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The Woman Who Fell Through Time
2019 WATTY AWARD winner in HISTORICAL FICTION
Jessie is a twenty first century kinda gal. She's got a newly minted university degree and a plane ticket to Paris. The plan? Celebrate graduation with a week in the City of Love, drink some cheap French wine and kiss as many French girls (or boys, she's not picky) as she can. Only, she never quite makes it.
Mid-Atlantic, a mysterious accident sends Jessie hurtling to what should be a watery grave.
Rescued from the ocean, Jessie is lucky to be alive. Only problem? The crew of the ship she's on is convinced it's sailing vessel that just narrowly missed out on participating in the Battle of Trafalgar.
Stuck in Regency-era England, Jessie is left with no choice but to enter into the services of as a maid and companion in return for what shelter her new employer can provide, and resign herself to a life of quiet servitude and forever hiding her sexuality.
What she didn't count on was that her new boss would be Margaret Goodenough - the world famous authoress whose yet-to-be-completed novel was the first lesbian kiss in the history of British Literature, and a clever woman. Clever enough to know her new servant has a secret.
Now Jessie is caught. Margaret's own perception of her place in society is transforming, the text of her novel is slowly changing, and Margaret herself is finally unafraid to embrace her own Sapphic desires. Margaret - and her main characters - are turning into irresistibly headstrong and modern women.
Jessie must tread the tenuous line between finding her own happiness in a world where she is alone, and accidentally changing the course of history. Should Jessie suppress the manuscript, or is her duty to the woman she's learning to love?
What is a twenty first century gal to do?
Jessie is a twenty first century kinda gal. She's got a newly minted university degree and a plane ticket to Paris. The plan? Celebrate graduation with a week in the City of Love, drink some cheap French wine and kiss as many French girls (or boys, she's not picky) as she can. Only, she never quite makes it.
Mid-Atlantic, a mysterious accident sends Jessie hurtling to what should be a watery grave.
Rescued from the ocean, Jessie is lucky to be alive. Only problem? The crew of the ship she's on is convinced it's sailing vessel that just narrowly missed out on participating in the Battle of Trafalgar.
Stuck in Regency-era England, Jessie is left with no choice but to enter into the services of as a maid and companion in return for what shelter her new employer can provide, and resign herself to a life of quiet servitude and forever hiding her sexuality.
What she didn't count on was that her new boss would be Margaret Goodenough - the world famous authoress whose yet-to-be-completed novel was the first lesbian kiss in the history of British Literature, and a clever woman. Clever enough to know her new servant has a secret.
Now Jessie is caught. Margaret's own perception of her place in society is transforming, the text of her novel is slowly changing, and Margaret herself is finally unafraid to embrace her own Sapphic desires. Margaret - and her main characters - are turning into irresistibly headstrong and modern women.
Jessie must tread the tenuous line between finding her own happiness in a world where she is alone, and accidentally changing the course of history. Should Jessie suppress the manuscript, or is her duty to the woman she's learning to love?
What is a twenty first century gal to do?
ebook
First published February 8, 2019
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143 people want to read
About the author
J.M. Frey
30 books203 followersFrey is an award-winning author and lapsed academic. She spent three years as the entertainment contributor on AMI Radio's Live From Studio 5 morning show, and was an occasional talking head in documentaries and on the SPACE Channel's premier chat show InnerSPACE. She holds a BA in Dramatic Literature and an MA in Communications Culture, and has lectured at conferences and conventions all around the world.
Her debut novel TRIPTYCH was nominated for two Lambda Literary Awards and garnered a place among the Best Books of 2011 from Publishers Weekly, and TIME AND TIDE was named one of The New York Times’ Best Romances of the Year.
She lives in Toronto where she is surrounded by houseplants, because she is allergic to anything with fur. Like her main character in NINE-TENTHS, she is also allergic to chocolate. But not wine.
Her debut novel TRIPTYCH was nominated for two Lambda Literary Awards and garnered a place among the Best Books of 2011 from Publishers Weekly, and TIME AND TIDE was named one of The New York Times’ Best Romances of the Year.
