re still becoming—to read books like this. Five powerful stars. I will be recommending this book to every woman I know.

Thank you to HarperCollins Focus and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

1963, Northern Virginia, Margaret Ryan, Viv Buschetti, and Bitsy Cobb, are housewives in a brand-new suburb called Concordia and when Charlotte Gustafson moves into the neighbourhood, she’s a flamboyant artist from Manhattan and they decide to start a book club and read Betty Friedan's new novel, The Feminine Mystique.

The phrase "feminine mystique" was coined by the author to describe the assumptions that women should be fulfilled from doing their housework, being married, and having children and what more could they possibly need or want. Women who were truly feminine should not work outside of the home, get an education, or have political opinions. Friedan wanted to prove that women were unsatisfied and voiceless and it’s true.

At the time a woman couldn’t open a bank account without her husband’s permission and needed her spouse to accompany her to a gynaecological appointment to get the prescription for the contraceptive pill, infertility was never due to the male and some families found divorce shameful and infidelity was something ladies shouldn't complain about and pretended it wasn’t happening.

Margaret, Charlotte, Bitsy, and Viv share how they feel, unseen, undervalued and dissatisfied and they discover they are not alone and their new friends listen and understand their grievances and spread the word to help others and knowledge is power.

I received a copy of The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick from the publisher HarperCollins Focus in exchange for an honest review. The story was wonderful and well written, it really shines a light on what it was like for American women in the 1960’s, society thought things were fine and despite the world changing.

A narrative about friendship and sisterhood, and it helps the ladies to find courage to confront the past, and see themselves in a new way and move forward. I really liked Margaret and her husband Walt and how together they weathered life’s ups and downs and five stars from me and I highly recommend.

I happened to be offered this book, The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick just when my own online book club assigned a “book about a book club” last month and thought it would be perfect. I am so glad I read it because it is such a wonderful book that took me back to my mother’s generation, a time when women were becoming restless in their assigned place in society.
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In 1960 women were expected to marry, have kids, raise them and take care of their home, to cater to their husbands. The four women in this book club, Margaret, Bitsy, Viv and Charlotte, all live in a brand new community just outside of Washington DC where their main excitement has been the weekly coffee klatches with the other wives. Margaret wants more, and on the spur of the moment forms a book club to include their newest neighbor Charlotte. Their first book is the legendary book by Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique. That book changed these women’s lives.
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As I do often when I read great historical fiction, I dig deeper because I want to know more. This book changed many women’s perspective on what they “should” be doing and what they want their lives to look like. Women at his time had to have their husband’s permission to go on birth control, his signature to open a bank account or own real estate, and so much more. The author did a great job of incorporating many injustices in her story about the bonds and growth of these four women.
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I absolutely adored each of these women for who they were and even more when they were together, supporting one another. One of my favorite lines in the book was, when referring to the old boys club way of keeping women down, ”If women stuck up for one another the way men do, this would be an entirely different world.”
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I am a strong advocate for women building up women. I see a lot of that in Bookstagram and my own book clubs. I think together, women can do anything.
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This is an excellent book for book club discussions or just to enjoy yourself!

Have you ever read a book that is ruined by another book you read that was similar? This is the second book I have read that takes place (at least partially) in the sixties and is about a group of suburban housewives that form a neighborhood book club. Sadly, not everyone has the humor of Lorna Landvik. Despite my constant mental comparisons between the Bettys and the Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, this is a pretty great historical fiction.

Four women form a bookclub in their neighborhood and read The Feminine Mystique. This controversial book leads them to new places. Margaret, the unhappy wife, begins writing a column and expressing herself, causing massive changes in her marriage. Viv decides it is time to resurrect her career as a nurse, even if she may be expecting baby number seven. Bitsy is going to stand up to her older husband and work toward her dreams, rather than doing as told. And Charlotte, the most outspoken of them all, will discover that she is stronger than she or anyone even knew.

The ups and downs of these women is enthralling and at times made my blood boil. How far we have come, and yet some want to take us right back there, or even further.

The narration was excellent and really brought a lot to the story, despite not having a cast for each of the changing viewpoints.

