New Book Alert: The Second Mrs. Thistlewood by Dionne Haynes; Memorable Regency Historical Fiction Reveals A Woman's Struggle To Leave An Abusive Marriage

 

New Book Alert: The Second Mrs. Thistlewood by Dionne Haynes; Memorable Regency Historical Fiction Reveals A Woman's Struggle To Leave An Abusive Marriage

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: When I first received Dionne Haynes' novel The Second Mrs. Thistlewood, I often mistakenly referred to it as The Second Mrs. DeWinter, in reference to the unnamed narrator and protagonist of Daphne Du Maurier's classic female Gothic novel, Rebecca. Until I read the book, it did not occur to me how right I was. 

The Second Mrs. Thistlewood invokes the spirit of Gothic authors of the past like DuMaurier and The Bronte Sisters. It has the creepy isolated home, the dark brooding male character with a previous marriage, and the naive heroine with very passionate feelings towards him. However, it does so with a modern 21st sensibility that reveals that if you marry a Heathcliff, Edward Rochester, or Maxim De Winter, don't expect to be treated well.

The plot focuses on six years between 1814-1820 during the unhappy marriage of Arthur and Susan Thistlewood. His first wife died leaving him with a son, Julian. Susan remembers that during their early courtship, Arthur was kind and loving. He seemed to be a good fit and her father heartily approved of the marriage. Unfortunately, Arthur has steadily lost money because of the gambling tables. Now he spends his days drinking, plotting to revolt against and kill the king, and beat and belittle his wife.

We are spared flashbacks of their early meeting and courtship, showing when they were younger, in love, and Susan was blind to his temperament. Normally I would question that and yes it would show the abusive marriages don't always start out that way. Arthur's abuse would have caught the Reader off guard as much as it would have Susan. However, it is also right that she did not do this.

This approach is sort of like if Emily Bronte had ignored the first half of Wuthering Heights that explored the origins of Catherine and Heathcliff's tempestuous passionate romance and just focused on the middle part that explored how miserable Heathcliff made the people around him including his wife, Isabelle and son, Linton. As one of the few people who have made my dislike of Wuthering Heights clear, I approve of this approach.

Haynes clearly did not want to fall into the trap that happened with many Gothic authors. She did not want to make her brooding male character a misunderstood Byronic complex antihero that perversely attracted female, and a few male and nonbinary, Readers. She wanted the Readers to dislike Arthur as much as Susan does. (Unfortunately considering how many fans Edward Cullen and Christian Grey have and the strange nature of attraction that Readers have towards certain characters, Hayes's intentions may do the opposite and cause Arthur Thistlewood to have fans among his Readers. Thankfully, I am not one of them.)

Arthur is a true monster. He hits Susan when she does not obey him. He makes a habit of denying her even the basic comforts such as building a fire to "save on money" but then orders her to buy a fancy dress when they go to drop Julian off at boarding school so they can put on airs of pretense. He practically flaunts his affair with a maid over Susan's head but questions her whereabouts and when she receives packages of books. When Susan gets a job at a dressmaker's shop, Arthur helps himself to her earnings. 

Even his seemingly altruistic traits such as challenging the English class system and defending the rights of the poor are under suspect. He seems less willing to help others, after all he doesn't care much about his wife, son, or the people around him, than he is excited about the prospect of starting a violent revolution. He has a sadistic bloodthirsty nature that isn't just satisfied with inflicting pain. He wants to inflict it on others including the King, and appears to use the class struggles as an excuse to do so.

By contrast Susan is much more developed and a stronger character. She knows that she is in a loveless marriage and English Divorce Laws at the time will not allow her to leave unless for reasons of adultery. She waits in anticipation as Arthur manipulates his way out of being officially caught with the maid. When Arthur's political interests become violent, Susan plays the loyal and loving wife, never letting him know that she prays for an arrest and long prison sentence. There are times when she is stuck in the same situation hoping that she will be free from her unhappy marriage only to be disappointed when he reappears to hurt her once more. However, these chapters show the draconian claustrophobic atmosphere many women were caught in at the time where they could do very little to change their marital status, even if they are being physically and psychologically abused by their husbands.

However, Susan shows quite a bit of strength and resolve despite her unhappiness. Unlike Arthur who makes a lot of noise about caring for the poor, Susan actually does. She befriends and cares for Anna, an emigre from France who is victimized by anti-French sentiment after the Napoleonic Wars. Susan also perseveres working at the dress shop to the point that she develops a talent for designing clothes which she visualizes opening her own shop one day. She saves and hoards money so that she can be financially secure in case Arthur ever does leave her life. She also shows a maternal side towards Julian wanting to become a more loving influence towards him rather than his cruel father.

Susan also mentally escapes her situation by reading, particularly the works of Jane Austen and poetry. It is during a trip to the bookstore that she encounters William Westcott, a Bow Street Runner, who is investigating Arthur's violent insurrection connections. Susan and William exchange a love of books and develop a friendship that grows into a romance when Susan realizes what a sweet man William actually is, unlike her husband. 

The Gothic novel that The Second Mrs. Thistlewood most resembles is not Rebecca or Wuthering Heights or even Jane Eyre, a classic that is just as much a landmark of feminist novels as it is of Gothic Literature. It is most similar to The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte.  

In both, we get women trapped in unhappy abusive marriages that resort to using subterranean means like practicing their talents in secret so they can hone them into a career and hiding money for security in absence of their husbands. They eventually achieve independence and discover love with much better and more understanding men. However, Tennant also explores Bronte's devotion to Christian doctrine by having her protagonist, Helen Graham Huntington forgive her husband, Arthur before he dies. That may have pleased Readers then or revealed Christian charity, but that is not what Susan Thistlewood is looking for. 

Instead Susan Thistlewood is looking for a life for herself, one where she doesn't have to the nameless unimportant Second Mrs. Thistlewood, abused and forced to be subservient to her husband. She longs for a life for herself, where she can become Susan, a strong independent woman with friends, family, and real love.