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A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies
by
Ellen Cooney (Goodreads Author)
Charlotte Heath, a lively, independent redhead of humble beginnings, is married to the scion of the powerful Heath family. When, on her first outing after a long illness, she spies her husband, Hays, bending to kiss another woman in the village square, impulsive Charlotte heads her horses straight out of town. Upon arriving at The Beechmont Hotel, Charlotte makes a shockin...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
January 23rd 2007
by Anchor
(first published December 6th 2005)
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Okay, first of all the cover of the version I had didn't look like this AT ALL! This story started out so well. I was taken in right away. I really felt for Charoltte Heath and was happy to go on this adventure with her. But along the way the story turned weird. I guess I missed that part in the book description. I couldn't understand why Charoltte, as she was presented in the beginning would make the choices that she made. It just didn't ring true for me. I guess I would have been a little more...more
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Jan 21, 2012
Abigail Feliciano-fulmer
added it
Interesting writing style. I have to say that in the beginning, the off-beat, wandering style of writing had me in quite a tizzy, but as I began to enter the meat of the book I liked the writing style that I found:
"All of her life, even though she'd developed the skill of keeping most of her thoughts to herself, people had told her she had to much imagination, as if that were an awful thing, like an abnormally thickened, embarrassing muscle, which would bulge below the skin indecently, when musc...more
"All of her life, even though she'd developed the skill of keeping most of her thoughts to herself, people had told her she had to much imagination, as if that were an awful thing, like an abnormally thickened, embarrassing muscle, which would bulge below the skin indecently, when musc...more
I loved this novel and I'm surprised by the reaction some other readers have had to it. The writing is eloquent and layered, and I was completely swept up in the character's struggle and rich setting.
I wonder if the novel's title and description might have set up false expectations for readers. The story is about a woman striking out on her own after discovering her husband's infidelity. It isn't about questionable goings-on at the hotel for ladies where she takes refuge (though these are part...more
I wonder if the novel's title and description might have set up false expectations for readers. The story is about a woman striking out on her own after discovering her husband's infidelity. It isn't about questionable goings-on at the hotel for ladies where she takes refuge (though these are part...more
Ellen Cooney is a local author--her books are set in Boston or Eastern Massachusetts. I love place as a character, and selfishly, I love reading about Boston. Cooney's A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies is set in the early 20th century, and details the goings-on of a Beacon Hill brothel (for women!).
Red-headed Charlotte married into a rich New England family and succumbed to a mysterious malaise that kept her bedridden for years. Stepping out one winter day, she catches her husband passionately e...more
Red-headed Charlotte married into a rich New England family and succumbed to a mysterious malaise that kept her bedridden for years. Stepping out one winter day, she catches her husband passionately e...more
Somehow I got A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies mixed up with The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency in my head, and I stayed confused until I was starting to read it, then I read the cover copy and was like whaaaat genteel porn what? I don't even remember buying/swapping for this one.
It turns out Ellen Cooney has NOT actually written genteel porn -- at least not in this novel -- although there are a couple of mildly explicit (does that make sense?) sexual references in A Private Hotel.
Eh, it was o...more
It turns out Ellen Cooney has NOT actually written genteel porn -- at least not in this novel -- although there are a couple of mildly explicit (does that make sense?) sexual references in A Private Hotel.
Eh, it was o...more
Such a good beginning: the likable protagonist observes her husband embracing another woman, and she takes off into the snowy landscape in her pretty little horsedrawn carriage. (See how engaging the whole scene is... at first?)
