It’s San Francisco in the late 1880s. Goldengrove claims to be a peaceful place of healing for women who are mentally ill and in need of help. In reality, Goldengrove is a place for husbands and disappointed family members to conveniently discard their wives, sisters and any other female family members who are not "obedient" to family rules. Some of these rules consist of not getting an education, accepting an arranged marriage, and letting the male members think for you. San Francisco socialite, Charlotte Smith, has a sister at Goldengrove and she is determined to get Phoebe out. At what cost will Charlotte take trying to get into this asylum and what will happen if she is found out? I really enjoyed this book! Lots of twist and turns and mystery!

This creepy historical novel set in an asylum for women in the late 1800’s makes for good late-night reading. Phoebe Smith suffers from episodes that look like modern day Bipolar Disorder. Her family sends her to an asylum for the mentally ill and washes their hands of her. Phoebe’s sister, Charlotte, wants Phoebe to remain a part of her life and, inspired by the undercover journalism of Nellie Bly, devises a scheme to be admitted to the mental institution to retrieve her sister. While the institution supposedly treats patients with the most modern of treatments, not all of those treatments are humane. Some inmates, Charlotte discovers, do not suffer from mental illness at all, but were sent to the institution simply because they inconvenience the powerful men in their lives. The care given in the facility ranges from neglect to abusive quackery. Ultimately, the women who are able ban together to save themselves. This historical novel with a strong feminist bent carries a fast plot. I stayed up well past my bedtime and read this novel in a single sitting.

This was an excellent book, very well written. I felt like it was a true story even though I knew it was a novel. Mental institutions have always been know as horrible places. This institution lived up to all the rumors! The things that went on there were horrific. Couldn’t wait to get to the next page and finally the end to read how things sorted out.

Clear your calendar before reading this one. Truly. It is extremely hard to put down.

Greer Macallister’s third novel, Woman 99, will take your breath away, break your heart, put it back together again, give you an adrenalin rush and will leave you with a sense of community with all women who have come before.

In Woman 99, we meet Charlotte Smith, a young woman betrothed to a man she doesn’t much like in order to cancel her father’s business debts. It’s the late 1800s in San Francisco, and like other women of Charlotte’s society standing, her prospects for marriage include what will be the most beneficial business transaction.

Charlotte’s mother has decided to send her to her aunt’s house across the country to come to terms with her impending nuptials, and they make plans for Charlotte to be away for several weeks.

All the while, we learn Charlotte beloved sister, Phoebe, has been sent away to a private asylum for having what sounds to me like a bipolar disorder. By all outside accounts, the asylum, Goldengrove, is comfortable, has the latest treatments and is a safe, wonderful environment of healing.

Charlotte never believed Phoebe belonged in an asylum and concocts a plan to rescue her. She is inspired by reading about Nellie Bly, who famously had herself committed to an asylum to expose the horrific conditions inside. Instead of visiting her aunt, Charlotte decides to have herself committed to Goldengrove and will get Phoebe out.

Charlotte’s wild plan to get herself committed succeeds, and she begins to figure out how to find Phoebe and get her out. She learns perhaps she didn’t think her plan through and that things will prove to be quite difficult. She also learns the conditions inside are far from comfortable and safe.
We learn the asylum is full of “inconvenient women” who were tossed away because nobody wanted to care for them or claim them. It is watched over by cruel nurses and assistants. The inmates are hungry, abused, humiliated, forced to work and subjected to terrifying treatments such as being wrapped tightly like a mummy in freezing wet rags.

We meet several women who were committed because they upset a family member, were driven to prostitution to keep from starving and one who was sent to the asylum to cover up an attempt to murder her.

I’ll let you read and learn if Charlotte finds Phoebe and if the two ever leave the asylum. But, I will say this book is full of twists, turns, surprises, secrets, really lousy characters you love to hate and some very wonderful ones who feel like friends by the end of the book. These are characters you have a hard time admitting are fictional because you bond with them on their awful journey through the asylum.

And in the end, while I had a hard time letting go of my new book friends (even though I can and will “see” them when I read the book again), the book wraps up in satisfying, uplifting fashion. After reading this book, I felt proud to be a woman – to carry on a legacy of strength those before me have demonstrated, even when society told them not to.

