That Bonesetter Woman

Thank you to Netgalley for my e-ARC copy and to the publisher and author for the chance to read this stunning book.

Wow, all the stars for this amazing and gorgeous book!

That Bonesetter Woman tells the story of Endurance Proudfoot (Durie). Durie wants to be a Bonesetter like her father, but in a world where it’s viewed as job for a man only, Durie must make her own way and prove herself. I was transported to Georgian London and drawn into Durie’s story and those around her, all the characters are well developed but from the first page I really admired and rooted for Durie. This is not just a story of a Bonesetter but the relationships and love we form that sometimes support, test and break us. It’s a beautiful and fascinating story.

I loved this! I’ll admit that when I first saw that this was a novel about a female bonesetter in the 18th century, I was sceptical. Was this really something a woman would be able to do at that time or was this going to be another book, like one or two others I’ve read recently, based around a completely anachronistic idea that could never have happened in reality? Then I discovered that there really was a female bonesetter working in London in the 1700s: her name was Sally Mapp and her story has provided Frances Quinn with the inspiration for her latest novel.

That Bonesetter Woman begins with Endurance Proudfoot – known as Durie – arriving in London in 1757 with her sister, Lucinda. The unmarried Lucinda has found herself pregnant and, with Durie accompanying her, has been hastily packed off to stay with an aunt so that she can give birth away from prying eyes at home. Durie is not at all happy to be sent away; she had been on the verge of persuading her father, a bonesetter, to allow her to work with him as his assistant. Now it looks as though the position will go to her younger brother instead. This is devastating for Durie – with her large hands and feet, social awkwardness and tendency to always say and do the wrong thing, bonesetting is the one thing she’s discovered she’s good at.

Watching with a mixture of admiration and resentment as Lucinda overcomes her own personal crisis and launches a new career for herself on the London stage, Durie decides it’s time to take matters into her own hands. She’s determined to find a way to do the work she loves and nothing is going to stop her.

This is a fascinating novel, particularly as it’s loosely based on the lives of real people (like Durie, Sally Mapp was believed to have a sister, Lavinia Fenton, who became a famous London actress). I enjoyed reading about Durie’s work as a bonesetter – similar to a modern-day chiropractor or osteopath, I think – but what particularly interested me was seeing the obstacles she had to overcome to be allowed to carry out her work at all, the mistrust from patients on discovering that they were going to be treated by a woman, and the hostility she faces from the existing, exclusively male, medical community. Poor Durie experiences one setback after another, but her passion for bonesetting and helping those in pain really shines through.

Although Durie is not considered a great beauty like her sister, she does have love interests throughout the novel but her lack of self-confidence leads to her making mistakes and poor decisions. Nothing ever seems to go her way, but while things often look bleak for Durie I never stopped hoping that she would find happiness and success in the end.

As I come to the end of this review I realise there are a lot of things I haven’t mentioned – the vivid portrayal of 18th century London, the menagerie in the Tower of London, the subplot involving the Foundling Hospital – but there’s so much going on in this novel, I can’t include all of it! It’s a great book and I will have to find time to read Frances Quinn’s previous novel, The Smallest Man.

I loved Durie. Her honesty and earnestness and self-awareness and ability to shrug off other people's opinions and not care if she had monkey bones for hat decorations.
I loved that I knew what was coming but somehow kept hoping she'd see what I could. But it didn't matter, Because Durie-Endurance has the kind of spirit that not only matters but triumphs and I loved that she found this out despite her self doubt.
I loved the way Frances Quinn gave readers enough of the historical for us to dip our toes into another era and splash about, but not so much to saturate us. She has a thorough but light hand so it was easy to become engrossed.
I loved that Durie is like many of us. We can all feel inept and clumsy and out of place, till we find what our soul yearns for and follow its heart.
Any reader with a heart will love this book.

Endurance “Durie” Proudfoot is going to be a bonesetter regardless of what her father or society thinks and good for her! This book follows her on that difficult journey from the quiet rural land of Lewes to the hubbub of London.
The characters throughout the story are all well developed but my favourite has to be Durie. I loved her personality; a strong, formidable woman who knows what she wants and although she may be a little naïve and clumsy she is determined and, most importantly, kind. I really enjoyed following her journey from admiring her fathers work to her fight to succeed in a male dominated career in Georgian England. Her interactions with people were entertaining and fascinating, from romantic partners to the dastardly doctors attempting to discredit her work; she constantly tries to say the right thing but usually ends up being her marvellous self.
The book made me laugh and made me want to cry .. and I didn’t want to put it down! I felt transported to that time and could clearly picture the streets and people Durie encountered along the way. I found myself so invested in Durie and wanting her to succeed and prove any doubters wrong.
What a brilliant book! I love a bit of historical fiction and could instantly tell how well researched this story was. This book is a really great read and I can’t recommend it enough!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for giving me the chance to be transported into Durie's world. I will also be posting my review on Goodreads, Twitter and Amazon when published.