An enjoyable historical novel about the ragtime era. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

Although historical fiction isn’t my favorite genre, I do enjoy stories with an actual historical background. Having read The Other Einstein and Carnegie’s Maid, I was very excited to read Temptation Rag. And it was a wonderful read. It shows the life of the ton in New York at the beginning of the nineteenth century. We meet May Convery, a rich girl from the upper class of society, who falls in love with her piano teacher: Mike Bernard. They elope and get married, but when Mike is confronted by May’s bethrothed and her father, he cowers and runs away, leaving May with her unborn child.

Mike builds a life of his own as the Ragtime King of the World, having learned this new musical style from Ben Harney. As competitors they often meet througout the years. Elizabeth Huthison Bernard (yes: she is the granddaughter of Mike Bernard) weaves the stories of the lives of May and Mike througout the decades. We see how May joins the Suffragettes (for women’s rights) and befriends African American men and women, despite her husband’s objections. As a poet, she becomes an icon for herself and an inspiration for other women of her time.

Although the story is fictional it is using actual elements from that era and tells you the story of the music of that era and the racism and hypocrisy towards negro’s at that time. A wonderful read. Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.

Back in the late 19th century in America, the latest rage was ragtime music. While the first name that might come to mind for us today is Scott Joplin, the origins of this musical genre predated him by quite a bit. In the beginning this was considered an original genre started by African Americans (probably Ernest Hogan), but the racially charged attitudes that followed the American Civil War, allowed white composers to appropriate it and make it their own. One of them was Ben Harney, who was often called the originator or father of ragtime (mostly by himself and later, by Time magazine after his death). Another was Mark Bernard, who was Harney’s rival, and the twice crowned “Ragtime King of the World.” Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard decided to pay tribute to her ancestor Mark, and the people who made this musical genre the phenomena it was, in this biographical, historical fiction novel.

From my own experience, telling your own family’s story though fiction can be a dangerous endeavor. Often the writer can get too sentimental, hung up on family lore, entrenched in superfluous details, or overly positive about people who don’t deserve such praise. Thankfully, Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard (or as I’ll call her, EHB, to avoid confusion) artfully sidestepped all of these pitfalls and brought us a cast of characters that practically jump off the page for her readers, most of whom are heartily flawed. This isn’t to say that that EHB aired the family laundry, because with all their imperfections, EHB also treats them all with a level of kindness that makes even the more seemly of them garner the reader’s sympathy. This was a true balancing act, and kudos to EHB for pulling it off with such aplomb. Furthermore, I’m glad that EHB didn’t sidestep the whole cultural appropriation issue, and continued to reference the African American personalities as prominent throughout the book, even though they were minor characters here.

I also appreciated EHB’s writing style here, which never felt artificial, allowing just enough jargon and dialect to feel authentic without it overpowering or distracting from the narrative. In fact, throughout this book I felt that EHB had a very good handle on giving each of her characters their own voice. This was most prominent with her major characters, who were Mark Bernard; May Convery, who was Mark’s first wife, and; Ben Harney. Interestingly enough, in the chapters about Ben Harney, EHB decided to tell his story from the viewpoint of his last wife, Jessie Boyce (an actress whose stage name was Jessie Haynes). Changing points of view for different characters is not an unknown literary mechanic, but sometimes it can be jarring for the reader. Not so with this novel, and these switches helped EHB put subtly varying levels of focus on each of the characters. In this way, the reader will feel that Harney is somewhat of an aloof person for the reader; as if Jessie is the only person who really knew and understood him (which might be historically correct, but we’ll never know). At the same time, readers will get a more intimate feel for both Barnard and Convery, in almost equal measures.

Further to this, I have to admit that my favorite character was actually May Convery, despite the fact that she only orbited the ragtime world, and was never truly immersed in its world. This brings me to the one thing about this book that was a slight disappointment. I liked May so much that I particularly enjoyed reading all the passages with her as the focus, especially after she leaves her (second) husband and becomes such an independent and forthright woman. The result was that I found myself wondering if this might have been more interesting if she had been the primary protagonist, with Bernard and Harney and all the rest downplayed to more minor roles. It is possible that if this had been Convery’s story, it might have gotten a full five stars from me, mainly because she was more a figment of EHB’s imagination than the other two (since there’s almost no information about her that’s anything more than a footnote in Bernard’s biography), and EHB has a very vivid imagination indeed. This doesn’t mean that I was frustrated by this book, because overall, I did enjoy it; but oh, if it had been only May’s story, I think I would have fallen completely in love with this novel.

