The Engineer's Wife is a fascinating glimpse at the story behind the Brooklyn Bridge. Emily Warren is a wonderful protagonist, and I loved the rich historical details in this novel. Highly recommended!

In recent years, writers of historical fiction have offered an increasing number of books focused on those ‘hidden figures’ in history—the women who did incredible things that went unnoticed. Often, these books are titled in reference for the relationship of the central woman to the man who got all the glory. Such is the case for The Engineer’s Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood. While I recognize the title does reflect Emily Roebling’s relationship to her husband, Washington Roebling, who is better known for his role in the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, I feel the book is sadly misnamed. In this case, Emily was so much more than an engineer’s wife—she became a self-taught civil engineer when her husband could no longer fulfill his duties and she was the driving force behind a 13-year project that met many challenges.

In The Engineer’s Wife, we are first introduced to Emily at a dance, which she has attended at her brother’s behest, to give his soldiers some companionship and entertainment. She is quickly drawn to Washington Roebling (aka Wash). The two have a whirlwind romance even while Wash fights in the Civil War. As soon as they can marry, they do. Soon, Emily begins accompanying Wash, following him in his work, which she finds quite interesting. Wash and his father are bridge builders, and their loftiest goal is to span the East River, bridging Manhattan and Brooklyn. As they set out on this work, tragedy befalls them time and time again. When Wash can no longer personally see this project to fruition, it falls to Emily to carry it out, a daunting task considering the inequality women faced at the time, seen as incapable of working outside the home or even casting a vote in an election.

Wood weaves Emily’s story together with many other elements and events of the time. Despite being incredibly busy with the bridge, caring for her husband, and raising a child, Wood’s Emily finds time to have an ‘emotional affair’ with none other than PT Barnum. This aspect of the novel seemed to weaken Emily’s story. It was enough fodder for drama and triumph that she lived in the shadow of her husband but overcame it. To cast a second shadow from yet another man, and in this case a real showman, seemed only to diminish the story of an incredible woman. Moreover, Wash is sometimes written as callous and unappreciative of Emily’s efforts. However, research suggests in real life, he appreciated her work and saw her as “a strong tower to lean on…and a woman of infinite tact and wisest counsel.”

The book did have many strengths. Emily was largely a sympathetic character, reminiscent of many of today’s women—trying to balance her time between the commitments of work and the equally difficult work of being a parent. She struggled with her own tragedies and losses, was aware of Wash’s struggles, and strove to balance her longing for what was or what could have been with acceptance of her reality. Emily was such an amazing woman and a well-written character, that I was sad to see her story reach an end. I would have happily read more about her later life—her time building a family home, attending law school, and continuing her work on the endeavors she was passionate about.

Indeed, Emily was much more than an engineer’s wife. There are so many titles I would have preferred for this book. Perhaps ‘Bloomers and Badassery,’ though I am not sure that fits the tone… ‘Violets and Bloomers’? ‘The Bloomers that Built the Brooklyn Bridge’? Most realistically, two strong options come to mind that would have better exemplified Emily’s triumph over adversity. ‘Tower of Strength’ which would have highlighted the positive view her husband had of her (although this theme was somewhat missing from the text) and the true strength she demonstrated in her fight to build the Brooklyn Bridge. Or ‘Crossing the River’ which would have linked well to three elements of her story—her fear of water/drowning, her well-known first walk and then ride across the Brooklyn Bridge, and her lesser known work of being the true champion for the construction of the bridge, which crossed the East River.

Despite my critiques and suggestions, I would highly recommend this book. Even teasing apart fact from fiction, I learned a lot about Emily, her work, and her world. Wood’s writing also did a wonderful job of taking me back into the timeframe. I was keenly aware of the broader zeitgeist the book was set within, and all of the luxuries we have today, which were missing at that time (everything ranging from SmartPhones easing communication to the ability for women to wear pants to the right to vote). It was generally a good read and I am quite certain that fans of historical fiction would enjoy it.

To conclude, I would like to thank NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Tracey Enerson Wood for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I truly loved this book. This is one of the best historical fiction novels I have read in a very long time. What I loved most was how much research went into this book. I was amazed at the detail that was involved in the writing. What amazed me even more was that, when I finished the book, in the afterword, the author goes through exactly what is true and what is embellished. I loved that she was transparent in her writing and her research. The book is better for it.