She lives in Toronto where she is surrounded by houseplants, because she is allergic to anything with fur. Like her main character in NINE-TENTHS, she is also allergic to chocolate. But not wine.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 4, 2021
First of all, I must confess that I'm not fan of historical fiction. Until well into the 20th Century, women everywhere were barely considered people at all. Women's rights in Great Britain in the early 19th Century were extremely limited, and women were merely a piece of property of their male relatives or of their husbands. And yes, I know I'm oversimplifying.
It's the time travel matter that made me read this book. As I said, I'm not a historical fiction fan, but... I'm a huge time travel fan. And I was not disappointed by this story. Not at all.
Although our modern-day heroine could do very little for herself at that time, the story was really interesting and captivating, the villain was absolutely despicable, and the ending was very gratifying.
One last little thing: I loved the Jane Austen quotes at the beginning of the chapters!
UPDATE
I like better the old cover with the "twenty first century gal" in t-shirt, jeans and converse:
It's the time travel matter that made me read this book. As I said, I'm not a historical fiction fan, but... I'm a huge time travel fan. And I was not disappointed by this story. Not at all.
Although our modern-day heroine could do very little for herself at that time, the story was really interesting and captivating, the villain was absolutely despicable, and the ending was very gratifying.
One last little thing: I loved the Jane Austen quotes at the beginning of the chapters!
UPDATE
I like better the old cover with the "twenty first century gal" in t-shirt, jeans and converse:
April 29, 2022
My first thought, JFH, not gay Outlander.
But oh, wait. Raw, but beautifully written, unsettling, makes me wanna read English classics again.
But oh, wait. Raw, but beautifully written, unsettling, makes me wanna read English classics again.
April 5, 2021
A Joyfully Jay review.
5 stars
I wish I could give more than five stars to this book. While this should be — and could be, and is — a light-hearted romance portal fantasy about a girl from modern days swept back to the 1800s, this is also a thoughtful look at what it would mean to suddenly find yourself in a completely different time. Jessie, dealing with survivor’s guilt, with her near drowning, with broken fingers and shock, isn’t in the mood to change the world. She wants to go home. She wants her parents. She wants television and tomatoes, to go to Paris, and to turn on her phone. What she doesn’t want is to eat over-boiled vegetables, to be trapped into a loveless marriage simply so that she has a roof over her head. She doesn’t want to be here.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
5 stars
I wish I could give more than five stars to this book. While this should be — and could be, and is — a light-hearted romance portal fantasy about a girl from modern days swept back to the 1800s, this is also a thoughtful look at what it would mean to suddenly find yourself in a completely different time. Jessie, dealing with survivor’s guilt, with her near drowning, with broken fingers and shock, isn’t in the mood to change the world. She wants to go home. She wants her parents. She wants television and tomatoes, to go to Paris, and to turn on her phone. What she doesn’t want is to eat over-boiled vegetables, to be trapped into a loveless marriage simply so that she has a roof over her head. She doesn’t want to be here.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
December 27, 2020
I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. The time travel aspect was done in a way that really highlighted all of the emotions about finding yourself suddenly in the past. It made the story feel very real because Jessie doesn't just arrive and recover immediately. The romance is fun and also very sweet. Alongside that the plot keeps moving at a swift pace throwing all kinds of adventures at Jessie while she tries to figure out how a modern day Canadian woman can fit into the early 1800's in England. I won't give anything away but I will say that I found the final few chapters very satisfying to read.
January 2, 2021
When Jessie Franklin, a modern university graduate, is saved from an untimely death, only to find herself thrown back in time to 1805, she becomes lost in an era, a country, a life she can't understand. Her peril continues to increase as she learns that women in that period were seen as a commodity, bought and sold without a thought by the men who have unrelenting power in the eyes of the law and of society. Jessie is rescued again, but again thrown into a situation she has no experiences with, that of a ladies' companion, to the sisters of the ship captain who rescued her. Expected to be subservient and reticent, as were all women of the time, Jessie's situation is further complicated by her bisexuality, and overall preference for women, in a time that queer culture didn't exist.