All that said, I’m sure you can gather from this that I believe EHB a very talented writer, who did an impressive job of balancing fiction with history and biography. This made for a (dare I say it) harmonious novel about a lesser known time in American musical history, which informs her readers about this fascinating aspect of this turn-of-the-century era. EHB also cleverly slipped some current, hot-button issues into this novel with references to racism and sexism, which were rampant at the time (and which seem to be rearing their ugly heads once again). For all this, I can assuredly recommend this book and give it a very healthy four out of five stars.

Temptation Rag is a fictional/factional story of the Ragtime King, Mike Bernard, brought to life by an actual family member. Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard wife of one of the King’s descendants wrote about real individuals who were part of Mike’s life wove together with fiction which added drama that kept me turning the pages.

The story is centered around Mike and his first wife, May Convery, and how the decisions they made, or didn’t make, effected not only their lives but others as well. Mike and May were tortured soles as they lived their lives separately, coming in and out of each other’s lives occasionally. It is May’s life, which little is actually known about, that Elizabeth Hutchison Bernard truly showed her talent as a writer. Instead of distracting from the story, May’s fictional life actually brought added interest of how her interaction with Mike, an individual who mistreated others throughout his lifetime, affected her throughout hers’.

I truly enjoyed reading Temptation Rag as the fictional/factional story was so well intermingled by the author who did not shy away from tough touchy subjects and portraying what life was really like for woman and minorities in an era of great change in America. Her character development was superb including even the minor ones who brought additional interest to the story.

Is this a HEA story? Maybe, maybe not. I for one, think it is how you perceive what is HEA. Either way this is a well written book definitely worth reading.

I received a complimentary copy (or ARC) of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and Smith Publicity, Inc. I was under no obligation to write a review, and all options expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a wonderful read about the huge popularity of ragtime in the USA at the start of the 20th century. I knew nothing about this genre of music or how huge it was in the States. Fortunes could be made or lost this way. The greatest artists were Black Americans so how come a young white classically trained pianist becomes the most famous of them all? Upper class New York society rubs shoulders with deep Southern artists in a beautifully told story. There is passion, sadness and betrayal running through the events told here. The author married into the family of Mike Barnard so has information that helps the story feel real. People who actually existed make up the majority of the characters and you will want to look them up when you have read this book.

The history of ragtime music in New York was interesting, but quite frankly, the rest of the book left me cold. The female protagonist, May, was full of hatred and unforgiveness, even after being begged for her forgiveness. May was a fictional character, but the object of her Big Grudge was an historical character, Mike Bernard. That made me doubt the accuracy of the historical account.

The racial overtones were greatly overdone and were a detriment to the story as a whole as was the Women’s Suffrage march on Washington. I appreciate her wanting to include critical historical situations and events, but in both cases, I felt like I was being pummeled over the head with a hammer.

And then there was her use – overuse – of the word, notoriety. The definition of notoriety is the following: “the state of being famous or well known for some bad quality or deed.” The first couple of times she used it, I thought she was being sarcastic, but later I realized she was using the word to mean “famous” (not infamous).

It was just an OK read. I don’t plan to read more by this author and I really can’t recommend it.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Belle Epoque Publishing, in exchange for an honest review. Needless to say, all opinions are my own.

Temptation Rag (Belle Epoque Publishing) takes place during the turn-of-the-century ragtime era in New York City. Mae Convery, an upper-class teenager coming of age, dreams of being a poet and marrying her muse, her piano instructor Mike Bernard. However, when Mae’s father discovers their love affair, it is quickly put to an end. Mae returns to her unhappy upper-crust lifestyle, while Mike sets out to make a name for himself in the music industry and leaving all thoughts of Mae behind. The story follows the two throughout the years, as Mae enters a loveless marriage, becomes a mother and eventually a successful poet (inspired by the great Paul Laurence Dunbar), while Mike becomes the “Ragtime King of the World.” Though their paths cross a few times, Mae and Mike both struggle with forgiveness and acceptance, adding an emotional layer to an already full novel. Temptation Rag is a piece of historical fiction; the author, Elizabeth Hutchinson Bernard, wrote it about the real-life Mike Bernard, who was her husband’s grandfather and a prominent part of the ragtime era. While telling the story of her grandfather-in-law, Bernard is able to weave in real historical and cultural issues, including injustices suffered by African-American musicians--who were said to have been the originators of ragtime music--and gender inequalities (Mae becomes a supporter of the women’s suffrage movement later in life). If you aren’t familiar with the ragtime era, Temptation Rag will serve as a quick primer on the social, economic, and cultural issues of early 20th century America.