Thank you to Net Galley, Harper Collins Focus, and Harper Muse for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This story is told during an important time in history for women. It's about women from different walks of life who bond over inspiring books written by women for women. Strangers who become friends that become a major support system for each other.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED this book. From the beginning, I was hooked. I could relate to the characters, and their feeling of being 'stuck'. I love what they did for themselves and the effort they put forth to make their lives what they want it to be. I loved how they progressed in the story. I cheered them on when things were difficult. I became more angry at men, and felt frustrated at times, as there were struggles I could relate to. I loved the ending, and the 'epilogue' that told us how these women progressed. I have nothing negative to say.

Four friends, living in a new development in the DC suburbs in 1963 are changed for life as they learn about themselves while reading The Feminine Mystique by Betty Freidan. They start a book club, and after reading Freidan's book, they call themselves 'The Bettys'. We follow the lives of the four women as they discover who they are and who they want to be while in traditional marriages.- being homemakers and mothers. They begin to have or try to have discussions with their husbands, some listen, some don't . iAll of the women had dreams and aspirations before marriage. They were in college , or finished college and even had careers prior to marriage. But once married, it was time for them to stay home. The women discover themselves and learn what is important to each of them. Their journeys to find themselves is a group effort from the Bettys, their friendships were what kept them going. This historical fiction brings in all that was going on in '63- feminism, equal rights, civil rights, Vietnam and the Kennedy assassination. The book also makes you wonder have things really changed as much as we think? There was also mentions of other literary works during this time period that I wasn't familiar with. I noted those writings and plan on looking for them!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Pub date 4/22/2025

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
Set in the pivotal year of 1963, this novel follows the lives of four women who become friends through a book club. Their first book club pick of Betty Friedan’s "The Feminine Mystique: is the catalyst for change in all their lives. A great read!

I loved this book. Bostwick has a gift for description and details that make this book feel very relevant and relatable. Set in the turbulent 1960's Bostwick explores the lives of four women each with different backgrounds and expectations for how their lives should have turned out. As with most unlikely pairings of personalities, these women met through a neighborhood bookclub and become mentors and a support system for each other as they each try to forge their new path inspired by Betty Friedan's "Feminine Mystique".


An extra bonus is that Bostwick provides her own TBR list for readers as each month the group chooses a new book to read. I found myself making a list and ordering several right away that I will share with my own bookclub.

4.5 I absolutely loved this book! It begins as group of very different women who start a book club and along the way they form a beautiful friendship. As they navigate through a very pivotal part of history these remarkable women, stand by and lift each other up. Full review to come after book release.
Thank you NetGalley, Marie Bostwick and Harper Collins Focus for the ARC.

I enjoyed reading The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

I love books that take place in the 1960's, and I love books that include strong female characters. Let me rephrase that - I like books about female characters not knowing that are strong, but those who search for the means to emerge strong. This new novel by Marie Bostwick checks off both of those elements as it explores the societal role of women in our country in the 1960s.

Maggie, Viv, Bitsy, and Charlotte all find themselves plopped into Concordia, a cookie cutter Washington DC suburb where the HOA has their nose into everything, not only landscaping, but also the lives of all of the women in the neighborhood.

In an attempt to break away from the monotonous boredom, Maggie invites the other three to join a book club. This book club forges an unlikely friendship with this quartet of ladies that will end up spanning decades. They dub themselves The Bettys in homage to Betty Friedan, author of the newly released book, The Feminine Mystique, which becomes their first read and then somewhat their theme song.

Besides the development of the delightful females leads, I really liked the pop culture and historical references of 1963 that were woven into the plot. These actually made the reader feel as though you had stepped back into the pages of history as each of these ladies' lives unfolded,

If you enjoy strong female characters and a walk down memory lane, to a time in our country's history where rights of all minorities (including, especially in this story, those of women) were a constant battle, then pick up Marie Bostwick's new book when it hits shelves on April 22, 2025. Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus / Harper Muse, for this captivating little slice of our country's history that is too often ignored.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women follows four housewives in 1960s in 1960’s Virginia who start a book club and friendship blossoms. Bitsy, Charlotte, Margaret and Viv seem to live perfect lives and live in guilt wanting more out of life. When they read The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, everything begins to change.

