When I started reading this novel and I learned that it would be taking place in the year 1899, I was kind of bummed out. The main character in this story is a girl named Tillie, and based on what I know about the societal expectations of young, unmarried women during the time I wasn’t expecting the story to be very interesting. Think about how restricted the character Rose was in the movie Titanic, being told how to dress, how to act, who she was allowed to spend time with. Out of all the women on that ship, she seemed to be the only one unhappy with the way she was expected to behave. The unconventional Miss Tillie in this tale is very much like Rose, she fought back against what was expected of women and I loved her rebellious nature.
Tillie has lived her entire life in the shadow of her beautiful, popular, and kind older sister, Lucy. She does not resent Lucy for being a perfect example of exactly what a lady should be, she admires her and loves her deeply. Her sister has always jumped in when their mother and grandmother made critiques of what they see as flaws in Tillie’s dress and behavior, but Lucy loves that Tillie is so inquisitive and different. Tillie’s one champion, her greatest friend and biggest supporter, goes missing and is found dead a few days later. Tillie is extremely torn from the loss of her sister, and she becomes even more sorrowful and frustrated when everyone around her seems to want to leave Lucy and the brutal circumstances of her murder in the past. Not only do the police seem to have given up on investigating, but her family, friends, and even her sister’s former fiance don’t even want to talk about Lucy at all. Tillie will not stand for this, she is determined to figure out who murdered her sister and why.
I love a rebel, and Tillie certainly is that. I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been for a girl in the nineteenth century to have done anything in secret. A young, unmarried woman always had to have someone with her, whether it be a maid, a friend, or a relative, they were never allowed to go anywhere alone. And the consequences for sneaking out were severe. It is comical to contemplate what was taboo back then once you consider what was normal when it came to medical care and what doctors would prescribe for various ailments. I found myself giggling with incredulousness at some of the common medicines of the day. I had a lot of fun reading this, and I would definitely read it again.
Nonfiction and Nonsense 