Acquired Book By: I am a regular tour hostess for blog tours via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours whereupon I am thankful to have been able to host such a diverse breadth of stories, authors and wonderful guest features since I became a hostess! I received a complimentary copy of “The Gilded Cage” direct from the author Judy Alter in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
Why I wanted to read ‘The Gilded Cage’:
For those of my dear hearted readers who follow me on Twitter, they might have seen me add ‘Ancestry Sleuth’ to my Twitter Profile ahead of June’s arrival. It was a wink and a nod towards the fact that I love researching my ancestral roots, and how ancestry has long-held an appreciation in my family’s living history stories! On this note, the key reason I was keen on reading The Gilded Cage was the fact the entire story is based on the history of Chicago – a city that is quite important to my ancestral past!
So much so, it has sort of rubbed off on me as those who are familiar with Mid-Western dialects and specifically how a Chicagoan talks, I’ve been told my family’s roots in the Windy City has affected how I articulate my words! I am a true blue smorgasbord of my gene pool – as I am predominately of Mid-Western & Northeastern roots, with a fleeting layover in the boroughs of New York! Laughs. Somewhere along the route of all of that, as influences of linguistics out of my European & Scandinavian ancestry fused together, I came to speak without a familiar accent per my region of birth.
I always felt this was a positive thing – as it speaks to how the living histories of my family’s past were a big part of my childhood, and how the pursuit of ancestral research was truly inspired by the work my Mum and grand-father had begun before me! It’s a pursuit I’ve taken up again with Mum, as we chase through the pages of time, seeking out new information and finding the databases are blessedly being updated quite regularly these days!
The past is never fully outside our grasp, but sometimes the ‘stories’ of the past are lost to time itself. This is why finding stories built around certain decades of time help to illuminate a particular setting & timescape into your mind’s eye. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to learn more about Chicago’s Gilded Age and use what I learnt in Ms Alter’s novel as a my own springboard towards talking more about Chicago with my Mum! I only wish my grandparents could have been here to join in on the conversations!
I was inspired by the premise of the story to host a convo with the author in conjunction with my review on this blog tour. Due to a slight delay in the responses reaching me, I’ve amended my tour participation to include this double-showcase rather than two separate entries on it!
The Gilded Cage
by Judy Alter
Source: Author via Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
Born to a society and a life of privilege, Bertha Honoré married Potter Palmer, a wealthy entrepreneur who called her Cissy. Neither dreamed the direction the other’s life would take. He built the Palmer House Hotel, still famed today, and become one of the major robber barons of the city, giving generously to causes of which he approved. She put philanthropy into deeds, going into shanty neighborhoods, inviting factory girls to her home, working at Jane Addams’ settlement Hull House, supporting women’s causes.
It was a time of tremendous change and conflict in Chicago as the city struggled to put its swamp-water beginnings behind it and become a leading urban center. A time of the Great Fire of 1871, the Haymarket Riots, and the triumph of the Columbian Exposition. Potter and Cissy handled these events in diverse ways. Fascinating characters people these pages along with Potter and Cissy—Carter Harrison, frequent mayor of the city; Harry Collins, determined to be a loser; Henry Honoré, torn between loyalties to the South and North; Daniel Burnham, architect of the new Chicago—and many others.
The Gilded Cage is a fictional exploration of the lives of these people and of the Gilded Age in Chicago history.
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 9780996013123
Genres: Biographical Fiction, Biography / Autobiography, Historical Fiction
Published by Alter Ego Publishing
on 18th April, 2016
Format: Paperback Edition
Pages: 318
Published By: Alter Ego Publishing
Formats Available: Paperback and Ebook
Visit this page on the author’s site for Excerpts of the Novel!
