Search - The Chaperone

A glimpse into the past and a look at New York City before the depression through two completely different eyes. There is Cora who has been asked to be a chaperone, but this trip to New York City is more than the task at hand, it will take her back in time to a past that she has been trying to figure out. Louise is a young ingenue who wants to become a celebrity in theatre and film, her big break takes her from Wichita, Kansas to New York City.

I absolutely adored being able to see the change in times in both of these women's eyes. Although the book is told through Cora's eyes, the reader is given enough information to understand what Louise is thinking with how the world is evolving around her. The change in hemline is more than a fashion trend, it is also a change in the culture of women and how they will perceive themselves differently. I loved the strong female characters who were trying to figure out how they would fit within the changing times.

A historical fiction that didn't feel dated, which is my kind of read! I would recommend this book to the reader who is a little weary about historical fiction, an entertaining story that could take place at anytime.

This novel centers around Cora Carlisle, who volunteers to chaperone the surly, self-absorbed Louise Brooks in NYC for a month while Lauren auditions for a renown dance troupe. Cora has ulterior motives in leaving Wichita, and this journey becomes a springboard for both of them into different life paths. Set in the 1920's, the tone of the book seems to be in keeping with the societal mores and restrictions of the time. Laura Moriarty has written a pitch-perfect book with well-developed characters, and the plot is absorbing from beginning to end.