I loved the character of Emily and the struggles that she goes through. She is such a raw character. I loved the highlights to the plights of women in the post-civil war era America. Emily's mother and friends who constantly supported her were a reminder to me how strong female friendship can be. It was an amazingly well written novel with deep characters, strong themes, and rich history.

I thought this was a fine work of historical fiction about the strong, smart, faithful woman behind the creation of one of New York City's most notable landmarks and a marvel in engineering at the time. While the writing felt at times a little disjointed and moved slowly, I found the relationships held within the story to be the most captivating part of the piece, while the engineering facts lost me a little and I found I skipped paragraphs and even pages at a time to get back to the actual story. It was difficult to tell where history stopped and where fiction began though, which is the hallmark of seamless story telling -- I applaud Wood for this.

The word awesome does not do justice to this book, what a great read!! The writing is excellent, the storyline never drags, and the research must have taken years. After reading this it prompted me to google the Brooklyn Bridge construction, how impressive to look at the pictures and then have all this history to go behind it. It just amazes me that Emily Roebling was such a remarkable woman, and so instrumental in the building of this bridge at a time when women were expected to stay home with the children. She was such a vital part of her marriage and her work, I enjoyed every minute of this book, hated to put it down and was sad when it was over.
This is one of the best historical fiction books I’ve read. I recommend to any reader. Loved it!! Well done Tracey Wood, well done!!!!
I was allowed the opportunity to receive this book from Sourcebooks Landmark through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This one gets the highest 5 stars!!

I’m always interested in historical fiction. But this book did not hold my attention. The subject matter caught my eye, but the story telling seem to be at a jumbled pace. Some parts seemed to be rushed, while others were at a slow start. I found myself getting involved with a plot point, but only to have that point resolved in two paragraphs.
Thank you for letting me read this book early.

I originally selected this book because of I absolutely love historical fiction - and this book did not disappoint on the historical front!

"The Engineer's Wife" tells the story of Emily Warren Roebling and her family's connection to the Brooklyn Bridge. The book is full of great historical details - and paints an honest picture of the struggles involved in building the bridge and the many lives lost in the process.

What surprised me was that this book also painted an honest picture of the women's suffrage movement and the impact that had on women and their families.

While I was ultimately very disappointed in Emily's final decision - I did appreciate learning about the human side of the movement and how it was often very difficult for a woman to stand up for her beliefs.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book - I really enjoyed this thoughtful piece of historical fiction!

I really wanted to like this book, and I kept reading long past the point where I usually stop if a book doesn’t really hold my attention. I got really bogged down in all of the engineering and construction details, and the book just didn’t flow well, in my opinion. I do appreciate being given the opportunity to read this title.

The subject of this book is really fascinating. It is all about the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge and the people who designed it and built it. This is an historical fiction book, so parts of the story are embellished, but many of the characters are true historical figures. I really learned a lot from this book and enjoyed discovering how the Brooklyn Bridge came to be. Thanks to the author, publisher, and netgalley for the chance to read and review this book!

This is a story about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. Emily Roebling was a vital part in the process and helped her husband, Washington, who is the leader of the project. She faces an uphill battle being a woman with such great responsibility in a time when women were not respected in this type of work.

This book is amazing! I love reading non-fiction accounts of engineering feats, and the building of the Brooklyn Bridge is no exception, But reading this historical fiction account, really brings out the human side, even though, yes, some is made up, but that's okay with me, because the point is, the engineering feat, and this one was so amazing. And the author did a great job describing how the bridge was built. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves reading about how bridges are built. I could not stop looking at photographs of the bridge as I was reading. Picturing the people building it. Thank you for this book, Ms. Wood!

