If you like Historical Fiction, you'll find Madge Walls latest novel just your cup of tea. The story revolves around two women in the early 20th century who became close friends at Bryn Mawr, a private women's liberal arts college. Caroline marries before they graduate and later invites her close friend, Lily, to spend some time with her after graduation. Lily has no future set, no marriage possibility, or funds. She is educated and a lady with nowhere to go. Caroline suggests she become one of the 'visiting girls' who spend time with various friends who would be happy to open their upper class homes to her one at a time.
All is well, until Lily disappears without telling Caroline why or where she is going. Twenty years go by, and Caroline receives a letter requesting that she come to visit Lily and her husband, Marco. Recently widowed, Caroline decides to accept the invitation and travel from Philadelphia to Portland, Oregon to visit her friend to learn what happened the many years before. The fact that Lily is very ill and asking Caroline to come so that she can explain all that had occurred makes Caroline feel she must go.
After a disastrous five day train trip across the country, Caroline is thrilled to be reunited with her close friend, but dismayed that Lily is so very ill with death hovering. The bond the women always had is still strong, and over weeks Lily tells her story when she feels up to it to Caroline, who meets and gets to know the rest of Lily's family--her husband Marco, her son, Mark, and a devoted employee and companion to Lily named Letty.
Lily's story is revealed in bits and pieces, avoiding the dark secret she has kept for twenty years for fear of hurting her friend and destroying their friendship. The women's bond becomes closer and closer as Lily's illness leaves her weak and unable to do anything more than reveal more of her story on her good days until the most difficult part to tell is accomplished.
Madge Walls is a master of words and able to keep readers turning pages to learn more. It is obvious that she has done a great deal of research prior to writing this book. The reader is privileged to learn a great deal about what life was like for women in the first twenty years of the twentieth century. The author addresses education, abortion rights, the vote for women, the difficulty women met when trying to start a business, and the naivete of women in that era about sex. The author weaves information about Portland, Oregon through the story, as well.
The author is adept at giving the reader a sense of place and the time period by weaving both in and out the story.
The cover, designed by the author's daughter-in-law, and the title would draw my attention if I was looking for a book at the library or a bookstore. Both are most appealing.
I found an extra treat at the end of the book. The author included the following sections: Afterword, acknowledgements, About the Author, Book Clubs, Book Club Questions, and Selected Bibliography.
Find the book at Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Visiting-Girl-Madge-Walls-ebook/dp/B099NY2GDD
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