Jen Turano is a writer of hilarious tales of historical fiction. Her unique characters stand out on the page because they are so achingly human. We can all identify with that moment when we misunderstood what someone else said and our response made matters worse, or we had a wardrobe mishap at the worst possible time.
Out of the Ordinary is Jen Turano's latest book in her Apart from the Crowd series published by Bethany House. Gertrude Cadwalader is a paid companion, a respectable occupation for women of good manners and excellent moral standing in the high society world of New York City in 1883. The problem is, Gertrude's employer is possibly the most eccentric society matron roaming the current social scene. Mrs. Davenport has a mysterious past, but more troubling to Gertrude, is the jail she finds herself in while trying to fix Mrs. Davenport's present issues.
This is a hilarious book that I enjoyed immensely. It arrived when I had a few days at home, and I though to read a bit each day. I was enjoying it so much that by the end of the first day of reading, when I was 3/4 way finished already, I quickly looked up Mrs. Turano's other books on our library's website. In the four weeks since this arrived - I have read it twice, plus six of Mrs. Turano's other novels. Out of the Ordinary is full of mishaps, characters who make mistakes, and the grace of God that covers them all. At one point I had to hold in a belly laugh because Arlene was asleep on the couch next to me and I didn't want to wake her up.
Spoiler alert: here comes the plot...
Gertrude grew up with wealthy parents, but her father lost their family fortune, right before it became known that he was being unfaithful to his wife. His wife then turned melancholy and eventually took her own life when Gertrude was only 10. The rest of Gertrude's childhood was paid for by her extended (still wealthy) relatives, but now that she has reached adulthood, the money has stopped and she has taken the position of a paid companion. Not only is she responsible for attending society events with Mrs. Davenport, she is often called upon to replace the things Mrs. Davnport's sticky fingers have purloined along the way. While Gertrude has made some friends near her own age, who want her to enjoy her life, she still struggles with understanding why God took her parents away, and why Mrs. Davenport is frequently so melancholy.
Gertrude is carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, and it is only when circumstances go way beyond her control, that she realizes it is not up to her to fix the world, only to be obedient to what God has called her to. Along the way there is some romance, a look into high society life in New York during the 1880's, and some really unusual outfits. Gertrude has begun a tenuous friendship with Harrison Sinclair, because of her friendship with Permilia, who recently became engaged to Harrison's best friend. Everything seems to come crashing down on Gertrude's small world of fragile order when Mrs. Davenport purloins some items from Harrison's sister, and then asks Gertrude to return them.
This novel is full of descriptions of society and its whims, and charming, if slightly eccentric, characters. Overall it reminds me of a more modern take on Jane Austin themes, with a definite nod to American societal norms and their oddities. I would encourage readers to also pick up a copy of Behind the Scenes, the first book in this series, because while there is no harm in reading them out of order, there is much fun and laughter to be found reading them in the order they were written.
I look forward to Mrs. Turano's next release, and in the meantime, I still have a couple of her earlier books left to read. I for one, will not be melancholy! :)
Out of the Ordinary is available in both paperback and E-book formats from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
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I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions are mine. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.
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