About Judy Alter
Judy Alter is the award winning author of fiction for adults and young adults. Other historical fiction includes Libbie, the story of Elizabeth Bacon (Mrs. George Armstrong) Custer; Jessie, the story of Jessie Benton Frémont and her explorer / miner / entrepreneur / soldier / politician husband; Cherokee Rose, a novel loosely based on the life of the first cowgirl roper to ride in Wild West shows; and Sundance, Butch and Me, the adventures of Etta Place and the Hole in the Wall Gang.
My review of The Gilded Cage:
Auspiciously we begin to cast our eyes upon ‘Potter Palmer’ and the city of Chicago, as we entreat inside this novel. Chicago had been on the verge of unknown change, having shifted forward into a Renaissance without a central identity of how that newfound change would dictate the future of the city. Here, Potter Palmer is introduced to us dear readers, as a man enlightened past the point of where his family has left his education of the world: a man whose youth of twenty and six years has granted him the librance to extol the virtues of what awaited him in the world.
As Alter focused on the sensations of what could be smelt out of this mecca of industrious adventurers, I must say, I would have opted for a different locale in which to lay my own hat. The muck of the streets combined with the foulness of the air would have sent my nose off-kilter; how he (Potter) was able to diffuse the stench by mind alone and will himself to plough through that mucked state of discourse as he worked his way down into the city from the rail yard is quite admirable! I am sure, for most of that age, upon arrival Chicago was an elusive illusion in direct comparison to the current conditions of her infrastructures! Personally, I was repulsed aplenty, just learning what was mixed in with the mud & the filth; especially considering how conditions in the city were worse than in a rural setting – if you factor in the lack of ‘waste management’. Clearly, life in the city was a far cry outside of having any order for sanitation.
Interestingly enough, Potter was a man of action – he settled into business soon after his arrived, acquainted himself to customers (as he owned a dry goods store) as the ‘man who accepted returned merchandise’ and started to fraternize with men of the hour – the men who would start to change the undercurrent of the city itself. This is what Potter truly emulated and wanted to transition himself into – a leader who had a purpose and had the power backed by self-made wealth. It was during this initial period of growth (a span of five years) wherein Potter met the father of his future wife, Cissy (previously known as Bertha). Bold in his choices, Potter made it quite known he would marry the girl, who was on the fringes of adolescence if a day but was patient enough to wait until she was old enough to marry. He saw something in her that led him to believe they’d be a good match lateron. Til then, he continued on his path.
The period of time Alter is presenting to us is one of a converging line of characters who would take it upon themselves to shape the future generations of Chicago. They each in turn found this city to be fitting in with their plans, and having them all on a set path of crossed fortunes was quite interesting to watch play out! You oft wonder how certain people alight on each others’ paths and how those paths tend to shape the direction of a future for not just a singular person but for a wider population. Alter is giving us a small imprinting of what was happening in Chicago, if you will, as we watch how each person in turn left their imprint on an expanding urban dynamic of a city.
In the background of course were certain key events, such as the Civil War and the diseases that were rampant before, during and after its exit. Alter blessedly gave short chapters to include the necessary bits but did not go into details that I would find too hard to read through as most know the Civil War is one area of history I tend to avoid reading in earnest. Where my eye turnt a curiosity is where the story shifts forward a bit – not only to increase Cissy’s growing years tenfold but to show how Chicago rebuilt itself after the Great Fire.
The interesting bit is how Potter was better secured (financially) than Cissy’s father and how Cissy’s generosity was both welcome and misunderstood after the Fire. Her position by station and her house being unscarred by the reaches of the fire were what put people off a bit on her kindness, but evenso, you felt she felt betwixt knowing how to give of your heart without your intentions being misaligned in people’s minds. As if you had to prove your sincerity rather than allow your actions to speak your heart’s simple truths. Compassion apparently was a bit lost on those who mistook a kindness by someone who simply wanted to help others to kick-start their ‘new beginnings’ after having lost everything from a fire that ravaged the city.
