Sharon Biggs Waller grew up around artists and developed a passion for Edwardian history and the Pre-Raphaelites when she moved to England in 2000. She did extensive research on the British suffragettes for her novel, A MAD, WICKED FOLLY when she wasn’t working as a riding instructor at the Royal Mews in Buckingham Palace and as a freelance magazine writer. She also writes non-fiction books about horses under her maiden name, Sharon Biggs. She is a dressage rider and trainer and lives on a 10-acre sustainable farm in Northwest Indiana with her British husband, Mark.A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller is about more than just a girl who comes from a wealthy family and wants to be an artist. Waller integrates so much history and societal nuances that it not only shows how things were for girls in the 1900’s but also how tough it was to go against the expectations of society. Waller does a wonderful job of weaving in the historical facts alongside a story about a girl who wants more out of life than balls and teas.
The story opens up with Vicky explaining how things took a turn for the worse for her. While in finishing school in France, Vicky ends up joining an artist atelier (fancy word for workshop) and this is where she not only realizes just how much she loves art and what she still needs to learn, but also where she gets into trouble. Due to a model missing a session, Vicky offers to be the nude model for the group. Although they are all professional and approach it with an artist’s mind, unfortunately that isn’t how everyone else sees it and when word gets out that Vicky did this, she is kicked out of school and sent back home to her parents.
Back home, Vicky is given two options to repair her reputation. She can agree to be married to Edmund Carrick-Humphrey or she can go live with her aunt as a companion. With no other choice, she agrees to the engagement but she has ulterior motives. Vicky believes that if she can get away from her father and his beliefs around what she should do with her life, she can go to the Royal College of Art. The rest of this storyline is Vicky doing whatever she can to complete her submission to the college for admittance and also trying to figure out how she will make it all work.
I liked Vicky. She didn’t agree with the way women were subject to the decisions of the men in their lives and she tried to stand up for herself. The fact that she was able to get away with the things that she did was somewhat amazing considering the time and place. When she meets the women who were involved in the suffrage movement I think they only opened her eyes up even more and I was glad to see her take a stand at the end and become more than just a wealthy, society wife. Not only was her art important to her but she absolutely wanted to be a better person. Obviously class was a factor during this time and she grew up with things that not everyone had. Because of that she is typically not aware of some things. Like when she just assumes she and Will be traveling first class to his family’s place or when she gives all the gifts she brought to his family. She recognizes just how different they are and kind of holds it against herself that some of the everyday things she takes for granted are considered special items for Will and his family.
Let’s talk about Will for a moment because I thought he was great. He is the one that made Vicky start to wonder if she could really live with her decision to be Edmund’s wife. He was caring and wanted something he knew deep down he probably couldn’t have considering the class level he grew up in.
Of course, while meeting for their art sessions, they are coming to realize they have feelings for each other but when faced with a decision of either Will or Edmund, Vicky definitely had a lot to lose…not just status but her opportunity to go to college. When the decision of art college is essentially taken from her, Vicky takes a stand and although it was a tough spot for her, I thought it really gave her the opportunity to think about what was truly important to her and figure out what she was willing to give up in order to get it…and be happy.
The end of this book was great. Not everyone comes around and gets on board with the changes and I don’t want to give anything away but in my opinion, this story ended perfectly. I will mention that I really liked Vicky’s brother Freddy. While he still struggled with the idea that his little sister was going against the norm, I think he really did want what was best for her. Of course, he had a family he had to consider and couldn’t jeopardize them in his support of her but I do think that when he had to support a decision that went against what Vicky wanted, he was upset about it.
If you enjoy history mixed in with a great story I think you will like this book. It is obvious the author did quite a bit of research with this book and she does a wonderful job of weaving in the history with Vicky’s story. The fact that she included a bit of romance was not wasted on me as a little bit of a love story is always a plus in my opinion. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes any and all of those things and I also look forward to what this author gives us next.
Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.
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