The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress: A Novel Author: Visit Amazon's Ariel Lawhon Page | Language: English | ISBN:
038553762X | Format: EPUB
The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress: A Novel Description
Amazon.com Review
Joshilyn Jackson
Ariel Lawhon
Joshilyn Jackson interviews Ariel Lawhon, author of
The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress: A NovelAriel: I’d never heard of Joseph Crater until I read an article about him in The New York Post nine years ago. I didn’t know that his disappearance was the biggest missing person’s case of the twentieth century or that he was a household name for almost fifty years. It was fascinating. But in all of that, what intrigued me most was his wife Stella, and her strange yearly ritual. Starting on the first anniversary of her husband’s disappearance, she would go to a bar in Greenwich Village and order two drinks. She’d raise one in salute, “Good luck, Joe, wherever you are!” Then she’d drink it and walk out of the bar, leaving the other untouched on the table. She did this every year for thirty-nine years. After reading that article Stella Crater took up permanent residence in my mind. I’d close my eyes and she’d be there, in that corner booth, a glass of whiskey in her hand, practically daring me to tell her story. So I did.
Ariel: The real Crater mystery is filled with all these fascinating but seemingly disconnected details: mysterious cash-filled envelopes, theater tickets, grand jury investigations, random injuries, missing wills, bribery allegations. I wanted to take all the peripheral details that are often nothing more than footnotes in the historical record and make them integral to the story. But this could only be done when put in contrast with the real people involved: crooked politicians, seedy gangsters, an uncooperative wife, ambitious dancing girls, theater moguls, police officers, nosey reporters. It was all there for the taking but there were gaps. Big questions no one could answer with any certainty, not the least of which is what actually happened to Judge Crater. So I took the details I could verify (hello research you are my drug) and then arranged the blank spaces to fit my own theories. In the end, it became a portrait of what could have happened.
Ariel: Don’t be like me. Don’t write three different stories centered on the same missing man and then try to weave them together into a cohesive whole. You will feel like you’re sewing up a bag of cats. And you will, inevitably, find that one character is easier to write than the others (Ritzi). You will like her best even though you aren’t supposed to play favorites. This will do strange things to your moral compass, because you like the mistress best. One of the characters will be cold and elusive and you will have nothing in common with her (Stella). She will scare you a little bit and make you doubt your own ability at every turn. Her name will become an expletive. And then there will be one that surprises you (Maria). She will be both devout and sensual. You will make her do things that cause you unreasonable guilt given her imaginary status. You will lose sleep. In the end she will break your heart.
Ariel: Anywhere. Everywhere. The first flat surface I can find that isn’t littered with Legos or used Band Aids. The better question would probably be when do you write (answer: whenever white space shows up on the calendar). Apparently there is this thing called biology. And it WORKS. So thanks to biology I have four children. All of them boys. All of them highly intelligent and off-the-charts active. We call them The Wild Rumpus. And we will not buy nice things until they grow up and leave home. So the when and where of writing is a daily tightrope walk for me. It’s probably not the best way to write books but it’s the only way I know how and it seems to be working well so far.
From Publishers Weekly
Lawhon's disappointing debut novel reimagines the 1930 disappearance of justice Joseph Crater, an unsolved crime that fixates armchair detectives to this day. Set among the speakeasies and society soirees of Jazz Age Manhattan, the story also winds its way through the cramped tenements of the Lower East Side and goes behind the scenes of Broadway spectaculars. One August night, Joseph Crater leaves Club Abbey, a speakeasy owned by notorious gangster Owney Madden, and is never seen again. There are rumors of political corruption and shady connections with the criminal underworld, but the story centers on three women in his life—his wife, Stella; his mistress, showgirl Ritzi; and his maid, Maria. The three of them, all severely affected by his disappearance, must deal with the unexpected consequences, while trying to decide if there is a chance that he might still be alive. Stella hides in her Maine vacation home to avoid being harassed by police detectives and journalists. Ritzi shoulders a grueling life that is nothing like the glamorous starlet's existence that she dreamed of. Maria, whose husband is a detective assigned to the Crater case, works on starting a family while managing two jobs. These women do everything they can to protect themselves and their families from the malevolent men who let nothing stand in the way of them and their money. A fascinating story, but rendered colorless by its lack of momentum and stock characters. (Jan.)
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- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Doubleday (January 28, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 038553762X
- ISBN-13: 978-0385537629
- Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
As usual, I didn't pay anything for this book but instead received it for free directly from the publisher. Also as usual, despite that kindness I will proceed to be completely honest about it.
At a high level, this book is the speculative history of the disappearance of Joseph Force Crater in 1930. At the time the story kept the world riveted to their newspapers and was the object of much editorial speculation. This narrative cobbles the story together from the perspective of the women in Judge Crater's life.
On the positive side, Lawhon's novel is set in a wonderfully provocative period in history and gives us a story as capable of captivating an audience as it was 80 years ago. Lawhon's characters are believable and sympathetic and she renders them wonderfully. She also very skillfully weaves her fictional threads through the facts of the case in a way that gives it great credibility. In her ending notes, she describes some of the liberties she took with the story and based on these tiny provisos, she has been very true to the tale which inspired her.
To the negative, despite the above, the novel does seem to take a while to get started. It took a week to get through the first half and a day to get through the last half. This is not the sort of novel that immediately inspires one to long persistent reading, though it does eventually gain momentum. Also, despite the wonderfully entertaining locale and time period, one cannot help but think it was not put to as great a use as it could be. While it was easy to tell we were in the 1930s, the story didn't take full advantage of that fact. I would have anticipated greater use of the language of the times and a truer rendering of the culture.
In summary, a great story set in a grand part of history.
Our story begins on 8/2/1930 in Belgrade Lakes, ME, at the summer cottage of Judge Joseph F. Crater, recently appointed to the NY Supreme Court and his wife of 13 years Stella. She confronts him about his affair with his mistress Sally Lou Ritz, affectionately referred to as Ritzi, and in the process slams the car door on his hand. Soon after on 8/6/1930 the judge disappears from sight supposedly as he entered a taxi outside a fancy club called Club Abbey, owned by the notorious gangster Owney Madden, who bought the judge his appointment through Tammany Hall. What really happened to the judge, his mistress, his wife, and the maid is what the story is all about.
I should mention that much of the story is true and was followed for many years by various newspapers. The fictitious characters and their back stories are explained at the end by the author, so that a brief read of that short section will clue you in on what is fact and what is fiction. If you don't want to know simply don't read the final chapter until the end.
The story was easy to follow as each chapter is given a date and place where the action takes place and is further identified when either of those two things change.
Sally Lou Ritz originally named Sarah was born on dairy farm in Wisconsin but moved to NYC at age 19, three years before our story begins, to find fame and fortune, but ended up working as a high priced escort for the infamous gangster Owney Madden, who put her in touch with the judge so he would have an inside person to let him know what the judge's plans were at all times. He backs some Broadway shows and gets her the starring role in one musical, but she accidentally gets pregnant shortly before the judge disappears and she can tell him he is about to be a father.
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