The Other Side of Mrs Wood: The most irresistible historical fiction debut of the year

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Miss Finch is a well developed antagonist, it is possible to imagine her expressions and her manipulative character as she proceeds to fool those around her. The other characters who attend the seances and meetings are not fully developed beyond basic descriptions. The descriptions of the houses, food, clothes and scenes around London give some authenticity to the period, reflecting relevant research. When a young girl begins to stand outside Mrs Wood’s home, her curiosity gets the better of her and she demands to know why the girl is hanging around. It seems the girl, Emmie Finch wants to be a pupil of the great Mrs Wood, to learn how to be a respected medium of Mrs Wood’s calibre. I also loved how complex a lot of the swindling in the world of Victorian mediums was. Despite having the opportunity to look behind the curtain as a reader, the clever mechanics behind it all still lured me into a false sense of belief at times. That alone made for a great concept for a novel. Emmeline is fascinating, a genuinely talented person, but I heard warning bells as soon as she appeared. Barker does draw a wonderful portrait of ambitious, driven people in the two women, though it’s clear that Mrs. Wood sees her work as a way to provide succour for her clients’ grief and pain, which illuminates the difference between the two mediums intentions. Violet earnestly believes that she is using her, ahem, “skills” to bring comfort to other people with messages they long to hear from dearly departed loved ones who visit from beyond the grave — after all, “illusion is everything.”

Think All About Eve, but set in the spellbinding world of Victorian mediums. Brilliantly witty.' Frances Quinn, author of That Bonesetter Woman -I enjoyed the portrayal of Mrs Wood and Miss Finch as well as the supporting cast of characters. I could picture the clothing, the households, the carriages etc and feel the excitement as well as the manipulation and despair.

When she sees a young promising woman, Violet takes on Miss Emmeline Finch as her protégé, and gradually trains her up, and begins introducing her to her clientele, all of whom are taken with the young woman's skills. And though Violet's partner and best friend Miss Sarah Newsome warns her against the young woman, Violet hears none of this, and only wants Emmy to succeed. Mrs Wood is the most successful medium in Victorian London. Together with her assistant, Miss Newman, she hosts spectacular séances that have made her the talk of the town and brought the rich and famous to her door requesting private consultations. Of course, Mrs Wood can’t really communicate with spirits, but she doesn’t feel too guilty about what she’s doing – after all, a widow has to make a living somehow and this is the work she’s been raised to do. Recently, however, things have started going wrong. There are reports from America of mediums promising to materialise full spirits and although Mrs Wood disapproves of such things, she worries that her own more traditional shows are losing their spark. When she hears the unmistakable sound of a yawn during one of her séances, she knows she has to take action. Three woman who join together to rent a large space along the beach in Los Angeles for their stores—a gift shop, a bakery, and a bookstore—become fast friends as they each experience the highs, and lows, of love.performance wasn't the thing that drove her. The japes were necessary: they validated her as a Medium by affirming her reputation. They allowed her space fkr the quieter moments where she did that thing that mattered: brought comfort and solace to those lost in grief. If she could apport am afternoon tea, complete with milk and sugar, she could channel a message of love." This was great. Lucy Barker provides us with enough clues to deduce there’s something off with the almost preternaturally competent student, and we see Mrs. Wood’s desperation blinding her to all the signs. She’s not naïve (her mother ensured that), but her frustration with her clients’ constant need for more and newer propels Violet to not think things through before taking on the ingenue, and pushing away everyone in her life who actually cares about her. A historical novel about the rivalry between two female mediums during Victorian London’s obsession with Spiritualism. The tone of the book comes across quite witty, but it also delves into topics such as the lives of women at that time and how they had limited opportunities. The women’s suffrage and other feminist themes are put into the spotlight.

I was surprised by this book, it was not what I was expecting at all, as there were no actual ghosts, these women were masters of illusion, but I still really enjoyed it. I found it very entertaining, it was witty, I did have a few laughs, it was full of surprises and I always like a good revenge plot. I loved the ending of this, I’m hopeful there will be a follow on. Overall this was a really good debut novel and I would recommend it.😊 This was a dreadfully painful experience. More of a 1/1.5 star but I rounded up, mostly due to the purple cover that originally caught my eye. I sincerely wish I liked Mrs Wood more, I really did want to invest myself in her wins and losses but to be honest, I hated the way she treated those around her. Whether this was intentional by the author or not, I’m not sure. However, she was constantly putting down Miss Newman’s suffragette work and putting her own needs above others. I can’t say much more without spoilers, I simply regret not being able to see The Nice Side of Mrs Wood. The elder of the two primary characters, Mrs. Violet Wood, is a respected medium, and has many clients among the nobility, but dreads the day when her seances will be seen as boring. Already, she's finding it harder to get new clients and patrons, and when some of her financial investments fail, she knows she needs to do something fast, and radical, to maintain her status as one of London's preeminent spiritualists, while maintaining a fashionable home and sustaining the livelihoods of herself and her staff.However, the novel is well written and I enjoyed the strong female characters - Mrs Wood and Miss Newman, so I carried on reading and became more engaged with the tale as it progressed. The descriptions of the antics at seances were entertaining although it is hard to believe that people would really be taken in by Mrs Wood’s “stunts”; eg: when she ended up in a tree! Using two Victoria era mediums and their rivalry as inspiration, Lucy Barker tells a compelling tale of two con artists, I mean spiritualists, whose relationship highlights the financial precariousness of single women at the time, and the growing fight for independence championed by suffragettes. All of this, combined with light comic touches and some wonderfully theatrical set pieces, makes for an amusing, thoroughly enjoyable novel, which could, quite conceivably, be adapted to stage or screen. I really loved the premise of this novel; two female rival spiritualist mediums fight it out for the best patronage in Victorian London. However, I think my trouble with enjoying this book stems from the characterization of the main character and the pacing of the story.