Her entry begins:
I recently stumbled onto two excellent excuses for rereading one of my all-time favorite books, The Poisonwood Bible: First, Barbara Kingsolver would soon be in town for a talk and, second, the sponsor of her appearance, Oregon Literary Arts, was offering a three-week delve series on The Poisonwood Bible.About Parlor Games, from the publisher:
I immediately signed up for the delve group, and the discussions were lively and thought-provoking. We explored all manner of perspectives on the book: the artful rendering of the children’s and mother’s voices; the intertwining themes of religious intolerance and colonial arrogance; and the devastation wrought on the people of the Congo as well as...[read on]
A sweeping historical novel about a beautiful con artist whose turn-of-the-century escapades take her around the world as she's doggedly pursued by a Pinkerton Agency detectiveLearn more about the book and author at Maryka Biaggio's website.
The novel opens in 1917 with our cunning protagonist, May Dugas, standing trial for extortion. As the trial unfolds, May tells her version of events.
In 1887, at the tender age of eighteen, May ventures to Chicago in hopes of earning enough money to support her family. Circumstances force her to take up residence at the city’s most infamous bordello, but May soon learns to employ her considerable feminine wiles to extract not only sidelong looks but also large sums of money from the men she encounters. Insinuating herself into Chicago’s high society, May lands a well-to-do fiancé—until, that is, a Pinkerton Agency detective named Reed Doherty intervenes and summarily foils the engagement.
Unflappable May quickly rebounds, elevating seduction and social climbing to an art form as she travels the world, eventually marrying a wealthy Dutch Baron. Unfortunately, ReedDoherty is never far behind and continues to track May in a delicious cat-and-mouse game as the newly-minted Baroness’s misadventures take her from San Francisco to Shanghai to London and points in between.
The Pinkerton Agency really did dub May the “Most Dangerous Woman,” branding her a crafty blackmailer and ruthless seductress. To many, though, she was the most glamorous woman to grace high society. Was the real May Dugas a cold-hearted swindler or simply a resourceful provider for her poor family?
As the narrative bounces back and forth between the trial taking place in 1917 and May’s devious but undeniably entertaining path to the courtroom—hoodwinking and waltzing her way through the gilded age and into the twentieth century—we're left to ponder her guilt as we move closer to finding out what fate ultimately has in store for our irresistible adventuress.
My Book, The Movie: Parlor Games.
The Page 69 Test: Parlor Games.
Writers Read: Maryka Biaggio.
--Marshal Zeringue
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