Elegant Woman: A Novel

Written by Martha McPhee

Narrated by Gabra Zackman

“A portrait of self-creation in the vein of F. Scott Fitzgerald”,” (The Wall Street Journal) An Elegant Woman is “a rich exploration of legacy and memory” (Entertainment Weekly) that follows four generations of women against the sweep of 20th century American history.

Drawn from the author’s own family history, this powerful, moving multigenerational saga from National Book Award finalist Martha McPhee masterfully explores the stories we tell ourselves, and what we leave out.

As Isadora, a novelist, and two of her sisters sift through the artifacts of their forebears’ lives, trying to decide what to salvage and what to toss, the story shifts to a winter day in 1910 at a train station in Ohio. Two girls wait in the winter cold with their mother—the mercurial Glenna Stewart—to depart for a new life in the West. As Glenna campaigns in Montana for women’s suffrage and teaches in one-room schoolhouses, Tommy takes care of her little sister, Katherine: trapping animals, begging, keeping house, cooking, while Katherine goes to school. When Katherine graduates, Tommy makes a decision that will change the course of both of their lives.

Told “with an easy grace many historical novels lack” (Los Angeles Times), An Elegant Woman follows one woman over the course of the 20th century, taking us from a drought-stricken Montana farm to a yellow Victorian in Maine; from the halls of a psychiatric hospital in London to a wedding gown fitting at Bergdorf Goodman; from a house in small town Ohio to a family reunion at a sweltering New Jersey pig roast. Framed by Isadora’s efforts to retell her grandmother’s journey—and understand her own—the novel is “sharp, precise, and, yes, elegant” (The Boston Globe) in its gorgeous depiction of one hundred years in a family’s history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jun 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781797109916

Martha McPhee

Martha McPhee is the author of the novels An Elegant Woman, Bright Angel Time, Gorgeous Lies, L’America, and Dear Money. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant and a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. Gorgeous Lies was a finalist for the National Book Award. She teaches fiction at Hofstra University and lives in New York City.

Reviews for Elegant Woman

[Norma Jean Ream · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a story for women to go on being the strong character of her own “Herstory.”

[Catherine Penrod · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is an interesting story spanning decades. But, it almost went on too long. Some characters like Catherine/Pat and Slim could have been further developed. Glenna was a bit of an enigma. I would really liked knowing more about Nancy Fenimore Slater - or whatever her full name was. I was wondering why Rose Hall was in a deteriorating state since Catherine/Tomi and Charles were so rich - their wealth would that have passed to Winter and Jet and then the girls. So was the lack of maintenance indicative of the family bond or just lack of concern?