Tiffany Girl

I love when authors use historical facts as the basis for their novels and in Tiffany Girl the latest novel from best-selling author Deeanne Gist, I got to learn a bit more about the wonderful women who were called upon by Louis Tiffany to help complete his stained glass chapel that he had planned on debuting. When the men went on strike, Mr. Tiffany relied upon the most unconventional help at that time, employing women to help cut and assemble the fantastic pieces of stained glass. It helped them during the struggles of single women in 1893 who often times found themselves working to hand over their money to the men in their lives, be it there fathers or husbands.

Often times had it not been for the money women made doing odd jobs like sewing or in this case working at the Tiffany Glass Company, many of them would be out on the streets. Work was becoming difficult for men and with the demands to work longer hours for very little money, some of them went on strike. But when women were called to take their places temporarily, many of the men made sure the women knew that they were less than pleased.

Florence Jayne is one of those young girls who has seen how the money her mother and her work so hard to bring in, is being gambled away by her father. Her mother is unwilling to stand up and demand that the money remain theirs, so Flossie takes it upon herself to become a "New Woman." A title designated for the women who believe in more than simply staying at home, marrying and starting their own families. Flossie feels that the only way that will happen is if she moves into a boarding house as she works for Mr. Tiffany.

While she is staying at the boarding house, she finds a family she never dreamed of having and sets to work to ensure that the people who live at the boarding house, feel just like family, so she incorporates various seating arrangements so people are forced to talk with someone new, she prepares questions to leave under their plate to help them get to know one another and encourages them to come together in the evening in the parlor. Reeve Wilder is an up and coming reporter who is tasked at sharing his time in the boarding house with the people who live there in a fictionalized story that is geared to help the newspaper continue to sell papers. Reeve is also a stanch advocate of women remaining at home and not part of the New Women movement. Soon sparks begin to fly in various ways as Flossie stays determine to not let men have the upper hand in everything she has to deal with, but will Mr. Wilder be able to tame the wild beast inside?

I receive Tiffany Girl by Deeanne Gist compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions contained here are strictly my own. Seeing as I have a Tiffany Lamp on my desk, it was a great journey into the history behind how these lamps came to be and the history behind the working conditions for women in the late 1800's. For fans of Deeanne's others novels, It Happened at the Fair and Fair Play, you will definitely want to add this to your collection. There are so many great individual stories within this novel that it is hard to figure out which was my favorite, from Reeve's fictional stories, to Flossie's love of art that winds up virtually everywhere in the story. There are so amazing pictures that open much of each chapter that give the reader the essence of what is happening in this novel. Well done and a well-deserved 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion. There is a great Author's Note section that defines what is historical fact from fiction and a Reader's Discussion Guide as well.

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Tiffany Girl by Deeanne Gist

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