Jessie is a relatable protagonist, flawed and discomfited by all the things she can't change. She handles the entire change of circumstances fairly well, and her occasional breakdowns are understandable. Her frustration in not being able to express who she is is relatable to anyone who has had to hide part of themself; readers who have experienced the coming out/returning to the closet process will empathize with her feelings especially well and the story brings up those memories strongly enough for Jessie to be recognizable, without ramming it down our throats, often a problem in these types of stories. Other characters are less finely drawn, but are sketched enough that we can see them from Jessie's perspective, from a helpful though abused maidservant, to a puppy-like local boy looking for love. Jessie's eventual partner is also flushed out with more detail, giving her quirks, personality and zest to match Jessie's, though her development is somewhat hampered by her upbringing.
The uncertainty of Jessie's future, happiness and even ability to survive keep the reader turning pages, while the story flows easily and eases us into the world of middle-class women's drawing rooms, worries about wealth, and making the best match. The settings are vivid and easy to imagine and the timing of the action is generally flawless. The eventual resolution is satisfying, without trying to tie up every aspect of the story, because we all know that, even in a happily ever after, life doesn't really end with those words.
Jessie is a relatable protagonist, flawed and discomfited by all the things she can't change. She handles the entire change of circumstances fairly well, and her occasional breakdowns are understandable. Her frustration in not being able to express who she is is relatable to anyone who has had to hide part of themself; readers who have experienced the coming out/returning to the closet process will empathize with her feelings especially well and the story brings up those memories strongly enough for Jessie to be recognizable, without ramming it down our throats, often a problem in these types of stories. Other characters are less finely drawn, but are sketched enough that we can see them from Jessie's perspective, from a helpful though abused maidservant, to a puppy-like local boy looking for love. Jessie's eventual partner is also flushed out with more detail, giving her quirks, personality and zest to match Jessie's, though her development is somewhat hampered by her upbringing.
The uncertainty of Jessie's future, happiness and even ability to survive keep the reader turning pages, while the story flows easily and eases us into the world of middle-class women's drawing rooms, worries about wealth, and making the best match. The settings are vivid and easy to imagine and the timing of the action is generally flawless. The eventual resolution is satisfying, without trying to tie up every aspect of the story, because we all know that, even in a happily ever after, life doesn't really end with those words.
October 31, 2021
It's a case of ' it's not you, it's me'. I just couldn't stand the main character...
The depiction of 1800s England was well written though.
There is a M/F relationship in the first part of the book and after it's F/F.
This book didn't work for me but you might want to give it a try if you love historical fictions !
The depiction of 1800s England was well written though.
There is a M/F relationship in the first part of the book and after it's F/F.
This book didn't work for me but you might want to give it a try if you love historical fictions !
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 19, 2021
This historical, saphhic romance have all my heart.
Just read this book, okay.
It was full of action, drama, romance, adventure and fun!
The plot was one delightful journey & I loved all the surprises, twists and happenings.
Oh, how much I adore Jessie and Margaret ! They were perfect for each other. What's not to love about going back in time & falling in love with a famous classics author ? I'm definitely up for that.
Jessie and Margaret relationship was beautiful - the way love changed Margaret's writing was so cute! Their love journey was ladden with some obstacles but when they finally got together ? It was EPIC
The atmosphere of the novel sucked me in and I didn't want to leave the Regency era world. The way this book shows us headstrong women who aren't afraid to live - LOVED it !
I'm definitely pushing you all to pick this book up !!
Just read this book, okay.
It was full of action, drama, romance, adventure and fun!
The plot was one delightful journey & I loved all the surprises, twists and happenings.
Oh, how much I adore Jessie and Margaret ! They were perfect for each other. What's not to love about going back in time & falling in love with a famous classics author ? I'm definitely up for that.
Jessie and Margaret relationship was beautiful - the way love changed Margaret's writing was so cute! Their love journey was ladden with some obstacles but when they finally got together ? It was EPIC
The atmosphere of the novel sucked me in and I didn't want to leave the Regency era world. The way this book shows us headstrong women who aren't afraid to live - LOVED it !
I'm definitely pushing you all to pick this book up !!
December 3, 2022
When I found the book on wattpad I bought it directly because it seemed like a really good books, I was not disappointed. One of my favorite lgbtq+ books at the moment probably
February 3, 2021
Disclaimers: I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Also I do not read this genre regularly.
Link to my philosophy on book reviews.
