Thank you Ballantine for my free ARC of Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki — available Mar 19!

Read this if you:
✨ are a historical fiction fan, like, at all — in fact, read all her books
🚺 want to learn about a major powerhouse in the women's right movement
🍝 have ever wanted to run away to Italy and fall in love with a local

Young Margaret was instructed in "masculine" topics by her father, and by early adulthood, she is considered to be the best-read person in America. She's delighted to be invited to Concord to stay with the esteemed Ralph Waldo Emerson, and while there she meets and make friends with Louisa May Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and so many other names that ring bells in the minds of modern-day literature lovers. Craving action and impact, Margaret takes on a job as the first female foreign news correspondent to Europe, and she falls in love with the city of Rome, even as it simmers with revolution. Having finally found love and a place she feels at home, Margaret will sacrifice everything she has to protect her family.

Margaret Fuller should be a household name, but she's not. Why? I'm so grateful to Allison Pataki (who, it should be noted, is my favorite historical fiction author) for writing this book about Margaret, because she is honestly SUCH an impactful figure and it's a shame that her story is more or less buried. I won't spend this review recounting all the incredible accomplishments of Margaret, because you should read this novel to learn them for yourself.

I found myself so attached to Margaret (this is why I love Allison Pataki women), because she is such an easy character to love and empathize with. There is so much detail in this novel, and it's clear that the writer is passionate about her subject and the portrayal of Margaret as a real, flawed human. My favorite historical fictions novels teach me something about the past while making me fall in love with the characters, and this one was perfectly executed. Read it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Full review coming soon but this was a five star read for me.
LOVED learning about Margaret Fuller and the impact she made on women's lives as well as literature. AMAZING!

Links coming soon.

Historical fiction about women’s rights advocate, author, editor and journalist Margaret Fuller. I’d never heard of Fuller before reading this book, which is a shame — her life is fascinating. She was a woman well ahead of her time and ran in social circles with Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott and Nathaniel Hawthorne (Fuller is thought to be Hawthorne’s inspiration for Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter).

It took me about 50 pages to get into the book, but once I did, I really enjoyed the story. I also recommend the author’s other recent novel, The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thanks to NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
This novel, about a woman I likely was never introduced to, even as a student in Massachusetts, is like a who's who of authors, poets, and influential writers from here to Europe. Margaret is living her best life as friends of the likes of Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, The Brownings, and more....all of whom I had studied in High School, and have seen their residences many times. But why have we never heard of Fuller?
Margaret was ahead of her time with her ideas on women's rights and was outspoken in her efforts for a better world for women. Her life was tragically cut short but not before witnessing first hand the fighting in Rome that led to Italy's formation as a country. An incredibly interesting life and woman.
For book clubs, this is a clean read with the only potential trigger being the writers in the book being transcendentalists and reading about their beliefs.

"Young, brazen, beautiful, and unapologetically brilliant, Margaret Fuller accepts an invitation from Ralph Waldo Emerson, the celebrated Sage of Concord, to meet his coterie of enlightened friends. There she becomes "the radiant genius and fiery heart" of the Transcendentalists, a role model to a young Louisa May Alcott, an inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne's Hester Prynne and the scandalous Scarlet Letter, a friend to Henry David Thoreau as he ventures out to Walden Pond...and a muse to Emerson. But Margaret craves more than poetry and interpersonal drama, and her restless soul needs new challenges and adventures.

And so she charts a singular course against a backdrop of dizzying historical drama: From Boston, where she hosts a salon for students like Elizabeth Cady Stanton; to the editorial meetings of The Dial magazine, where she hones her pen as its co-founder; to Harvard's library, where she is the first woman permitted entry; to the gritty New York streets where she spars with Edgar Allan Poe and reports on Frederick Douglass. Margaret defies conventions time and again as an activist for women and an advocate for humanity, earning admirers and critics alike.

When the legendary editor Horace Greeley offers her an assignment in Europe, Margaret again makes history as the first female foreign news correspondent, mingling with luminaries like Frédéric Chopin, William Wordsworth, George Sand and more. But it is in Rome that she finds a world of passion, romance, and revolution, taking a Roman count as a lover - and sparking an international scandal. Evolving yet again into the roles of mother and countess, Margaret enters the fight for Italy's unification.

With a star-studded cast and sweeping, epic historical events, this is a story of an inspiring trailblazer, a woman who loved big and lived even bigger - a fierce adventurer who transcended the rigid roles ascribed to women and changed history, all on her own terms."

The day I spent in Concord was magical. I want to go back. Luckily I can go back there and back in time with this book.

QOTD:Have you heard of the name Margaret Fuller? Did you learn about her in school?

Chances are, like me, you haven't and didn't. Next question: Have you heard of Ralph Waldo Emerson? Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne? I can hear all of you shouting, "YES!" This is precisely why you should read this! Of course, it is captivating, but above all, it is imperative that we hear how this trailblazer fit into history. Allison Pataki uses her thorough research to paint a vivid picture of the contributions Margaret Fuller has made. I am grateful for her talented writing.

gorgeus historical fiction tale about an awesome person. it was really wellwritten by an amazing author. thanks for thea rc.

