A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller

A Mad, Wicked Folly

by Sharon Biggs Waller

The year is 1909. After posing nude for her illicit art class, Victoria Darling is expelled from her French finishing school and returns in disgrace to her home in London. Shamed and scandalized, Vicky's parents inform her that she is to marry the wealthy gentleman they have selected. But Vicky dreams of the freedom to pursue her ambition of becoming a painter. When she falls in with a group of suffragettes, Vicky's dreams seem to be within her reach at last. But just how much is she willing to sacrifice for art, and for the man who may be her artistic muse?

Reviewed by Joséphine on

5 of 5 stars

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August 5, 2015

Full review is now up on Word Revel.
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July 17, 2015

Initial thoughts: Oh, how I absolutely adore this book! If anything, this surely counts to my very favourites this year and really, in general as well. It's well-researched and reflected the norms and expectations of the Edwardian era, while demonstrating the limited, yet increasing options available to women in the midst of the suffragette uprisings. Most of all, I loved the relationship between Vicky and her brother, Freddy, who was her most ardent supporter, regarding her as a person of equal stead instead of an irrational being beneath him, as other men and even women were wont to do. Of course, the fact that art was front and centre throughout is another reason I'm singing all the praises for A Mad, Wicked Folly.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 17 July, 2015: Finished reading
  • 17 July, 2015: Reviewed