Title: A Mad, Wicked Folly Author: Sharon Biggs Waller
Published: January 23, 2014
Genre(s): Historical Fiction
Page Count: 431
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Welcome to the world of the fabulously wealthy in London, 1909, where dresses and houses are overwhelmingly opulent, social class means everything, and women are taught to be nothing more than wives and mothers. Into this world comes seventeen-year-old Victoria Darling, who wants only to be an artist—a nearly impossible dream for a girl.
After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse—or may be the love of her life. As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky is torn. Just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams?
Sharon Biggs Waller’s debut novel about art and suffrage in Victorian England is one not to be missed by any reader who enjoyed historical fiction. This is an excellent story that is well-written and rich in cultural detail, featuring a strong young women fighting for her chance to live life as she sees fit. A Mad, Wicked Folly is a compelling, worthwhile tale.
Vicky Darling story begins in a French art class where she poses nude. It then shifts to London, where Vicky’s parents have decided that she ought to be married as fast as possible to mitigate the blow to her (and their) reputation—and under no circumstances is Vicky to enroll in art college or have anything to do with the suffragettes who rally outside of Parliament. Outwardly, Vicky goes along with this, but whenever she can she sneaks off to help the suffragettes and draw her muse (in the nude, of course).
Things get a little testy when Vicky falls in love with the aforementioned muse, and when she finds out that no matter what she does, her family or future husband will never allow her to pursue art as a career.
I was honestly not particularly drawn to the above-described story when I first heard A Mad, Wicked Folly pitched. Such an important story—about suffrage and female agency—seemed like it would be too good to be true, and would too easily go wrong. I only picked up this book because I was at the library and on a rampage through the YA section, effectively picking up every title I recognized. Surprising things happen, though, like finding out that a book I’d be skeptical about is very tastefully handled. The maturity with which Waller wrote about the fight for women’s suffrage and Vicky’s dream to become an artist was wonderful; it didn’t feel cliché or silly at all like I’d originally feared it would.
Indeed, I’d say that Sharon Biggs Waller is a very talented, mature author. Her prose is very strong and brings a lot to the table. Vicky as a character is three-dimensional, and the reader is sympathetic to her plight. A Mad, Wicked Folly has all the makings of an excellent read—I would say it is an excellent read.
The only real downside to this book that I saw was the romance. There is, obviously, a love triangle of sorts. Vicky is torn between the well-to-do fiancé who can fund her college and the working-class man who she loves. (There’s also, obviously, not much competition between which man is going to win her affections in the end.) The problem I had was that Vicky lied to her love interest, Will, from the beginning, by not telling him that she was engaged. I understand why she didn’t, of course, but I was sad that she couldn’t have been up-front with him, as knowing that she was being deceitful impacted how I viewed the romantic scenes between the two of them. However, it was still a lovely romance, and I think Will was an excellent love interest and counterpart for Vicky.
This women’s rights focused historical novel was enjoyable and well-written. I think Sharon Biggs Waller has made a great reputation for herself in the YA world with this book, and I hope she will continue to do so with further publications. A Mad, Wicked Folly is a wonderful, nearly perfect book, one that I’m glad to have taken a chance on.