Overall Thoughts:
I loved this book! It was incredible! The pacing was perfect. Just when I was lulled into a false sense of security, everything changed and I was on the edge of my seat again. The main character is delightful and feels real and grounded. For a book set in the past, it was fun to have such a relatable modern character to follow.
Deep Dive:
I didn't have any major complaints about this book. It was an exciting and engaging read throughout. There were some minor inconsistencies. There is one part where the timeline gets a little confusing, and some small wardrobe inconsistencies, but nothing large enough to interfere with the enjoyment of the story.
The setting was fantastic. It was well written and I could picture everything, despite the fact that I rarely read historical fiction. The descriptions struck a healthy balance. There was enough that I was able to picture each new set piece clearly, while also not going so in depth that I got bored.
The characters were engaging and well fleshed out. The main character felt true to modern times. Her vocabulary was perfect, and positioned well to remind the reader that she is out of place. I would be reading along, used to the historic setting, then the main character would use the word 'bifi' and I was suddenly reminded how completely out of place she was! The other characters also all felt fleshed out and unique. Every character has flaws and virtues (except for one delightfully hateable villain). No one is perfect and it's a lot of fun to see how each character's unique personality clashes and compliments the others.
The chapter headings are great. They set the stage well for each chapter. This book is written in first person, and one problem I often have in first person stories is forgetting the main character's name. I didn't have that problem at all in this story and I think it was because of the chapter titles reminding me of her name at the start of every chapter.
Link to my philosophy on book reviews.
Overall Thoughts:
I loved this book! It was incredible! The pacing was perfect. Just when I was lulled into a false sense of security, everything changed and I was on the edge of my seat again. The main character is delightful and feels real and grounded. For a book set in the past, it was fun to have such a relatable modern character to follow.
Deep Dive:
I didn't have any major complaints about this book. It was an exciting and engaging read throughout. There were some minor inconsistencies. There is one part where the timeline gets a little confusing, and some small wardrobe inconsistencies, but nothing large enough to interfere with the enjoyment of the story.
The setting was fantastic. It was well written and I could picture everything, despite the fact that I rarely read historical fiction. The descriptions struck a healthy balance. There was enough that I was able to picture each new set piece clearly, while also not going so in depth that I got bored.
The characters were engaging and well fleshed out. The main character felt true to modern times. Her vocabulary was perfect, and positioned well to remind the reader that she is out of place. I would be reading along, used to the historic setting, then the main character would use the word 'bifi' and I was suddenly reminded how completely out of place she was! The other characters also all felt fleshed out and unique. Every character has flaws and virtues (except for one delightfully hateable villain). No one is perfect and it's a lot of fun to see how each character's unique personality clashes and compliments the others.
The chapter headings are great. They set the stage well for each chapter. This book is written in first person, and one problem I often have in first person stories is forgetting the main character's name. I didn't have that problem at all in this story and I think it was because of the chapter titles reminding me of her name at the start of every chapter.
October 19, 2020
*I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*
Jessie is a strong willed self confident woman we follow on a plane headed for Paris, with dreams of one night stands with beautiful French women and cheap French wine. As the plane crashes into the ocean Jessie's only hope is that she will survive the ordeal but when she is plucked out of the ocean by a naval ship and its kindly captain she looks around herself and finds that the world she knew is not quite the same.
Waking up in 1805 Jessie is rightly distraught, she doesn't just blindly accept what happened, she doesn't immediately recover unrealistically like I've read in so many books where the unbelievable happens to the main character. She falls apart, she questions everything including her own sanity and its these qualities that make her so believable.
Later in the book when Jessie finally meets Margaret, the love that blossoms between them is so sweet and so pure it becomes hard to look at. At many intervals I found myself so invested in their relationship that I couldnt help but cry at the injustice of it all. They couldn't be together publicly and yet they loved each other so intensely all the same, they wanted what so many straight couples took for granted. Something two straight people could enter into without love, without even really knowing each other and yet something that these two women completely devoted to each other could never have. Marriage.
This book, for me, touched my heart and made me appreciate how far we've come. It reminded me that love between two women or two men is not a modern concept. It has always been and although it has not always been widely accepted it will always be just as true as it is for anyone else, it is love.
