Tracey Enerson Wood's historical fiction novel The Engineer's Wife imagines Emily's story from girlhood, as a young wife, and finally as an engineer.
Wood does a splendid job of incorporating how the bridge was literally built and the risks it incorporated. That alone is an amazing story that sweeps across the heights and depths of human emotion and scientific progress.
Wood makes the story universally appealing by turning it into a romance as well, with Emily's love for Wash turns to despair when his illness leaves her without his support, emotionally and intimately. She struggles to find confidence, leaning on P. T. Barnum, their fictional relationship not based on history, but delineating how the real Emily may have struggled without an involved husband.
I would have been kept interested strictly by Emily's personal growth and ability to meet challenges usually given to men. But the romance angle will appeal to many historical fiction readers.
It is an absorbing and interesting novel.
I received a free book from the publisher. My review is fair and unbiased.
by Tracey Enerson Wood
Sourcebooks Landmark
ISBN-10 : 149269813X
ISBN-13 : 978-1492698135