The Gilded Hour
Sara Donati
2015, 741 pages
Fiction
A thoroughly entertaining period drama with dashes of mystery and romance, The Gilded Hour is about two female doctors, Dr. Liliane “Anna” Savard and Dr. Sophie Elodie Savard, who live near Washington Square with their Aunt Quinlan and her widowed stepdaughter, Margaret. As the book opens, Sophie is out delivering a baby, so Anna goes to issue health certificates for orphans with a young nun, Sister Mary Augustin. As she works, she meets detective sergeant Jack Mezzanote, and together they try to help a young girl, Rosa, who is desperately trying to keep her sister and two brothers together.
Donati weaves the tales of Sophie and her patient, Anna and Jack, Mary Augustin, Rosa and her siblings, the doctors’ childhood friend Cap who is the scion of a wealthy family, and more friends and relatives than I can recount into a story of over 700 pages, all positively soaked in historical detail. Donati touches on everything from “rational dress” and careers for women to contraception and the Comstock Act, advances in sanitation and public health, and racism. There are also two mysteries – the disappearance of Rosa’s brothers and a serial killer preying on women seeking abortions. Despite the huge cast and the complex plot, the novel never gets bogged down, although Donati leaves some threads unresolved – perhaps making way for a sequel? Regardless, this is an atmospheric, enjoyable page-turner.
Deb Baker
Concord Public Library
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