The Nature of Fragile Things

“I look down at my skirt to see how bad the wrinkles are. Not too noticeable in the day’s diminishing light. My journey from New York to California took place on a second-class seat, not in a private sleeping car, hence the creases.I’d not not expected anything different, as Martin Hocking had written that he is in good financial standing, not that he is rich. That he means of any amount is miracle enough. I would have ridden in the baggage car all the way to get out of the umbrella factory and the tenement, and especially away from young Irishwomen just like me who reminded me too frequently of what I left back at home.”

The Nature of Fragile Things
By Susan Meissner
Source: Advance review copy

Sophie Whalen answers and ad to be a mail-order bride to Martin Hocking, a businessman and widower. He needs a no nonsense woman who will help him raise his child and understand that his business often requires him to be away from home for days at a time. All Sophie wants is to have a fresh start. She thought her life in New York was going to grant her that away from Ireland but that was proving to be much more difficult and she needed to run away as soon as possible.

As soon as Sophie starts her life in San Francisco with Martin and his daughter, Kat,  she is willing to overlook not having her family and friends if it means she now has what she’s always longed for with a home of her own. She had always wanted children so she is determined to be everything to Kat who is a child who doesn’t speak and withdrawn ever since her mother’s death. Sophie hopes that in time she may even have a loving relationship with Martin.

Weeks pass and Martin’s trips away are more unpredictable and it is during one of Martin’s absences that a woman will come knocking on Sophie’s door and their lives are upended. However a bigger threat will force the women to forge a bond and flee to safety as they escape a city rocked by a terrible earthquake and which is going up in flames and crumbling before their eyes.

If you enjoy historical novels and those featuring strong women then this could be the book for you. Sophie is strong, loyal and caring but she also harbors a secret that has kept her on the run. And, of course the backdrop of the great San Francisco earthquake is very much at the center of the story and it made me think of just how chaotic it must have been with no modern day rescue operations. So between that and the theme of friendship, this book was an overall enjoyable read.

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