The book left me with one pressing question though – Will there be a sequel?

I received a free advance copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

A fictional account of life in an insane asylum in the late 1880s. Inspired in part by the famous investigative reporting of Nellie Bly in 1887. Like Bly, our protagonist has herself committed. She hopes to rescue her sister. While there, she learns of all the difficult and inconvenient women placed their by their families as well as the horrible conditions. Overall, I found the book enjoyable, though Charlotte's behavior and actions were not very realistic to me based on her background and the time period. Still, an interesting historical fiction.

Woman 99 was a captivating thriller that drew me in from the beginning. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the book because the thriller/mystery genre is not one to which I'm typically drawn- however I'd say this is more dramatic than thrilling if that's a category? I love a historical drama and was familiar with the original experiment the book was based on which made me want to read it. I'm glad I gave it a try because the story was complicated and fascinating. The development of the characters and their relationships with each other immediately caught my attention and kept it. Some of the descriptions seemed unnecessarily long which made the story drag at points making it a four star read for me. This is a great book for someone who appreciates history, the social sciences, and the history of women's rights.

I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book from Sourcebooks through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Woman 99 by Geer Macallister.
Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy for my honest review.
Description
She's only a number now.
When Charlotte Smith's wealthy parents commit her beloved sister Phoebe to the infamous Goldengrove Asylum, Charlotte knows there's more to the story than madness. She risks everything and follows her sister inside, surrendering her real identity as a privileged young lady of San Francisco society to become a nameless inmate, Woman 99.
The longer she stays, the more she realizes that many of the women of Goldengrove aren't insane, merely inconvenient and that her search for the truth threatens to dig up secrets that some very powerful people would do anything to keep.


A historical thriller rich in detail, deception, and revelation, Woman 99 honors the fierce women of the past, born into a world that denied them power but underestimated their strength.
I di not find it a thriller but it was wonderfully written and the characters were so real Charlotte Smith‘s sister, Phoebe, has always been subject to rages of temper and bouts of giddiness. Charlotte has always considered that a facet of her personality and is utterly shocked when her parents choose to send Phoebe off to the secretly infamous Goldengrove asylum as Charlotte’s wedding approaches – something Charlotte blames herself for.
A Great read, very well written.

I really enjoy her books! I thought the characters were all likable and the entire story very believable. It’s sad to think that places like this were actually around.
I did think it started alittle slow but it ended with a bang!

Wow, very impressive historical fiction alert!

San Francisco 1888. Two sisters. Phoebe, fierce, outspoken, manic-depressive. Charlotte, calm, composed, obedient. Neither of them really fits the high society they grow up in. When Charlotte is forced to marry a man she doesn't love, her sister stands up for her. As a result she is put in the woman's asylum of Goldengrove, just outside San Francisco. Charlotte now has only one goal: getting her sister back home.
With a sudden rebel streak she gets herself admitted to Goldengrove and we follow the search for Phoebe through Charlotte's eyes.
It's a brutal environment, using treatments we can only imagine today on mainly sane but outcast woman. Waterhosing, isolation in darkness, restriction chairs, Charlotte bears it all in search for Phoebe. To survive she uses what she calls her reveries, the happy memories that explain to the reader how the girls ended up here, and the fantasies on how to get them back home.

The description of the environment inside and out is stunning, the characters are indepth. This books grabbed me and I couldn't let go.
Every time the sisters seem to finally find each other, something happens to wreck the moment. It's a heartbreaking yet exciting story, with heartwarming friendships and precious adventures among the woman admitted. The ending is quite predictable, but did put a smile on my face.

Woman 99 is a stunner read, extremely well written and moving at the right pace.
This story will stay with me for a while. What a treasure!

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars.

