The Book Club for Troublesome Women
by Marie Bostwick
Narrated by Lisa Flanagan
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Pub Date Apr 22 2025 | Archive Date May 23 2025
HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse
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Description
Margaret Ryan never really meant to start a book club . . . or a feminist revolution in her buttoned-up suburb.
By 1960s standards, Margaret Ryan is living the American woman's dream. She has a husband, three children, a station wagon, and a home in Concordia--one of Northern Virginia's most exclusive and picturesque suburbs. She has a standing invitation to the neighborhood coffee klatch, and now, thanks to her husband, a new subscription to A Woman's Place--a magazine that tells housewives like Margaret exactly who to be and what to buy. On paper, she has it all. So why doesn't that feel like enough?
Margaret is thrown for a loop when she first meets Charlotte Gustafson, Concordia's newest and most intriguing resident. As an excuse to be in the mysterious Charlotte's orbit, Margaret concocts a book club get-together and invites two other neighborhood women--Bitsy and Viv--to the inaugural meeting. As the women share secrets, cocktails, and their honest reactions to the controversial bestseller The Feminine Mystique, they begin to discover that the American dream they'd been sold isn't all roses and sunshine--and that their secret longing for more is something they share. Nicknaming themselves the Bettys, after Betty Friedan, these four friends have no idea their impromptu club and the books they read together will become the glue that helps them hold fast through tears, triumphs, angst, and arguments--and what will prove to be the most consequential and freeing year of their lives.
The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a humorous, thought provoking, and nostalgic romp through one pivotal and tumultuous American year--as well as an ode to self-discovery, persistence, and the power of sisterhood.
Advance Praise
"This is a novel about ambitious women and the mentors that inspired them to excellence . . . Bostwick carves an unforgettable path for her characters."--Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Good Left Undone
Available Editions
| EDITION | Audiobook, Unabridged |
| ISBN | 9781400344765 |
| PRICE | |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Reviewer 1607562
Oh Marie Bostwick, you’ve done it again. The Book Club for Troublesome Women was an absolute amazing read.
Reviewer 803700
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Focus for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Lisa Flanagan does a fabulous job making the story come to life with her narration!
Its the 1960s and four suburban housewives from different walks of life form an unbreakable bond through their book club, forever altering the course of their lives.
I loved that the first book that the women read is the The Feminine Mystique which focuses on the core issue of these housewives and their dissatisfaction with domestic life. With the radical socio and economic changes headed their way, the reader gets a front row seat into the characters lives as they face motherhood, community and feminism. The Bettys are very likeable and relatable. This is a fast paced and entertaining read!
Highly recommend!
Courtney T, Reviewer
Margaret, Charlotte, Bitsy, and Vivian are each individually stunning characters. The breadth of each one of their stories is both enchanting and captivating. I listen enraptured to each one's story as it unfolded in this marvelous historical fiction. The 1960s were a difficult time in American History for lots of disparaged minorities. Each woman faces setbacks in their journey to discovering who they are in a society that only values women in Motherhood. I love that the book club finds it's bearings in The Feminine Mystique! Marie Bostwick brilliantly faces the topic of women being second class figures in society during this time-frame. It felt balanced that she honored the Civil Rights Movement also occurring in that time.
The audiobook is excellent! Charlotte's character came through vividly.
Thank you Netgalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for this Audio ARC!
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