Alison Pataki is one of my go-to historical fiction writers. Her storytelling is quickly paced and brings to life some of her history's lesser-known women. Although I was familiar with the transcendentalists, like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Thoreau, I had never heard of Margaret Fuller. Even though she was well known during her lifetime, no one ever talks about what she brought to the women's movement.

What I enjoyed most about the book were the cameos by all the famous authors she befriended -- Waldo, Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allen Poe, Wordsworth, and many others, including Louisa May Alcott as a young child. Known for her independence and high intellect, Fuller mixed with the literati and developed a strong reputation among the intellectuals of her time. It's interesting that most of the male writers from this era are still studied in literature classes, but Fuller is never mentioned. Perhaps this is because she die before she could publish her masterpiece.

Even though Fuller passed away at the age of 40 (not a spoiler -- this is revealed in the prologue), she managed to accomplish what would take most people a full lifetime.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader's copy of the book in exchange for my opinions.

This is a book that totally absorbed me as I read of all the famous authors of the 19th Century. I did not know about Margaret Fuller when I began this book and found it absolutely jaw dropping as my favorite authors of that period were introduced to me as real people in addition to being famous authors. Such notables as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Horace Greely and many more became real to me as you follow the life and career of Margaret Fuller. Her travels take her from Concord, New York, London, Paris, and Rome and all over the world. She was a novelist, a poet, a teacher, the first woman foreign journalist and so very much more. I felt that I was actually living in those days and places. Margaret Fuller was a powerhouse of influence and someone we should always remember.
This is not the first book I have read by this very talented author and it will not be the last. Her style of placing the reader in the period and feeling you have met these people is incredible. I highly recommend this book to anyone interesting in life in the 19th century famous authors, women’s rights advocates, and world travels. If I could award more stars than 5, I would gladly do so. If you love history this book is not to be missed.
I wish to thank NetGalley and Random House – Ballantine Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such an interesting book, based on Margaret Fuller's life. Though I read a lot of history, I had never known about her before, perhaps because history books were/are normally written by men?? She was a lady living before her time, writing about the novel idea of women aspiring to more than keeping a husband happy. Good friends with the Concord writers, they actually accepted her as a person with ideas and beliefs of her own. She was really an amazing woman, very driven to propel women to think and 'be" more than they had dreamed of. I have read this author before and am drawn into her stories. Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read the ARC. I definitely recommend! I also encourage others to read The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by the same author.

A lovely story about an interesting woman. The characters and setting were very well done. I enjoyed reading this book.

Margaret Fuller, is an extraordinary person who I never heard of before reading this book. While the writing started off a bit slow, the prose was descriptive and engaging.

This is a remarkable and absorbing novel based on the life of the brilliant and fascinating Margaret Fuller (1810-1850), American Transcendentalist, colleague of Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and Alcott, and one of the foremost early American feminist writers. She was the first editor of the Transcendentalist journal, The Dial, traveled extensively in the U.S., worked with Horace Greeley on his newspaper (New-York Tribune) and was the first female foreign correspondent, paid (by Greeley), to travel to Europe and send stories back to America.

In her 20s, Fuller quickly acquired a reputation as a tireless advocate of women’s rights and education for all regardless of gender or race. She wrote about her extensive travels in the U.S. and Europe, where she made the acquaintance of William Wordsworth, George Sand, Frederic Chopin, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, among many others. She also met and married an Italian nobleman, Marchese Giovanni Ossoli, with whom she had a son. She and her husband were both involved with the Italian revolutionaries working for a unified Italy and were in extreme danger during the siege of Rome by the French in 1849.

The family escaped a devastated Rome, spent time in Florence, but eventually decided to return to America where Fuller was to publish her book about the Italian revolutionaries’ fight for a unified Italy, which she considered her greatest achievement. Near the end of their transatlantic crossing, Fuller, her husband, and young son perished in a tragic shipwreck literally yards off the coast of Fire Island, New York. The only copy of her manuscript was also lost.

The book is consistently fascinating, well written, thoroughly researched, and well paced. I was captivated on page one and my interest never flagged. I was so glad to have learned about Margaret Fuller. Incidentally, decades ago, I took a graduate seminar called “Emerson, Thoreau, and Their Circle.” I don’t recall any mention of Margaret Fuller. Figures, huh? I’m so thankful to Allison Pataki for bringing Fuller’s story to new generations — to women, in particular. In reading this book, I also learned, or became reacquainted with, a great deal of history in a most engaging form.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Author’s Note at the end, in which Ms. Pataki discusses the research she did for this book, explains what things were true, and what exactly she slightly altered for the sake of a suitable narrative. I had wondered about some of those things during the read. For instance, did Margaret Fuller really have nightmares about drowning all her life? Yes, she did. I had assumed that this had been added to enhance the fiction, but no, it is apparently the truth, and I was glad to know that.

This book is a delightfully smooth read, free of common grammar goofs and typos. Take it from me, a professional editor. (I spotted only one typo. In Chapter 36, where the word imagine should be imagined.)