The premise of this book sounded great, but the execution fell a bit flat for me. Don’t get me wrong: overall it was a good book, and it’s definitely worth a try if you are interested in the subject. However, from the blurb I was expecting it to be more of a historical mystery, while it really wasn’t. There were some mysterious things at the beginning which were unraveled later, but there weren’t shocking surprises. The historical aspect is well done, but don’t expect many twists and turns.
The first half of the book was a little slow moving for me. It wasn’t until the second half that I became more invested in the story and attached to the characters. I liked seeing the different women and discovering the reasons why they were in the asylum. The different relationship which formed between them were also interesting and in some cases heartwarming.
As for Charlotte, our main character, she was too passive and naive for my liking at first, but she grew on me as the story went on and her evolution was very good. Her sister Phoebe was also a successful character: I think the author captured well her personality and her psychological state, and the relationship between the sisters was very sweet. I wasn’t as interested in Charlotte’s romance with Henry.
The ending left me feeling torn. On one hand, I liked it, especially the last chapter, but on the other hand I wasn’t happy at how some things got resolved. It was satisfying overall, but not perfect.

I was provided an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As a student of psychology, I chose this book to see how the author handled mental health in the late 1800s. She did a fantastic job. It was very well researched and depicted with real honesty. The story itself felt a little clunky and while I recognized that Charlotte loved her sister, I didn't feel the author expressed enough of that love and connection before Charlotte decided to do something so reckless as attempt suicide so she could be put in the same institution. All in all, a good story.

For me, the mark of an excellent book is one I want to tell everyone about regardless of whether they have read it or not. Woman 99 by Greer MacAllister is exactly that type of book. It’s a book you will want to share and a book that will inevitably make for an excellent book club read. The premise of the novel hinges on the narrator, Charlotte, who is determined to save her elder sister, Phoebe. Phoebe was recently committed to a neighboring insane asylum of which Charlotte knows very little. Charlotte recklessly finds a way to be committed in order to rescue her sister. Charlotte’s naivety throughout the novel is often maddening, but I loved the storyline so much that I forgave her reckless choices. MacAllister builds the characters in such a way that I easily empathized with the good ones and despised the evil. I appreciated MacAllister’s well-researched take on early female asylums, and the way she depicted the treatment authorized within those walls while highlighting the strength of sisterly love. Surprisingly, for a novel set in an asylum, I found the plot was a well balanced mix of uplifting and macabre, and I will put it on my reread list!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Historical fiction at its best Set in the late 1800s in San Francisco.A woman committed by her parents to an insane asylum her sister who will do anything to rescue her.?A book about a strong women family women’s place in history..Each character so well written. #netgalley #sourcebooks

I've always been interested in non fiction accounts of mental institutions. In high school I read Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, and then Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel. It kind of went from there. Woman 99 is a fictional account of asylums during that time period, but it didn't make it any less interesting.

Phoebe cannot behave as a young socialite woman should, so one night her parents ship her off to a "genteel" mental asylum catering to both the rich and the destitute. Her younger sister, Charlotte, decides to rescue Phoebe by getting herself anonymously committed to the same institution. But getting out isn't as easy as she thought it would be ... for either sister.

I liked this a lot. A few of the plot points were implausible, but I was willing to suspend my disbelief because I was invested in Charlotte and the relationships she made as she navigated the asylum. There are a lot of dubious "treatments" that were once norms in these institutions, and you really get a sense of how mistreated many patients were during this time. That said, this isn't a grim, depressing book! I would recommend it if you're interested in historical novels about mental health and the treatment of women, or if you just like a good story about sisters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Woman 99 is a brilliant exploration into female insanity, and the horrific conditions in which thousands of women lived during the 1800s (and beyond). Set in a fictional asylum, the author notes at the end that every method of "treatment" described is indeed one that was actually used at some point in history, and this knowledge lends an even stronger sense of unease to the reader.

I have a macabre interest in this period, particularly the exploration of female insanity, and how so-called experts were quick to dismiss very real problems in women, from post-natal depression to simple sadness at their lot in life. Women had very little choices back then, and it is glaringly obvious now that this played a huge part in how women felt. If you're unaware of the era, Woman 99 is an excellent way to begin. It is rather tame in comparison to other books set in this period - that is to say, it does not describe some of the more horrific treatments (or abuse) in great detail - and it is allows the reader a deep understanding of how Charlotte Smith and her fellow characters felt at the time, and what they were up against. Forced marriages to brutish men, shame for seeking sexual pleasure, even being discouraged from reading too much, and a variety of other things that some modern women may take for granted. Although, the echoes of these societal expectations are still very much felt today.

In short, Woman 99 is a thrilling novel, and kept me hooked from beginning to end. The deeper themes are handled very well, and the characters are all fleshed-out and engaging.

