Synopses & Reviews
A remarkable womanas quest for real love, rare orchids, and true freedom.
In 1890s Boston, young Ada Caswell Pryce is beginning to realize that she is not a good wife. Beautiful, strong-willed, and nostalgic for her days at university, Ada drinks wine with her housekeepers, sneaks out for midnight horseback rides along the Charles River, gives feminist books to her ladiesa maid, and allows coarse, unfamiliar men to kiss her hand. Her husband, Edwardaa rich man whose gentlemanly hobbies include the relentless pursuit of rare orchids and the practice of tantric sexais intent on curbing Adaas wild behavior and turning her into a proper wife and mother.
When Edward first comes home with a crate of orchids, Ada thinks he is bringing her a gift, a peace offering during an unhappy time in their marriage. Little does she know how much these strange-looking flowers will change her life. Adaas continued refusal to conform brings out the darkest side of Edwardas personality. Desperate to escape, Ada forms inappropriate alliances with the African-American and Brazilian orchid hunters who work for her husband. With their help, she secretly flees Boston for the adventure, pleasure, and danger of Brazil.
Set in Victorian Boston, on the high seas of the Atlantic, and in the jungles of Brazil this is a panoramic, sexy debut novel for fans of Michel Faberas The Crimson Petal and the White,
Review
An engrossing blend of female self-discovery and grand adventure that is reminiscent of both Kate Chopin's
The Awakening and Avi's
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, her novel is both entertaining and thought- provoking. Book clubs, especially, will find much to discuss here. Recommended for all fiction collections.
Library Journal
A tale of powerful passions and an extraordinary young woman
This is the kind of book you stay up all night to finish, and in the morning you want to go out and do something daring. Ada will haunt you, urging you to be braver, truer to the wildness in your heart.
Jonis Agee, author of The River Wife
"More than a gothic tale of one womans awakening in a tightly conscribed society. It is a sweeping exploration of obsession in which Bauman asks: How far would each of us go to satisfy desire? What rules would we be willing to break?"
Anne D. LeClaire, author of The Lavender Hour and Entering Normal
"Luscious, sensuous, honest, and true--Ada's voyage of self discovery takes her from the drawing rooms of high-society Boston to the jungles of Brazil in quest of orchids, love, and freedom. I stayed up late finishing this delectable, well- researched historical novel."
Susanne Dunlap, author of Emilie's Voice and Liszt's Kiss
Synopsis
Set in Victorian Boston, on the high seas of the Atlantic, and in the jungles of Brazil this panoramic, sexy debut novel chronicles a remarkable woman's quest for real love, rare orchids, and true freedom.
Synopsis
When her husband arrives home carrying a crate of colorful orchids, Ada Caswell Pryce thinks he is bringing her a gift, a peace offering during an unhappy time in their marriage; little does she know how much these strange looking flowers are going to change her life.
By Boston standards of the 1890s, Ada is not a good wife. Strong-willed and beautiful, she longs for the days at university when she was free to be herself. Her husband Edward is intent on curbing her wild behavior, but she thwarts him at every turn -- she drinks wine with the housekeepers, gives feminist books to her maid, and sneaks out for midnight horseback rides along the Charles River.
To treat Adas hysteria, Edward restricts her daily activities and her relationships, then carefully choreographs her sexuality. Unable to bear another day of her stultifying and demeaning existence, Ada secretly plots ways to leave. Ultimately, it is her husbands all-consuming passion for collecting rare orchids that provides Ada with a daring opportunity for escape.
Once free, Adas lust for adventure takes her through the dangerous slums of New York, across the high seas of the Atlantic, and finally deep into the lush jungles of Brazil.
About the Author
Natasha Bauman, a former ballet dancer, is a native of Southern California, where she now teaches college writing and literature courses. While raising two children, she earned a B.A. in English and Creative Writing at UCLA (graduating summa cum laude), a Masters at Loyola Marymount University, and in MFA at Vermont College. This is her first novel.