And it stays interesting for quite a while-- until we realize... sort of... that she has found herself in some sort of avant garde boarding house where handsome and intelligent young men make cozy love to the female residents. They seem to be simply very obliging fellows(...more
And it stays interesting for quite a while-- until we realize... sort of... that she has found herself in some sort of avant garde boarding house where handsome and intelligent young men make cozy love to the female residents. They seem to be simply very obliging fellows(...more
This is a good story about a young woman married into a wealthy family in Massachusetts in 1900. On her way to a family viewing, she sees her husband kissing another woman, and decides to flee. She finds refuge in what is referred to as a 'private hotel for gentle ladies', where she surprisingly meets an aunt of her husband. She slowly becomes aware of the goings-on in this hotel, which is unlike any she has ever heard of. She refuses several people's pleas to leave the hotel, and remains to see...more
If I had to sum this one up in a nutshell I’d say “A very well-written, lushly described book in which almost nothing happens, very few revelations are made, and there is almost no narrative progress”. I found this book frustrating. I liked the descriptions and the setting and the main character it just…NEVER went anywhere. Though I will say my utter impatience with this book may have been fueled by my recent encounter with The Alchemist's Daughter which had a similarly molasses-like pace but a...more
Misled by blurbs -- who me? Surely I am too savvy for that! Ha. The worst part about reading a book that doesn't match what the cover led me to expect (whether the expectation arose from the publisher's copy or from authorial and editorial praises) is that I'm never entirely sure whether I am disappointed by the book on its own merits or for failing to live up to the idea of the book that I'd thought I'd be reading.
I can say with certainty that this is a much more passive book than I expected o...more
I can say with certainty that this is a much more passive book than I expected o...more
Not a very well crafted or well-written book but I still liked it as it takes place in Boston's Back Bay at exactly the same time (1900) that both of my mother's parents were growing up on Beacon Street, in the Back Bay. And Cooney's story involves the twisting, turning, labyrinthian connections between side-by-side houses that was not at all uncommon in those old days.
From my own childhood on Beacon Hill, I remember the wonderful fire doors on each floor between the Church of the Advent and the...more
From my own childhood on Beacon Hill, I remember the wonderful fire doors on each floor between the Church of the Advent and the...more
This is the fourth book I've read on my 2013 TBR Pile Challenge, which is comprised of books I've been meaning to read but hadn't gotten around to. Once again, I'm shaking my head at myself, wondering why I'd waited so long.
In this case, the answer is that, on its surface, this is another "cheating book." The action is sparked when Charlotte Heath, a headstrong young wife recovers from a long illness to discover her husband kissing another woman. She runs away to Boston, where she holes up in th...more
In this case, the answer is that, on its surface, this is another "cheating book." The action is sparked when Charlotte Heath, a headstrong young wife recovers from a long illness to discover her husband kissing another woman. She runs away to Boston, where she holes up in th...more
A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies focuses on Charlotte Heath, a woman around 30 married to the youngest son of a rich, prominent American family. After spending nearly a year in bed due to a mysterious, paralyzing illness, Charlotte ventures out and witnesses her husband, Hays, about to kiss another woman. Without much thought, Charlotte turns around and flees the town, arriving at the place of employment of her only friend, the Heaths' past cook. This is the hotel of the title - a hotel caterin...more
Mediocre historical fiction in the vein of The Awakening but without the historical relevance. I found Charlotte to be predictable and the rest of the characters to be shallowly constructed. The premise promised intrigue and a bit more spice, but I was disappointed with both the Beechmont Hotel and Charlotte's supposed feminist enlightenment. Yes, she was physically and emotionally stronger by the end, but the book seemed to stop before Charlotte's potential was truly revealed. I was disappointe...more
Ugh. She walked into a room... memories happen. She talks to someone... and doesn't understand anything they're telling her because she's not paying any attention whatsoever. She walks down a hallway... how does the hallway make her feel? How does she compare it with a hallway she never discussed with her husband? Why does she compare it with... etc, etc.
Will somebody hand this dithering protagonist a loaded revolver, please? What a waste of 9 cds and a week's driving time.
Will somebody hand this dithering protagonist a loaded revolver, please? What a waste of 9 cds and a week's driving time.
Dec 01, 2009
Kayleen
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
only those desperate with insomnia
Recommended to Kayleen by:
amazon
The review made this look interesting. It is not. It's like being forced to follow a dithering idle housewife around for a week. And not only have the utter boredom of watching her, but having to listen to her inner thoughts: Do I like this? I don't. I do. I don't. Will I go home to my husband? I will. I won't. I will. (Did I mention "dithering"?!)
Don't bother reading this. Do. Don't.
Don't bother reading this. Do. Don't.
