Lynn Cullen

This is another well-researched historical fiction novel, this time revolving around Edgar Allan Poe, his wife (the titled Mrs. Poe) and his purported affair with a married woman, Frances Osgood. Frances' husband left her to fend for herself and her two daughters while she struggled with a career writing poetry and living with her wealthy friends. Poe's wife, his first cousin, is 13 years his junior, and he lives with her and her mother, his aunt, in shabby quarters while his fame grows following the attraction between her husband and Frances. Her malevolence is barely contained when she meets Frances.

I found this most interesting for a glimpse into the self-declared literati of the New York social scene. The names and histories of those mentioned are fascinating, as is the description of Edgar Poe, his marriage and his early tumultuous life. Historical fiction provides an impetus to further explore the real histories of the characters on the page.… (més)

A great book that is so very timely, both in its subject matter (the search for the cure for polio) and for its actual writing. Cullen says at the very end of this book that she began it the day that Chinese scientists announced an outbreak of a new, respiratory-centered virus, and only found the coincidence months later.

The book centers on the life of Dorothy Horstman, daughter of German immigrants, who earns her college degree in science because she uses her first two initials. Barely allowed even a fellowship appointment in the 1940's, she has become drawn into fighting the horrors of polio and its attack on the nervous system. And the way it robs people of all ages of their full lives.

Dr. Horstman is competing not just with a narrow-minded group of colleagues, but also the famous Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin, the former of whom is credited with finding the cure. Except he didn't. And his race to get the grant resulted in rushed inoculations with the dead, not the live, virus, combined with shoddy work at the laboratory. Both of these mistakes resulted in another mass outbreak of polio, though they also brought about stricter controls on labs that manufacture vaccines.

The great thing about this book is the way in which I felt drawn into the race, into rooting for Dorothy and her successes, the deft way in which she handles both the egos and the medicine, and her compassion for those doomed to live their entire lives in an iron lung.

One aspect that seemed a little forced was the way in which other noted women who worked around polio patients were introduced to the story, and then shuffled to the side. Granted, this is Dorothy's story, but a bit more interaction or fleshing out of the Australian nurse Sister Elizabeth Kenny, who placed hot, wet wool on patients' limbs, or Barbara Johnson, the research assistant who developed polio due to interacting with the live virus in her work, would have helped the larger story.

Still, this is a timely story that needs to be told, in the way that Lynn Cullen has made women's histories come back from obscurity with her books.… (més)

This is another well-written novel by Lynn Cullen. It is set largely in the Depression Era and revolves around two sisters, June and Ruth. They are raised by an emotionally distant mother, Dorothy, and their supportive, caring father. Their childhood home is across the street from an institution, "The School for Feeble Minded Youth,” that warehouses individuals deemed mentally unable to live in society. Their father runs a small grocery store that is eventually overwhelmed by Piggly Wiggly stores and goes bankrupt. The girls are deprived of material things that distant them from students from more financially stable families.

Ruth, the younger sister, is intensely jealous of June from their earliest years, even coveting June's boyfriend, John. This infatuation is the beginning of a divide between the sisters that impacts their married lives. Dorothy's backstory that also features an obsessive love has far-reaching consequences for their families. The flashbacks to their childhood are integral to the novel.

There are many interesting factors about that period in time that may have been lost. I had no idea that Encephalitis Lethargica (sleeping sickness) was an illness with devastating effects on its victims or all that went into creating the Betty Crocker legend. Cullen brings that era to life through music, cars and dress codes.… (més)

As a polio survivor, I was intrigued by this story of a little-known crusader in the battle against polio, Dr. Dorothy Horstmann. While Salk and Sabin were at the forefront of discovering a vaccine, Dr. Horstman and many other unsung heroes worked behind the scenes enhancing their discoveries without benefit of March of Dimes funding. Many were women, whose place in science was novel, and they never received the credit they were due.

Historical fiction is interesting. It led me to learn more about Dr. Horstmann. While some passages were undoubtedly added to increase interest in the story, there were also some well-known truths such as the battle between Salk and Sabin. This is a well-researched look at a woman who would aid in finding a cure for this cruel disease. She was an epidemiologist, a pediatrician and a professor at the prestigious Yale School of Medicine, who came from a humble background unlike many of her medical contemporaries. She is depicted in this book as
bringing compassion and caring to her extensive expertise.

I am forever grateful that no more children and adults are confined to iron lungs and are able to walk without leg braces and crutches.… (més)