I loved that it mentioned other books in this story like Revolutionary Road, Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman are just a few to name. The pacing was a bit slow at times, but I honestly didn’t mind the story’s unique perspective and historical setting kept me engaged. definitely added a few titles to my TBR list. I listened to the audiobook and read the book together.

I received a complimentary copy of this book/audiobook. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Books about books are some of my favorites to read. This book was so much more than that and I loved it! Margaret forms a book club with three other, very different woman. Yet they all form this strong friendship/sisterhood that was so genuine and lovely. Charlotte gives this speech about women building each other up that was so relevant and truly inspiring. This was such a great book and I can’t wait for my friends to read it. Highly recommend! I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

Margaret, Viv, and Bitsy are living a typical suburban life with their husbands in the early 1960’s. Their lives revolve around their spouses and their kids. One day, Margaret invites their new stylish and artsy neighbor, Charlotte, to join a book club. And that’s when things start to change for them.

Charlotte suggests they read a new controversial novel called “The Feminist Mystique” by Betty Friedan. As they read the book and bond together, they realize that perhaps they want more from their lives than just being a mother and a wife. As each of the women faces new challenges in their lives, they take it on with a new sense of purpose, confidence and the support of their friends.

I liked the premise of this novel but keep in mind this book tackles the challenges of privileged white women in the early 1960’s. While their struggles were real, they also don’t represent the obstacles that women of color or those in lower socioeconomic classes or even in abusive situations might face. This is a snapshot of one type of life experience and I appreciated it for what it is. I enjoyed the audiobook as I listened and read both versions interchangeably.

Thank you to @harpercollinsfocus @harpermusebooks for an advanced digital copy and @librofm for the #gifted audiobook of this novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story of 4 suburban housewives starting a book club in 1963. They are challenged to make their first book, Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique." This book and their relationships change them in unexpected ways. They each find that the status quo of wife and mother isn't enough and each sets out to find their own meaning and journey in life. It may be shocking to many of us to read about what life was like for women in this time period. You couldn't open a bank account or get birth control without permission from your husband. I rooted for each of the four women in the book club, and while some of the story and the ending may seem a bit pat, it never detracted from my enjoyment of the story.

My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Muse for an advance ecopy. My opinion is my own.

*Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

There was a lot for me to like about this book, including the 1960s-DMV setting and the overarching plot of housewives having a feminist awakening. However, the writing was simplistic at times and the characters felt pretty flat. Interesting enough, but not standout historical fiction.

To solve a problem you must first identify it

In early 1963 Margaret Ryan is a wife and mother living in Concordia, a recently created suburb in Northern Virginia. She loves her brand new home and her three children, and although she and her husband are going through a rough patch she knows that she should be happy with her life. She just can't figure out why she isn't completely satisfied when by all measures her family has achieved the American dream. When Margaret meets her new neighbor Charlotte Gustafson, a glamorous and self-assured transplant from New York, she is drawn to her and impulsively asks her to join her new bookclub (which she had just invented). Charlotte agrees but only if the book they discuss is the new work by Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique. Along with Margaret's best friend Viv Buschetti, a former nurse who is now the mother of six and who is looking to return to nursing, and Bitsy Cobb, the youngest of the group who is married to a much older man, Margaret discovers in the pages of the book that she is not alone in wanting more out of life than society feels that she deserves Together the women begin a journey of introspection and questioning the status quo. It will be a transformative year for them all as it will be for the country at large as well.
The title may be a bit unwieldy but the premise of The Book Club for Troublesome Women is both intriguing and engaging. How much women today (myself included) take for granted as they lead their lives! Things like getting a prescription from the doctor or opening a bank account are hardly acts of rebellion, but in 1963 a married woman needed her husband's permission to do either, The friendship between the women is well drawn and feels genuine, and each is sorting through her own situation as they seek fulfillment. Their husbands all differ from one another in how they feel about their wives and about the changes that the women are making, with not all being supportive. The Friedan book, a classic of feminist writing, is an interesting prism through which to view each woman's growing realization that they are not alone in feeling less than fulfilled by being only a wife and (in most cases) a mother, despite what the women's magazines and media in general would have them believe. The book is more about introspection than it is about actions and at times the story seems to get mired in the ruminations, but the characters are relatable (although they are not quite as "troublesome" as the title would have you imagine) and the time period was portrayed effectively. Readers of author Marie Bostwick's previous books as well as fans of Kate Quinn, Lisa Wingate and Adriana Trigiani will enjoy this novel that depicts women, their friendships and their search for meaning in their lives as the feminist movement gains increasing traction. My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus/Harper Muse for allowing me access to this enjoyable read in exchange for my honest review.