I enjoyed this book from the first page and was instantly captivated by the story. Woman 99 honors the women of the past, born into a world that denied them basic human rights but underestimated their strength. This is a fascinating story of a woman trying to free her sister, who has been committed to an insane asylum in the late 1800's. It’s time when women could be put into insane asylums for many reasons, none of which had to be a mental illness. It explains perfectly what it is to become a number, no longer a human, but part of the institution. I got emotionally involved with all of the characters, and was pulled into the plot effortlessly until the very end. Great work. I highly recommend this one. I received this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Charlotte Smith‘s sister, Phoebe, has always been subject to rages of temper and bouts of giddiness.  Charlotte has always considered that a facet of her personality and is utterly shocked when her parents choose to send Phoebe off to the secretly infamous Goldengrove asylum as Charlotte’s wedding approaches – something Charlotte blames herself for.

Charlotte adores her sister and cannot envision life without her.  Though she’s been trained to be a proper society miss, the daughter of a shipping magnate who’s been betrothed to a loathsome man at her family’s behest, she’s dissatisfied with the world around her, and is exhausted by having to be quiet, good and reserved.  So she decides it’s her duty to rescue Phoebe from Goldengrove, which she effects by faking a suicide attempt.  Convinced she can use her father’s name and influence to rescue her sister from the clutches of the asylum, she learns the ropes but finds herself mired in its social strictures instead.  As she climbs her way up the ladder of authority, searching all the while for the elusive Phoebe, she remembers her love affair with the handsome Henry – the man she’s truly in love with, the brother of her fiancé.  Thoughts of him give her the mental strength to carry on.  Like her heroine, Nellie Bly, Charlotte is going to have to use her wits, her strength and keep her hopes and faith paramount if she wants to find Phoebe.



Shannon Dyer and Lisa Fernandes read Woman 99, and are here to share their thoughts on the novel.



Lisa: This book was fabulously entertaining and very well researched, but I did have a bit of a problem with the way the story was told.  How did you like it, Shannon?

Shannon: I didn’t find the actual storytelling to be a problem. I love the idea of someone going undercover, so to speak, so I was fascinated by Charlotte's journey inside the institution. I was hooked into the story pretty quickly, and I honestly hated to put the book down. What did you find troubling?

Lisa: I didn’t find it troubling exactly, but I did find the telling a bit pat.  Charlotte was interestingly complex.  On one hand, she seemed to be using her sister’s imprisonment as an excuse for rebellion and adventure; on the other hand, she was truly dedicated to Phoebe and protecting her, sacrificing herself to an almost alarming level in the name of their love. How did you feel about her?

Shannon: I found Charlotte pretty easy to relate to for the most part. I'm not sure she always made the best decisions, but her heart was definitely in the right place which counts for a lot with me. She could sometimes be a bit too idealistic, but I'm guessing that had a lot to do with her privileged upbringing.

Lisa: This is primarily a story about sisterhood, and Phoebe is just as complex as Charlotte.  What did you think of her?

Shannon: Phoebe is a character I wish I could have known better. We see her almost exclusively through Charlotte's lens, so I found it difficult to get a firm grip on what kind of person she actually was.

Lisa: That’s interesting; I think Charlotte had a tendency to see Phoebe as helpless because of her (unnamed) bipolar disorder, which should have provided more conflict – while Phoebe saw herself as anything but helpless, anything but a victim.  Moving on, Charlotte’s love for her true love, Henry Stilwell, is interestingly expressed (She wants to touch his beard).  How did you feel about Henry’s relationship with Charlotte?  Would it be any better than the horrible one that might have been with George?

Shannon: It's obvious from the very beginning that Charlotte adores Henry, but there were times I found myself wondering if she actually loved him, or if she was in love with the idea of love in general. I definitely think life with Henry would be preferable to life as George's wife, since George obviously had some issues that run deep.

Lisa: I think a choice Henry made at the very end spoke to his character, but there really was a sense that Charlotte might not be as compatible with him as she thinks. Speaking of which, the speed at which Charlotte reaches an epiphany about her social position and class distinction felt rather speedy – perhaps because she was already aware of the differences between the classes and sexes very early in the book. In fact, the pacing overall was a problem at times for me.  The book also makes some rather pat observations about the pre-feminist world that has ensnared these women and dumped them in the asylum.  What do you think about how the book delivered its message?