This was the turning point for Cissy, as she found she had a passion for helping others; sometimes to the ire of her husband who did not always see eye to eye with her on her beliefs that everyone deserved fair housing, living wages and an honest ability to provide for their families. It was interesting to observe the revelations were not only based on their differences within their marriage (per topic of enquiry) but how some of their differing views were also being debated on a larger stage.
One thing that I found quite champion about learning about Cissy is how she was one of the pioneering women for rooting for feminism and proving that women have the moxie it takes to make differences in a world ruled by men. She took up the charge to effectively impact her neighbours by finding causes she could get behind with a fever of passion. She was a one woman trumpeter of change – it was quite interesting watching her flourish under her own devices, seeing where she separated a bit from the views of her husband and in some ways, started to outshine him a bit as her focus was on humanity and the compassionate response to help people rebuild their lives whilst finding ways to improve their situations as they did. She was quite the remarkable woman, considering what she faced and how hard she had to work to evoke the change out of a time where change was hard won.
On the writing style of Judy Alter:
Alter’s research shines through the narration bits, to such an extent, you can grant yourself a clearer picture of how arduous living within ordinary hours were for nearly everyone past a certain age of progress. I oft-wondered how my ancestors lived before the turning of the 20th Century – how they handled certain bits of everyday life whilst being limited by the means of invention or the procurity limited by means.
Throughout my readings of historical fiction prior to now, I have noted how some authors go into further details in this regard; the dichotomy of changes through the ages and how others allow us that blessed glow of history but without the harder hand of its reality. I can be enticed by both views of the historical past, though I do oft find myself seeking out a rosier viewing more times than naught; if only for a break from the hardening realities of how certain eras truly were to be lived inside. It’s not that I’m dismissing that reality for those who lived back then, but sometimes, a gentler rendition of that past is easier to swallow, even if it’s not entirely accurate. Sometimes I think history is best remembered through the stories of the persons who lived; tidbits of their essence and how their presence changed key moments of time – moving us forward yet granting us the pleasure of seeing how their thoughts became turnt into reality’s progresses.
I will credit Alter for taking the harder course – to present history through a non-tinted mirror where all of Chicago in the Gilded Age is accountable by its record and not etched into a viewing of what we might defer to hope it was like against this grittier form. I was thinking of the Old West quite a bit as I read the novel; the dust and the dirt alone and then, my mind shifted to thinking about Abigail Adams first impressions about Washington, DC wherein she found it to be a muddy mess; a font of disarray and a perplexing cleaning hazard!
My lips kept turning into a smile, as streets and other infamously known locales or persons were being greeted against the pages of The Gilded Cage. Until you read a novel a set in a city you’ve heard about through family stories, you never quite realise how well-known the city has become to you or how familiar it appears as its personality starts to come alive through the pen of an author enchanted by her muse.
The story flows quite smoothly – it’s told from an interesting perspective, as although the story unfolds as you’re watching it, there are small bits of the future nestled inside the present as well; a showing of what will foretell to be true lateron. It’s quite remarkable how much information was shared and yet it did not feel too cluttered or crowded. The novel has a relaxed pacing and gives you time to soak inside the atmosphere of where Alter is leading you, without feeling you need to rush through anything for fear of missing a note or two about what could give you expectation on the story’s conclusions. I would consider this Biographical Fiction, not the traditional kind I normally read but the kind which is an easier one to chew and contemplate, as your being slowly introduced to all the key players. The scope is quite large and I was thankful Alter paced it the way she had to not feel as overwhelmed as I thought I might have become.
What originally drew your eye to the tumultuous history inside Chicago’s historic past? Was it a particular event or singular ‘moment’ which encouraged your curiosity?
Alter responds: My curiosity was encouraged when I discovered the story of Bertha Honoré (Cissy) Palmer, Potter Palmer’s wife. She was one of the first to equate wealth with social obligation, and she put her belief into actions, unusual for a woman in her time.
Chicago has such an evocative history, throughout it’s generations – how did you want to write a novel that would encompass a layering of insight behind the Gilded Age but appeal to those who are not as familiar with Chicago’s infamous historical reputations?
