This was an interesting concept and I do enjoy short story collections. I liked exploring a snapshot in time for people who are adjacent to fame somehow. Bergman is good at capturing a personality and feelings in a moment in time. That said I think I would have liked a bit of an explanation as to just who was who and who they were connected to as there were times I got lost down that particular rabbit hole and wasn't focusing on the story itself.

Megan Mayhew Bergman is one of the most talented writers of our time. Her book of short stories, Birds of a Lesser Paradise, is one of my all-time favorite reads... For me this one does not quite measure up, but that is personal preference-- the subjects did not grab me as much as Birds... but the writing is still sterling!

A collection of short stories that each focus on a woman who is just shy of being famous, either by relation or circumstance. This book intrigued me from the concept, but I just didn't enjoy it. Whether it was the writing or the fact that it was short stories and not a full novel where the author could really focus in on one of these women, I finished the book, but just didn't enjoy it.

Almost Famous Women by Megan Mayhew Bergman

9781476786568

256 Pages
Publisher: Scribner
Release Date: January 6, 2015

General Fiction (Adult)

This book covers the short peek into the lives of not so famous women.

Violet and Daisy Hilton – conjoined twins from the 1930s
M.B. “Joe” Carstairs – fastest woman on water (Georgie in the story sounds like a Weeki Wachee mermaid even though it says she is from Sarasota, Florida)
Norma Millay – singer and actress 1910s
Romaine Brooks – artist 1920s
Hazel Marion Eaton Watkins – performer 1920s
Allegra Bryon – illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron 1810s
Lucia Joyce – dancer 1920s
Butterfly McQueen – actress 1940s
Dolly Wilde – niece of Oscar Wilde
Beryl Markham – author 1930s
Tiny Davis – musician 1940s


This is an interesting book of little-known women. It is written in story form in first and third person points of view. Each story is a chapter long so it is only a small glimpse into each life.

At times lovely, heartbreaking, funny and atmospheric stories, that sometimes stuggle to come together as a coherent whole.