Book review: 4.25/5 ⭐️
Genre: womens/historical fiction
Themes: feminism, women in the 60s, changing attitudes
📖 Read if you like: Lessons in Chemistry, The Women

Thank you to HarperCollins Focus, Harper Muse and NetGalley for an eARC and audiobook for review.

This was both frustrating and insightful. It is easy to forget all the liberties and rights we as women take for granted today that even our mothers and especially our grandmothers didn’t have. This is a story about all the walls that existed to keep women confined to their place in the home as wives and mothers. Walls created by society through asinine rules like requiring a husband to open a bank account or get contraception, but also the ones held up by women themselves. A sort of conditioning or angry unfulfillment projected onto others, barriers existed on many fronts.

Within 1960s America, four women meet in suburbia for a life changing experience. Anyone who is part of a book club knows the bonds that can form within such groups and the power of finding like minded individuals who are keen to discuss ideas and philosophy. Sometimes just having one person reassure you that you are not crazy for wanting something more, something just for yourself is natural can be life changing. It can shatter the constructs created around your own existence and allow hope and possibility in. The Bettys found just that in each other and the book club they stumbled into. The ideas from Betty Friedan's controversial book, The Feminine Mystique launched an exploration in their own dissatisfaction and admittance for their true longings.

I enjoyed that all the women were imperfect. Most were happy to be mothers and homemakers, and so had some guilt about wanting more. Each was ambitious in their own ways, and yet forewent a possible career for their families. It was interesting to have women that wanted both and found a way to do so, as opposed to the outright rebels who would sacrifice a husband and family for their passions. It explored that area of transition and how ideas of change were taking root in quiet ways and the importance of sisterhood and literature in sparking these concepts. In truth, I found most of the husbands horrible and most of the women fairly ordinary, besides Charlotte, but money gives a woman options that society does not. This may be why I am not married, but I would have left three out of four of these men for appalling behaviour and treatment.

Charlotte was delightfully unhappy with her lot in life despite having the privilege of wealth, while Viv was her perfect balance. Each had a passion and loved their kids, but that is where the similarities stopped. I will always be drawn to the tortured artist and war nurses have an unimaginable strength that is aspirational. I liked both women and they were easy to imagine as real in all their complexities and hardships. Bitsy’s story was heartbreaking and I found her pandering to a petulant husband difficult to swallow, but I also understood her youthful attitude under the circumstances. I actually found Margaret to be the most bland. She was a little contrary with her judgment of Charlotte possibly breaking her vows against a philandering husband or of Bitsy forgiving her absent husband made her too much of a Pollyanna, especially given her alcoholic husband was absent in his own ways. The fact that he treated her so poorly and she continued in her undying affection was contradictory. Still this really highlighted the difference in the times and it all played out in the end.

I did wish Margaret was a little more enthused by her writing and would continue doing it whether or not she had a job. She seemed to lack the passion that others had in spades. Her trajectory just dropped this from a five star read given the ending seemed so unbelievable given all the practicalities of the previous chapters. It was a sweet imagining, but there is no way I believe two people with three kids that don’t come from money could afford that dreamlike lifestyle. And while I thought it was well rounded to include the male burden of hardship in this narrative to keep the story inclusive, I just didn’t want it. Feeling sorry for a man in the patriarchy is laughable in the face of constraints placed on women at the time. So my rating does not reflect the quality of writing or ideas presented in this book, which were both objectively excellent, merely my feelings towards certain characters and outcomes. It took something that was both hard to read and enjoyable, but oh so real into the land of dreams and it didn’t fit the narrative for me. That being said this is certainly a book I would recommend and it would be ideal for a book club!