Historical fiction based on actual women is a favorite genre of mine. This novel tells the story of Emily Warren and her Engineer Husband, “Wash” Roebling and their building of the Brooklyn Bridge. Starting as the Civil War is ending, Author Tracy Emerson Wood engages us with historical events including Women’s fashion trends, the invention of the hair pin, the Suffrage movement and protests and Tammany Hall incidents along with the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.. When Wash Roebling is afflicted with Caissons disease, Emily becomes the lead engineer on the project, The devastating effects of Wash’s disease, as well as the tragic accidents on the bridge project, take a toll on Emily and Wash’s marriage. We’re introduced to the delightful PT Barnum, his museum, the Hippodrome shows and other attractions of the time. This is a fascinating story about a remarkable woman and her incredible achievement. It moves along at a quick place thanks to a very skilled writer.
Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read this interesting story.

I really wanted to like this book. I have enjoyed other historical fiction centered on the women who have been overlooked in history. However, this one was too slow for me to get into.

I really struggled with how to rate this book. On one hand I thought that this historical fiction book was revealing a side of history that I had not yet known.
On the other hand, I really did NOT like the PT Barnum aspect and felt that it degraded from Mrs Emily Roeblings accomplishments.
I felt that the author thought that Ms. Roebling NEEDED to add a male "benefactor" to progress the story when I was much more interested in HER thoughts and feelings...not PT Barnums.
Also, I felt that the story was so long and oftentimes repeating of itself and the last half of the book was a slog to get through.
Overall, not my favorite historical fiction book.

Emily Roebling was the wife of Washington, "Wash", Roebling, the chief engineer on the Brooklyn Bridge project after his father's death. When her husband became ill from the effects of Caisson disease, Emily had to take on the day to day work of building this magnificent bridge. Emily had to fight the workers, her own husband sometimes and society as no one thought it appropriate that a woman take on any tasks outside of the home. The friendships she makes, the education she gives herself and the turmoil this project sometimes put her in is wonderfully told.
I knew very little about the Brooklyn Bridges building and nothing about Emily until I read this book.
Thank you NetGalley and Source book for the chance to learn about such a fascinating woman!

Based loosely on real life events of building a bridge with her husband and father-in-law when their presence and health prevented them from being there, pushing for a woman's right to vote when just wearing bloomers was considered scandalous, and falling in love with P.T. Barnum, this POV definitely was rocking the world of NYC. A novel historical fiction area that I haven't read before.

I loved this book. The author did an incredible job developing the characters and vividly described the era from the 1800s. I love historical fiction as I love learning something new as I read. And this book delivered! This is a true story about the engineering feat: building the Brooklyn Bridge. The author brought the main character to life for me. I never heard of Mrs Emily Warren Roebling until I read this book. This is a women we need to all know about. This is an amazing part of American history. she is a strong, intelligent woman of the 1800s doing what no other woman has ever done...
does a mans job in a mans world. The book is beautifully written and historical facts obviously researched and delivered a beautiful book. I couldn’t put it down! I would love people to read this book and learn about this brave woman’s contribution to America. She deserves recognition and this book serves to deliver just that! Colleges could choose tho
Is book when teaching about the great contributions made by women in our society. I would love to see this novel become a movie!

The Engineer’s Wife by Tracey Enerson Wood
Source: NetGalley and Sourcebook Landmark
Rating: 2½/5 stars


**MINI-REVIEW**

The Bottom Line: For me, this book boiled down to two things: 1) a great deal of whining and 2) some very slow sections that were difficult to get through. Despite these two things, I stuck with this book to the bitter end and while there are certainly some interesting and even entertaining bits, they just weren’t enough to balance out all the whining and the slow bits. I wanted to like Emily and have compassion for Wash, but both, with their general attitudes and demeanor made it hard to do so. I will say, I admire what Emily was able to accomplish: she had to teach herself the math and the principles of engineering in order to complete one of the most iconic projects in all of the US all while fighting the prejudices and laws (literally!) that often hampered her efforts. At the end of the day, I wanted to like this book so much more than I ultimately did. This is absolutely a story worth telling, but unfortunately, the presentation of this story isn’t quite up to snuff.

I loved the unusual setting and background of this historical fiction book. The building of the Brooklyn Bridge, the relationship between the engineer husband and his wife who must take over for her husband because of his illness. His dream becomes her, but who will be credited with the achievement? An achievement that is a testimony to the human spirit. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review,

A fascinating look at the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. A really fascinating and moving story.

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.