Longlost friends reunite but all is not as it seems.
Graduating from Bryn Mawr College in 1901, Lily Paxton finds herself out of funds and at loose ends. With no immediate family, not raised to work, and without a prospective husband in sight, she becomes a “visiting girl,” going from home to home among her married friends in Philadelphia.
When the visiting circuit pales, Lily disappears, leaving her best friend Caroline a note saying she is off to an adventure out West. Lily keeps to herself that she is three months pregnant and has left Philadelphia with a man she barely knows—a man who is not the baby’s father.
Twenty years later Lily writes to Caroline from Portland, Oregon, where she is dying of leukemia, asking Caroline to come to her in her final days. Caroline, widowed by then, leaps at the opportunity for an adventure of her own and to reconcile with her long-lost friend.
The two women have a joyous reunion, but Caroline soon discovers that Lily has a hidden agenda which threatens to destroy both their families.
★★★★★
Amazon review
Far more than simply a narrative of a woman’s life experience, Walls skillfully weaves threads of feminist history at the turn of the 20th century, various political issues, and Oregon’s history into the narrative. If only American history had been taught to me through novels when I was in high school and college!
★★★★★
Amazon review
This story gave me a new respect for the lifestyle evolution of women in our society and the limitations imposed on those before us. Our freedoms today are due to their persistence and perseverance! Thank you for this enjoyable fictional account offering a “window” to consider and be more mindful of what my mother and grandmothers contributed to the choices I have today.
★★★★★
Amazon review
Because I love historical fiction with a focus on women and a twist of mystery, I relished every page of The Visiting Girl by Madge Walls.