Book Review for The Colony Club by Shelley Noble

 The Colony Club by Shelley Noble

Published:  October 1, 2024 by William Morrow Paperbacks

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Taken from Goodreads:  When young Gilded Age society matron Daisy Harriman is refused a room at the Waldorf because they don’t cater to unaccompanied females, she takes matters into her own hands. She establishes the Colony Club, the first women’s club in Manhattan, where visiting women can stay overnight and dine with their friends; where they can discuss new ideas, take on social issues, and make their voices heard. She hires the most sought-after architect in New York, Stanford White, to design the clubhouse.

As “the best dressed actress on the Rialto” Elsie de Wolfe has an eye for décor, but her career is stagnating. So when White asks her to design the clubhouse interiors, she jumps at the chance and the opportunity to add a woman’s touch. He promises to send her an assistant, a young woman he’s hired as a draftsman.

Raised in the Lower East Side tenements, Nora Bromely is determined to become an architect in spite of hostility and sabotage from her male colleagues. She is disappointed and angry when White “foists” her off on this new women’s club project.

But when White is murdered and the ensuing Trial of the Century discloses the architect’s scandalous personal life, fearful backers begin to withdraw their support. It’s questionable whether the club will survive long enough to open.

Daisy, Elsie, and Nora have nothing in common but their determination to carry on. But to do so, they must overcome not only society’s mores but their own prejudices about women, wealth, and each other. Together they strive to transform Daisy’s dream of the Colony Club into a reality, a place that will nurture social justice and ensure the work of the women who earned the nickname “Mink Brigade” far into the future.

 

My Thoughts:   The Colony Club is a great look at strong women making their place in the world.  Nora breaks into the man’s world of architect and works with the women of New York to build a women’s club in New York during the Gilded Age.  I love how these women came together to make their own places, some against the wishes of their husband, so that they had a place to escape their lives and make plans to take on the world.  I enjoyed that this building was not only a place for them to dine and relax but also a place for them to become activists for what is important to them and their communities.

The story did not move fast.   There was a lot of talk about the scandal and also of the barriers that the women had to get through to build their club.    I would have loved more descriptions of the building and a quicker pace of the story.  There were a couple side stories that I would have loved to know more of and I would have really liked a little more talk of the women’s relationships.  I did not feel the need to pick up the book and see what would happen next, I enjoyed the story but there was something missing for me.  

Thank you William Morrow Books for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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About Shelley Noble (taken from her website):  Shelley Noble is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sixteen novels of historical fiction, historical mystery and contemporary women's fiction, including The Tiffany Girls, Ask Me No Questions, and Whisper Beach.

A former professor, professional dancer and choreographer, she now lives in New Jersey half way between the shore, where she loves visiting vintage lighthouses and carousels, and New York City, where she delights in the architecture, the theatre, and ferreting out the old stories behind the new.