I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this book incredibly interesting the author really kept me hooked until the end. very well written I highly recommend.

This was such an interesting book. The author clearly explained the expectations in regards to marriage during the time period of the book. The men who wanted to marry Martha Parker and the fallout of her leading on more than one of them was not shocking for now, but back then it was a true controversy. The author wrote a true account of these events that read like fiction.

There are those who might describe this book as dry and unexciting. I found the tale of Martha Parker and the men who pursued her riveting.

Martha Parker agreed to marry Thomas Tenney, then rescinded her acceptance and accepted an offer of marriage to Elnathan Gridley. Along the way she also courted the feelings of Elisha Jenney. In today’s world hardly anyone would take notice of this behavior. In the early 19th century, Martha Parker’s behavior created a firestorm. Author Christine Leigh Heyman explains the workings of this world, deeply entwined with the precedence of the past and the religious ties that bound followers to a promise of marriage. As Ms. Heyman describes it, “…following the way of duty caused men and women to have the proper feelings – to feel as they ought. How strange to us in the present, this lost world of ironclad commitments and unacceptable emotions.” The author does a credible job of removing that strangeness, deftly walking the reader through a world that for most does not exist in the present.

Ms. Heyman also does not merely report what most might say about this story. Rather, she takes us by the hand and allows us to peer over her shoulder as she dissects the actions of the main and secondary characters, attempting to decipher their emotions and subsequent actions. I found fascinating this role the author chose, acting as much as a historical detective more than a mere biographer. This decision breathed life into what could have been a stodgy old tale of something that happened two hundred years ago. Instead, “Doomed Romance” becomes every bit as interesting as a well-written movie.

If digging through the nuances of the past to discover the truth about what really happened, this is a book for you. Along with a true story describing the actions of multiple characters, readers will gain a deep understanding of a world that time has left behind. Highly recommended. Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for an complimentary electronic copy of this title.