This is Pataki’s 7th historical novel and I will certainly seek out her others.

Sincerest thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine Books for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this terrific book!

Immaculately researched. I never knew anything about Margaret Fuller before reading this book and she was truly a fantastic woman. Beautifully written and filled with knowledge.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Allison Pataki is quickly becoming one of my favorite historical fiction authors, particularly for stories of women the world should know more about. I’d never heard of Margaret Fuller, but I’m fascinated by her after reading this book.

To quote from the official blurb as it best summarizes: “this is a story of an inspiring trailblazer, a woman who loved big and lived even bigger—a fierce adventurer who transcended the rigid roles ascribed to women and changed history, all on her own terms”

Margaret Fuller was a truly inspiring woman. Nearly every other historical figure mentioned in this book was a name I recognized, and it is amazing to me that with all she accomplished, championed, and inspired, that I hadn’t even heard Margaret’s name before. I don’t pretend to be a wealth of historical knowledge, but she lived a life that should have been studied at the very least alongside her contemporaries.

As a small sampling of who she was, Margaret was a journalist, translator, editor, first female foreign correspondent in American journalism, and a women’s rights advocate who essentially inspired the entire movement. She was forward thinking in a time when women were expected to be anything but. She was vocal in her beliefs of equality for all. She eschewed societal norms, not because she desired a life of solitude but simply because she refused to settle for less than all-consuming feeling with someone who respected and accepted her mind and voice. She was far ahead of her time, and it’s a wonder to think of what more she could have accomplished had her life not been cut tragically short.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This might be my new favorite of Allison Pataki's. I had never heard of Margaret Fuller (as Pataki points out in her Author's Note few people have), and it is truly amazing how much of the story that Pataki presents is actually factual, because it truly reads as amazing fiction. It was such an easy read (a feat for what is esentially a nearly 400 page biography) and interesting story, and it was so much fun to have appearances by so many iconic historical figures (Thoreau, Emerson, Alcott, Browning, the list goes on....). The buzz is totally justified on this one - a must read!

After loving Alison Pataki’s novel about Marjorie Merriweather Post, I was eager to read her next offering. Finding Margaret Fuller gave me insight into a woman I had never heard of before. (Apologies). Having read this book, I now want to read her works and a biography. She was truly a creative mind. This story is ripe with other literary legends: Emerson, Poe, Hawthorne, Longfellow, Alcott, Browning. It reminded me of a precursor to Dorothy Parker’s round table. I could picture the Hawthornes rushing down Connecticut Turnpike to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s house. A wonderful story about an amazing author!

Finding Margaret Fuller, by Allison Pataki.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

This memoir-as-novel, written in the voice of Margaret Fuller, introduces us to the fascinating 19th-century woman whose words and actions shaped the early women’s movement in America.

As a writer, editor, journalist and speaker, Margaret Fuller was prized by her peers, both male and female. Her “conversations” in the late 1830’s were a coveted series of discussions with groups of women aimed at opening their minds to more unconventional ways of thinking and sharing their own insights and opinions. Her travels from her native New England to the Midwest and then to Europe, brought to the public stories of ordinary lives in a time of rapid growth, change, and reform. She was one of the founders of the Transcendentalist Movement, and wrote of her ponderings on what comes from human nature and what from society, and how individuals could find their full potential.

Her untimely death – with which this book begins – only heightened her mystique, as friends mourned her and searched for her last manuscript, a description of the Roman Revolution of 1849, which she believed to be the best work she had done.

Allison Pataki is a skilled and experienced novelist whose subjects are both real and fictional women from the past. Her writing is vivid and engaging. She grounds Margaret’s life in the reality of being a single woman, responsible for supporting herself, her mother, and siblings at a time when this was rare and difficult. However, I found off-putting her injection of romance into the story, especially at the beginning – much about Ralph Waldo Emerson’s blue-grey eyes and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s bright green ones – and the suggestions of emotional and sexual tension between Margaret and these and other men. Despite this, Ms. Pataki leads us to an exceptional but lesser-known woman, and one that I now will want to read about in non-fiction.

A woman ahead of her time, Margaret Fuller’s association with Ralph Waldo Emerson was the first step along her journey as a woman of letters. She was surrounded by a cadre of the most well respected persons of literary prowess. Ere long, she would share tea with Nathaniel Hawthorne, share deep thoughts with Henry David Thoreau and dine with the family Alcott. A dedicated transcendental devotee, as were her peers, Ms. Fuller often sought their company and guidance. Her desire for learning and grand adventures led her into the company of Edgar Allan Poe and other scions of NYC culture. Ultimately, Margaret finds herself surrounded by the cream of the European socialites. She rubbed elbows with a who’s who of letters, music and royalty. Margaret Fuller more than found her true self in soirées and salons, she became an enlightened member of the highest eschelon of learned society.

I loved this historical fictional novel about the too-short life of Margaret Fuller. I had never really heard of her before and I was happy to learn about this lost-in-history heroine who paved the way for generations to come. Highly recommend for lovers of books like the Personal Librarian. It’s a fun way to bring “herstory” to life.