Maxie Mainwaring, Lesbian Dilettante

Career-Girl #3

by Monica Nolan

Lusty career girls! Scandalous exploits! And guaranteed job satisfaction.

"Madcap" Maxie Mainwaring has been leading a gay life in Bay City, courtesy of her wealthy parents' generous allowance. Then she's discovered in the powder room at the Daughters of the American Pioneers Annual Luncheon, boldly exploring new territory with a female attendee. Maxie gets an move back to the Mainwaring Manse, or pay her own way.

Plenty of girls can testify to Maxie's enthusiasm and talent--but can the "dilettante debutante" earn a paycheck? Over the course of one adventurous summer, Maxie will hone her skills with the help of acquaintances old and new,

Velma, a comely dry cleaning mogul with some dirty secrets
Stella, the aspiring novelist who has a way with more than words
Kathy, an FBI agent who views Maxie as a definite person of interest
Lon, the laconic loner who knows more than she tells
And Pamela, the businesswoman with a body made for pleasure

From gritty school cafeterias to cosmopolitan magazine offices, Maxie is discovering new positions and getting valuable hands-on experience--and love could be the most exciting job perk of all. . .

Genres: Lesbian, LGBT, Fiction, Queer, Historical Fiction, Historical, Romance

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Monica Nolan is the author of Lois Lenz Lesbian Secretary, Bobby Blanchard Lesbian Gym Teacher, Maxie Mainwaring Lesbian Dilettante, and Dolly Dingle Lesbian Landlady which will hit the shelves October, 2014. She and co-author Alisa Surkis were nominated for a Lambda Literary award for The Big Book of Lesbian Horse Stories, which won the Diagram Prize for oddest title. She blogs about lesbian pulp fiction at Pulp and Pep. She has experience in three out of four of the careers she's written about.

Reviews

[Corrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading the adventures of Dolly Dingle, Lesbian Landlady, I felt it was time to introduce Book Club Buddie D. to the fun-filled adventures of the girls of the 5th floor at the Magdalena Arms in Bay City.

Maxie Mainwaring, Lesbian Dilettante is actually book 3 in the Career Girls Series, so I am reading them slightly out of sequence, but never mind. It took us a few chapters to really get into the story, but when the mystery started to thicken we were swept up into the plot and were kept guessing (mostly) until the end. Highly entertaining read!

f/f

Themes: Fun, fun fun!, I want to be called Mrs. Spindle-Janska in another life, just love that name, the Swedish-Finnish mob is a hoot, Glögg (LOL!), Maxie is such a bussy little slut-ho, yeah she is all about the hands-on experience.

5 stars

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

A light and enjoyable read with a sprinkle of humor. At times I felt that the book was a bit long, I think the pacing might have been better if the story had been a bit more compressed. But overall, a totally ok book. It was fun to try out modern lesbian pulp, before this book I even didn't know the genre (still) existed.

[Jason Mock · Rating 3 out of 5]

More wink-wink-nudge-nudge lesbian fun in Bay City featuring Nolan's growing cast of characters.

[Adrienne Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

So dumb! I loved it.

[Marie-Therese · Rating 3 out of 5]

The initial plot setup for this one is a bit too slow but once the pieces were all in place this was an entertaining entry in the charming series. Like cotton candy for the brain!

[Susana · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5 stars. Lesbian goofball takes on the mob, and 50s language abounds

[Kristina Coop-a-Loop · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maxie Mainwaring, Lesbian Dilettante is supposed to be a parody of 1950s/1960s pulp fiction, but I'm not feeling it. I thought it would be funny, but it's annoying. Sooo.....I'm done.

[KaliNoel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I know this is the publisher's doing and not the authors, the cover promised me a more titillating junky romance novel for my touch-starved gay heart, which this book didn't necessarily own up to. However, I soon found myself thoroughly tangled up with Maxie's dramas, both expected and entertainingly unrealistic. I took a star off because of the use of the word "Negroes;" it felt unnecessary and kind of pejorative.

[Liralen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderfully campy, these books. The mob plotline is a little hard to follow in places, but I sort of love that there's no pressure for Maxie to find one woman and settle down—or to find one career and settle down, for that matter.

I do find myself curious about the Lois and Netta situation: is there a chance that we'll eventually get a book from Netta's perspective? I can only hope.

[Zev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two and a half stars. I'm glad I read the quick reviews on the inside of the book explaining this was satire. It helped me get the joke, even though I rolled my eyes a lot at Maxie. She job-hops for stupid reasons, doesn't learn anything and gets everything she wants without really having to work for it. She's a Faux Action Girl and there's some noir parody in here, without getting too spoilery. Everyone sleeps with everyone else and cries when caught cheating, only to do it again gleefully. Parody, yes, and soap opera, but I rolled my eyes a lot. I didn't take this seriously at all, but it was a nice change of pace.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's very simple but fun. It seemed to end up with a very positive outlook. There's something about a protagonist like this who is so oddly capable, it's a blast. Idk like one of those kid detective books but with an adult lesbian who is really outgoing.

Not a fan of the relatively cop-positive ending tho

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun!

Such a fun read! The alliteration alone makes it worthwhile. If you're looking for something different, give this a try.

[M R · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a fun little period romp! Nothing too serious or scandalous, but it was a quick and fun read.

[OutSideTheBoxox · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's simple but sweet, we need more historical fiction and this is charming. They strait up should have made the mother a prim and proper mobster. It would have been so great.

[Laura Naysmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed his book but it definitely helped that I'm familiar with the 50s & 60s lesbian pulp fiction novels otherwise It would have been a very strange read given some of the language and phrases: " if Kathy was a kettle, she'd be whistling right now" "two-faced temptress" not to mention all the different nouns for lesbian: ' invert', ' deviant' and my personal fave 'variant'. The story itself was daft but it kept me involved in the characters and as much as I wasn't a big fan of the character of Maxie I did want to see her settle down with the perfect job for her. I'm definitely adding the Magdalena Arms to the list of fictional places that I would like to stay in.

[Howard Kistler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Career-Girl series continues, picking up a number of familiar faces from earlier books along the way. The drama is more complex and layered this time, as several stories run in parallel and overlap. But it only enhances the fun as it gives what could easily be a two-dimensional conceit an extra dimension. There's character evolution, complex triangulation, and even some heartache this time around, but that's what's needed to keep a series like this fresh and exciting.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had no idea what to expect when I picked it up on a whim and here I am, pleasantly surprised. Fabulous period detail, sharp satire and characters that never tipped over the border to silly. Fun little book.

[Rachael Eyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another story from the Monica Nolan pastiche stable. The formula's a tad laboured, perhaps, but since all I needed was a fun holiday read, it did its job. And I have to say I preferred Maxie the character to the two previous heroines, meat headed jock Bobbie and ingenue Lois.

[Melanie Page · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maxie Mainwaring's story doesn't live up to her memorable predecessors. She's interesting, but the story around her is not, nor are many of the characters. Review now at Grab the Lapels.

[TJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as the other two books. Fun read though

[lov2laf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just a fun romp. Well written and light read. Enjoyed it.

[Romana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Campy, silly fun :)

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun pastiche