All afternoon the fierce February heat had kept the two young women indoors, sipping lemonade and wafting silk fans in a vain attempt to cool themselves. Even the children had abandoned their outdoor pursuits and disappeared into the depths of the cellar where they were busy building a fort from fruit boxes.
‘I fear I will succumb to the vapours if this heat continues,’ sighed Eliza Miller, waving her fan theatrically.
‘I didn’t know ou could catch the vapours from the heat,’ said Amy Chen, her voice full of anxiety.
Eliza began to laugh. ‘Of course you can’t. I was speaking in jest. There is no such thing as the vapours.’
‘The Jade Widow’ is the sequel to ‘Mr Chen’s Emporium’ and picks up the story of Amy and Eliza in a hot summer in Millbrooke. Amy is widowed and has a young son, Charles. Eliza has been studying at the Sorbonne in Paris because no Australian university will accept females into their medical faculties. Eliza would be finished now except that she has delayed and then interrupted her studies to support her family. Both are single: Amy because she continues to grieve her husband; and Eliza because she is sure it’s not possible to completely dedicate herself to a family AND a career. But it is the late 1880s and there are signs that things are changing for women in general and these two women in particular. Amy wants to build a fine hotel, and Eliza wants to be part of the women’s movement. But of course life is seldom straightforward and there are many hurdles if these determined pair are to achieve their goals. Sections are headed with quotes from the work of Lewis Carroll.
‘Mr Chen’s Emporium’ introduced the reader to Amy and to Eliza and their family, as well as to a contemporary character, Angie. The women were linked via the town they lived in – Millbrooke – and their stories alternated. In ‘The Jade Widow’ the action stays firmly in the 1880s and alternates viewpoint between the two main characters, Amy and Eliza. Amy, while holding fast to the past, has plans for the future. These competing emotions are embodied in her struggle to keep her child close, but do the best for him, while establishing her credentials as an influential businesswoman. For Eliza, the frustrations are with a world that won’t let her do what she knows she is meant to do. Themes in ‘The Jade Widow’ include racism and women’s rights. Millbrooke, a small country town west of Sydney, struggles to adapt to life after a gold rush, changing rights for women, and to seeing their sons go off to war. Rich material, lightly handled. Recommended for readers who prefer their history woven into an engaging narrative.
The Jade Widow, Deborah O’Brien Random House 2013 ISBN: 978174275571
review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author