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We Are Gathered Here: A Novel of the Nineteenth Century
We Are Gathered Here A Novel of the Nineteenth Century Author:Micah Perks In her first novel, Perks has developed her interest in the social history of women in 19th-century America into an intriguing tale of an unusual friendship. Regina Sartwell is the epileptic daughter of a successful businessman; her engagement has ended abruptly, with public humiliation for the entire family. She is sent to the Adirondacks to li... more »ve with distant relatives and receive treatment. Olive Honsiger is newly wedded to a Swedish immigrant miner; she lives in her childhood home with her husband and ailing widowed mother. The two women meet at the train station, and Regina takes a shine to Olive's flaming red hair and insists she be hired as her maid. Each woman introduces the other to previously unknown worlds, and together they challenge society's assumptions about class, sex, and the role of women. But, as the protagonists learned in Isabel Miller's classic Patience and Sarah (Library Journal, 1/15/72), the dominant male society will extract a price for their behavior.« less