🎧 I planned to do a tandem read with the audiobook and ebook, but I was liking the story so much I just ended up reading it twice in each format! The narration was spectacular with Lisa Flanagan providing the perfect voice for these four Bettys and their partners and children. I think I will enjoy anything read by this narrator!

Marie Bostwick's latest, THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN, is a compelling and nostalgic novel about female friendship and empowerment, featuring four homemakers in the 1960s who form a book club that changes their lives.

Empowering women through history and literature!

About...

Early 1960s: Margaret Ryan, Viv Buschetti, and Bitsy Cobb are suburban housewives who have moved to a new planned community, Concordia, in northern Virginia, with their husbands.

However, they are unhappy in a world and time when they do not feel like a person, just a wife, a homemaker, and a shadow of their husband, with no voice. They are struggling with the societal expectations of being a perfect wife and mother, the lack of personal identity, and the feeling of being trapped in their roles.

Things change when they form a book club led by Charlotte Gustafson, the new neighbor from Manhattan, who is both eccentric and artsy. They start with the newly released book, The Feminine Mystique.

These women, realizing they are not alone in their dissatisfaction, form a bond of sisterhood. This bond gives them the courage to confront their past and take a stand in a changing world for women, inspiring readers with their bravery.

My thoughts...

Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, I adore books set in that era and can recall my working mother from that time. I probably did not appreciate the challenges she and other women faced at the time. Marie's research was spot on, and I immensely enjoyed all the fun, nostalgic references I am familiar with, which made me smile and reminisce.

It wasn't much better in the early 1970s when my husband and I built our first home. I had a full-time income, but the mortgage companies wouldn't count mine because I was in my childbearing years.

THE BOOK CLUB OF TROUBLESOME WOMEN is brilliantly written, thought-provoking, with vivid descriptions of time and place, and the rich characters come alive on the page.

At first, it just surfaces talk, but as we dive into the book and form a close friendship, the women share their secrets, cocktails, and honest reactions to the controversial bestseller.

The women soon discover that the American Dream isn't all it's cracked up to be, and they want more. They want a voice.

THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN is a charming, humorous, and nostalgic tale of sisterhood and self-discovery. It explores the historical roles of women, the challenges they faced in society during this time, and the transformative power of books, leaving readers feeling empowered by the women's journey. 1963 was truly the beginning of the feminist movement. As modern women of today, we can thank this generation of courageous women.

Several novels from the 1960s explored themes of female empowerment and challenged traditional gender roles, contributing to the burgeoning feminist movement of the time. Key examples include Doris Lessing's "The Golden Notebook" (1962), Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar" (1963), and Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" (1963), which gave voice to the experiences of women feeling stifled by societal expectations.

Friedan's book exposed the limitations of the "cult of domesticity" and inspired women to challenge their traditional roles and seek fulfillment beyond the home. This non-fiction work is widely recognized as a catalyst for the second-wave feminist movement, exploring the widespread unhappiness experienced by American women in the post-war era.

"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett (2009):
Although published later, the book's setting in the 1960s and its focus on the struggles of African American women servants in the American South qualify it as a work of women's fiction, exploring themes of resilience, resistance, and female empowerment.

Audiobook...

As a reader, I had the privilege of experiencing both the book and the audiobook. The audiobook, narrated by the super-talented storyteller Lisa Flanagan, was a delight! Her voice, which has brought over 300 audiobooks to life and earned numerous awards, was the perfect fit for this group of ladies. Her excellent pacing draws you into the world of women in the 60s, making for an engaging and entertaining listening experience. I highly recommend the audio version to all readers.

Recs...

THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN is for fans of the author and those who enjoy thought-provoking historical novels about women, book clubs, nostalgia, and female friendship. The story is also for fans of Kristin Hannah, Kate Quinn, Patti Callahan Henry, and Ellen Meister..

Special thanks to Harper Muse for a gifted digital ARC and ALC via Netgalley for my honest thoughts.

blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: April 22, 2025
My Rating: 4.5 Stars rounded to 5 Stars
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