Alter responds: I really started out to write the story of Cissy Palmer but then realized Potter Palmer, his arrival in Chicago, and his astounding financial and entrepreneurial success has to be part of it. And suddenly, I was telling the story of Chicago in the last half of the nineteenth century, with dramatic events such as the Great Fire, the Civil War, the Haymarket Riot, the temperance movement, and, of course, the Columbian Exposition. You cannot separate these historical characters from the time in which they lived. It was the city’s Gilded Age, but it had many restrictions, especially on women.
You’ve tipped the historical references in your book to encompass a lot of the major events that shaped the city, how did you pick and choose how much to highlight or what to withdraw from mentioning – given some of these events had long-term effects on the population?
Alter responds: I don’t think I left any major historical events out. I highlighted those I could see directly affecting the Palmer’s.
How did you want to highlight the separation of the classes and illuminate how Chicago was a cross-section of America by how each economic class was representative of itself?
Alter responds: Having grown up in Chicago unaware of the history of labor movements, I found that history particularly interesting. Chicago was described as a city of circles, each circle around the downtown representing a different population. It was a diverse city with no sense of unity among Chicagoan’s. I knew for instance about the Haymarket Riot, but when I dug into the history and saw it in human terms I was fascinated.
I was not aware of the fact Chicago was divided between loyalty to the North & the South; how did this become a thread of interest in “The Gilded Cage”?
Alter responds: Because of history. Bertha Honoré’s family were from Kentucky— verified in the lone biography of her— and they were bound to feel divided loyalties. But until I did the research I did not know about the camp for southern prisoners of war, and I cannot to this day tell you where it was located.
What do you find wicked fascinating as you research the historical past to add-in layers of realism for the background of your story? How do you know what to fuse together to create the ‘backlit world of reality’?
Alter responds: I guess it’s the stories of the “little” people that bring life to this world. The stories of the wealthy are well documented, but I relied on imagination for such characters as Harry Collins and Sheila. Mayor Harrison had a flamboyant reputation, but I embroidered it a little. I think that’s part of historical fiction— if you don’t fiddle with the major events, you can use your imagination with characters and lesser events to give the story flesh.
What do you feel is harder when approaching a historical novel, writing the living persons into the context of your story or augmenting fictional bits to accompany the person whose already known?
Alter responds: Augmenting the fictional bits. You have the record of the actual persons in front of you, but you have to call on creative, fictional powers to flesh out those stories. I like to create scenes and dialog to do that— and of course in true historical writing, imagined dialog is a big no-no.
Do you consider yourself an analog writer (i.e. pens, notebooks, typewriters, recorders, etc) or a technologic writer (i.e. computers, portable gadgets, etc) or a hybrid of the two? How do you like to bring out the creativity of your creations and give life to your stories?
Alter responds: I’m definitely a technologic writer, though not really tech savvy. I remember the days when if you cut and pasted you had to retype the entire manuscript. Computers have made life so much easier for authors. I have semi-legible handwriting, nothing better, so I do almost everything on the computer.
Have you been a lifelong reader of Historical Fiction? If so, what types of stories did you originally find inspiring to read as you explored the history left behind by their writers to tip your thirst of interest?
Alter responds: Yes, I’ve always been interested in historical fiction. I remember reading Steamboat Gothic by Frances Parkinson Keyes. In graduate school I became interested in the American West and particularly the women who were part of its settlement. I wrote and published several fictional biographies about major women of the West—Libby Custer, Jessie Benton Frémont, a cowgirl loosely patterned after Lucille Mulhall, and Etta Place with the Hole in the Wall Gang. I think the stories of these real women add so much to our understanding of the past. Cissy Palmer’s story is an extension of those women’s stories— just a bit later and not as far west.
What renews your spirit the most whilst your not research or writing your next story?
Alter responds: Probably a good review, a readers comment or some appreciation of what I’m trying to do.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
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