I would first like to thank Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
I was immediately captured by both the cover and the storyline. I am an avid music lover and Ragtime is not a genre I knew much about other than enjoying it. I’m a big fan of the era and this historical fiction was a great intro into it’s beginnings. It was an exciting time to live but so many boundaries were being crossed (class, racial, religious) which resulted in discord. The author provides a factual narrative based on real characters and family history.

This is an enjoyable book based on real life Ragtime musician Mike Bernard. It's full of some quirky characters that were in Mike's life during his colorful career. It also shows that in real life the guy doesn't always get the girl, as few novels do. Not to say he didn't have the ladies, he certainly did! It's a very interesting read that takes place during the end of the 19th century. It kept me reading long into the night. It's not overly long and drawn out, and it's fast moving, but very easy to follow, though there's lots of characters.
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Thank you, Netgalley!
All opinions are my own.

I love a piece of historican fiction - where the truth meets the author's imagination.

Knowing nothing about the ragtime era, I came to this book with no pre-conceived thoughts or opinions. But learnt a great deal about this time and the people who were popular in the rag world.

Based mainly around May Convery, whose story starts when just seventeen and her then music teacher Mike Bernard, an aspiring concert pianist, who becomes the Ragtime King of the World. Along the way we meet colourful characters (some who existed in real life) like Tony Pastor, Rosamond Johnson, Jessie Boyce, Dolly Zuckerman, Ben Harney, Will Marion Cook and Strap Hill,

The thoughtful poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, a sensitive African-American writer of the era, introduce many chapters and add an extra dimension of the time to this book. I will certainly be tracking down more of Paul's work.

Sometimes I was a little confused with the leaps in time but I can see the point of the author wanting to fit a lifetime into the story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this ahead of the rush which will surely follow. #TemptationRag

I love the era of ragtime, but was unfamiliar with some of the names. Temptation Rag is a great introduction! The characters are based on real individuals and some similarities/truths guided the story line. I liked Mike, I despised Mike, I liked Mike... the story is so well rounded that it brings you full circle. I had some hopes for certain characters, but in the end they were not met. I really enjoyed this one as it was different in many ways from the other books I read. It was refreshing. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read for an honest review.

Wonderfully written story set against a background of the begins of vaudeville, ragtime, and the blues.

Set at the beginning of the 20th century with vaudeville as its background, the story begins with a young man, Mike Bernard, who is a struggling musician. As a piano teacher at the home of wealthy May Convery, he becomes the "target" for her passion. As a 17 year old girl, she falls in love with him, writing volumes of poetry, which she keeps in journals, hidden under her bed. In a situation that embarrasses him and threatens his livelihood, he is forced to flee the home. However, as the saying goes, "when one door closes another one opens." For Mike that was exactly what happened when circumstances led him to Tony Pastor, the founder of vaudeville. He was made Musical Director! However, May still professing her love for him, finds him at the theater and the rest is history....they are wed. But fate had other plans for May and Mike. With her father's thunderous interference and threats they didn't stay together. Three months later, she is married to her original fiancé. As for Mike, he went from being a classical musician to playing and becoming "Ragtime King of the World." Four years later at a charity event, Mike and May meet again. Will history repeat itself, will May throw herself at Mike again? Will she finally become a woman and leave her girlish passion behind her?

But this novel is more than a story about two troubled lovers, it is about a world where vaudeville had its beginnings, a world where ragtime was "king" and those who played ragtime were its royalty. It was also a dark time, where black musicians, for all their talent, were not allowed to play on the same stage as those who were white. There are names in this book you might (or might not) recognize; i.e. Tony Pastor, who was the founding force behind vaudeville, Ben Harney who was named "Ragtime's Father" in 1938. It was a time when Americans were expressing themselves in different ways, away from the European classical music, more freedom of expression, "busting loose." As for Mike and May, ragtime might have been their song, or perhaps they could wind up singing the "blues"...for that you will have to read the book and find out for yourselves. It was a good story.
My thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.