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The main character was very sympathetic. I was worried that she'd turn into an idiot or do something irrational, so in some way, I liked it because it didn't go down a path I would've hated, a la Madame Bovary. It's more reminiscent of The Awakening in that the main character is flawed but you cheer her on anyway.
i really didn't get this one. from what i gathered, it was an exploration of women and their sexuality. not a bad concept; i just felt that something about the way it was done in this book was slightly creepy. and maybe i'm kind of a prude, but i do remember feeling slightly uncomfortable reading parts of this.
3* Set in Boston in 1900. Interesting novel of a woman who ran off on her husband on a whim after seeing him in a compromising position. The hotel is one which women are received by men for hire. Very different, held my attention. Not much to the story though.
Freebie with a book order from Pamala.
TPB Not a Keeper
Freebie with a book order from Pamala.
TPB Not a Keeper
One of those books that you have to push yourself to finish. I appreciate the delicate, deliberate writing style in that it reflects the pace and attitude of historic MA. It makes, however, for a very long-winded, uninteresting, and unbelievable story. Leave this one on the library shelf!
So, I got about halfway through this book and I decided that I just can't go on with it anymore. It's poorly written, the protagonist is boring and confused and whiny, and it just isn't worth it. I hoped that it would get better, but it hasn't, so I have to put it (throw it) away.
I did not get this book at all. This is one of those books I picked up to read on a plane. It never grabbed my interest - which is maybe why it took me almost a year to read. I could never quite give up on it though because I wanted to find out what happened. From the title, I assumed it would be a somewhat juicy read. It is not at all.
I won't spoil anything, but by reading the book's description you find out that a woman leaves her husband because she thinks he is cheating on her. She ends up...more
I won't spoil anything, but by reading the book's description you find out that a woman leaves her husband because she thinks he is cheating on her. She ends up...more
I'm highly ambivalent about this one. I read it, liked some parts of it, disliked others, and the characters that interested me most--the real reason I kept reading it was to find out more about them--well, they didn't get the play I thought they would. Whatever.
Maybe I'm just bored with stories about privileged 19th century wives who "discover themselves" and seek independence from the shackles of marriage and the narrow confines of social expectations, but this book just didn't do it for me. There are some lovely turns of phrase in this book, as well as some great use of imagery and description, but I had to fight my way through all of Charlotte's internal dialogue in order to find those handful of sparkly gems, and I'm not quite sure that it was wort...more
It's hard to put my finger on what bothered me about this book. The story was intriguing, but the way it's written just somehow never quite works. I felt like there was a sort of schizophrenic tug-of-war between being a plot-driven page turner and being a more literary, character-driven meditation.
Two stars because the writing was good - but I'd rather read mediocre writing about great characters than excellent writing about people who never spark my interest. I want a story to make me feel something, and I hoped this one would, but unfortunately no. Maybe I'll try it again someday.
End of the nineteenth cenury. A woman sees her husbnd with another woman. Runs away to hotel where women go to get away from their husbands. Gigolos work there. Almost slapstick. Goses back to husband at the end. Verydisappointing.
Very odd book. I'd have to agree with the Publishers Weekly review that the narrative is bumpy and disjointed because of the weird use of memories and lengthy digressions, which tried my patience, as did the heroine. The first half was promising, and I liked the very beginning, where she suddenly comes upon her husband in a snowy public park about to kiss another woman. But once she flees to the private hotel, the book became a slog, with characters and situations introduced for no discernible r...more
I was not sure that I was going to like this book at first due to the style of writing. It seemed that the author wandered a bit with the main characters thoughts, but by the time it picked up I was quite used to it and did enjoy it as something different. I was very surprised by the ending (the last two chapters or so) and would recommend this as something light to take your mind off of heavier reading.
Very odd book. Great concept but "plot" went in too many different directions. No successful climax or conclusion to any of the aspects of the story. Perplexed. Oh well. Two stars as I managed to finish it.
I picked this up at random in the library, thinking it would be a so-bad-it's-good kind of thing, but I actually enjoyed it. There wasn't much of a plot arc however, so the end left me a bit flat.
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“She was healthy & thriving, like a weed: a weed with no interest in trying to become, say, a proper flower.”
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