Shannon: I would have liked Charlotte to take more time coming to what is, in my opinion, the most important part of the book's message. It's clear she led a pretty sheltered life up to this point, so I struggled a bit to understand how she could have such a deep understanding of issues of social class. She does slip up a time or two, but she realizes her mistake quickly and recovers well. I'm just not sure how realistic that kind of social awareness would have been for someone in Charlotte's position.

Lisa: The girls’ mother’s intensely personal losses have left her obsessed with keeping her daughters safe, something that I found to be highly relatable; naturally this resulted in the girls feeling stifled and rebelling.  What did you think of her, what little we saw of her?

Shannon: Mrs. Smith is one of those mothers who tries way too hard to keep her daughters from any harm. I can understand a mother wanting to do this, but Mrs. Smith took it to the extreme. She was also far too focused on what her friends and neighbors would think about various things, something that drastically impeded her ability to be a good and supportive mother.

Lisa: There are heavy allusions to Greek mythology woven throughout the text. What did you think of that?

Shannon: I've always been fascinated by mythology, and the Greeks are especially interesting. The idea of naming the various hospital wards after the nine muses was great. Of course, the treatments that went on in those wards was not so great, but that's a completely different subject.

Lisa: The other women in the asylum are just as different as Charlotte and Phoebe.  Did you like any of the inmates?  Feel any sympathy for the asylum workers?

Shannon: I found myself drawn most to Esme and Jubilee. Both are courageous, but in very different ways. Jubilee is loud and brash, while Esme seems content to keep to the shadows.

Lisa: Jubilee was my favorite too!  So, what’s your final grade?  I’m giving this a B-; involving, engrossing character work, impeccable research, beautiful statements about love and sisterhood – but the big messages of the book have been done before, and better.

Shannon: I'm going higher than you with a B+. I flew through this book and was never bored, but Charlotte's idealism and the underdeveloped nature of the romantic elements keep this from DIK territory. I'm definitely interested in seeing what else this author has to offer.

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Charlotte and Phoebe Smith had a privileged upbringing in Nobb Hill in San Francisco. Their Mother planned their lives and had high hopes for both girls - hopes that they would marry well. But Phoebe began exhibiting "behaviors" these bouts of mania that were harder and harder to control until one day her parents have her committed to Goldengrove, an asylum for women... madwomen. Women who may in fact be mentally ill as well as women who did not comply with the norms of society, women who were indigent, women who were placed there by husbands who wanted to replace them, women who had no choice or say in their lives.

Charlotte reflects on their childhood and all the times her sister has saved her and decides that she must return the favor. So, she comes up with a plan to have herself committed. She thinks she will be able to get into the asylum and leave with her sister. Oh, if things were only that easy. Once committed, she becomes woman 99, stripped of her identity and known as a number. There she learns that getting her sister out won’t be easy, life in the asylum is difficult and the women are subjected to horrific forms of treatment, and that those in charge will not be willing to let them just walk out the front doors.

This book started out very slow for me and I was a little worried. Then Charlotte was committed, and things picked up for me. The Author did a great deal of research and talks about it in her notes at the end. She has her characters receiving the "treatments" that were given at those times in asylums (pulling out of teeth, water treatment, etc.). They are scary and horrific. These treatments really happened and makes one wonder, how much happened as a result of abuse of power vs. the belief those cures would work…hmm. The book also shows how women were treated in terms of being able to marry who they wanted and how little say and power that they had over their lives.

This book also showcases strength, determination, love and courage. I found the book to be well-written and I appreciated the research that went into writing this book. Slow to start, it pulled me in and me caring and worrying about the women in the asylum - not just the sisters. I found this to be a solid thought provoking read.

Thank you to Source Books Landmark and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Wow!!! This book is a very superbly written courtroom drama that will evoke feelings of empathy and leave you spinning. Trust me, this is one you don't want to miss—it's going to be huge! Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Readers Copy.

I think it’s a mistake to market this book as a historical thriller – I found it to be much more slightly edgy historical women’s fiction. I enjoyed it and it’s subject matter, but felt that it was a probably a mild account of an asylum and more paced like historical fiction