Jessie is a strong willed self confident woman we follow on a plane headed for Paris, with dreams of one night stands with beautiful French women and cheap French wine. As the plane crashes into the ocean Jessie's only hope is that she will survive the ordeal but when she is plucked out of the ocean by a naval ship and its kindly captain she looks around herself and finds that the world she knew is not quite the same.
Waking up in 1805 Jessie is rightly distraught, she doesn't just blindly accept what happened, she doesn't immediately recover unrealistically like I've read in so many books where the unbelievable happens to the main character. She falls apart, she questions everything including her own sanity and its these qualities that make her so believable.
Later in the book when Jessie finally meets Margaret, the love that blossoms between them is so sweet and so pure it becomes hard to look at. At many intervals I found myself so invested in their relationship that I couldnt help but cry at the injustice of it all. They couldn't be together publicly and yet they loved each other so intensely all the same, they wanted what so many straight couples took for granted. Something two straight people could enter into without love, without even really knowing each other and yet something that these two women completely devoted to each other could never have. Marriage.
This book, for me, touched my heart and made me appreciate how far we've come. It reminded me that love between two women or two men is not a modern concept. It has always been and although it has not always been widely accepted it will always be just as true as it is for anyone else, it is love.
October 29, 2020
I received an e-ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. Review can also be found on *Milky Way of Books*
Ah the delight to read again a great story by J.M. Frey! I never get tired of her wit, amazing storytelling and the messages she passes to her readers!
This one which had begun in Wattpad, tells the story of Jessie a bi woman who somehow goes back in time to pre Victorian era and she has to deal with the norms of that time period, the social standing she must have as a woman and its limitations and also ger growing feelings for the woman who will become a historical symbol in the future LGTBQ+ community.
I enjoyed how realistic all this felt and how easily through Jessie's POV, Frey deconstructed in a way the sense of a "gentleman", the ways women should act and the injustices done to them too and also the people of the, then, LGTBQ community (for a better term as this can not apply historically and I know no other, please correct me if I am wrong).
Recommended for its wit, Jessie is amazing and the world Frey gives us is so realistic....I don't know if I'd enjoy being in there.
Ah the delight to read again a great story by J.M. Frey! I never get tired of her wit, amazing storytelling and the messages she passes to her readers!
This one which had begun in Wattpad, tells the story of Jessie a bi woman who somehow goes back in time to pre Victorian era and she has to deal with the norms of that time period, the social standing she must have as a woman and its limitations and also ger growing feelings for the woman who will become a historical symbol in the future LGTBQ+ community.
I enjoyed how realistic all this felt and how easily through Jessie's POV, Frey deconstructed in a way the sense of a "gentleman", the ways women should act and the injustices done to them too and also the people of the, then, LGTBQ community (for a better term as this can not apply historically and I know no other, please correct me if I am wrong).
Recommended for its wit, Jessie is amazing and the world Frey gives us is so realistic....I don't know if I'd enjoy being in there.
December 8, 2021
Wow. The Woman Who Fell Though Time by J. M. Frey really surprised me in a pleasant way. That’s a bit of an understatement. It was a fucking fantastic read!
Well written, packed with lively period detail, wonderfully fleshed out characters, well explored emotions, drama, joy, angst and fun. This captivating read kept me up way past my bedtime. Miss Jessie and Miss Margaret for the win!
For once, the dress on the cover actually comes close to the time period this novel was set in and not some weird cobbled together fantasy ensemble. Bravo!
m/f, f/f explicit
Themes: you had me at time travel, I stayed for the Sapphic Georgian/Regency romance.
5 Stars
Well written, packed with lively period detail, wonderfully fleshed out characters, well explored emotions, drama, joy, angst and fun. This captivating read kept me up way past my bedtime. Miss Jessie and Miss Margaret for the win!
For once, the dress on the cover actually comes close to the time period this novel was set in and not some weird cobbled together fantasy ensemble. Bravo!
m/f, f/f explicit
Themes: you had me at time travel, I stayed for the Sapphic Georgian/Regency romance.
5 Stars
June 16, 2024
Read this yearrrs ago on Wattpad as a teenager just discovering her sexuality, and was trying to remember the name of it because I always loved it. I finally found it <3
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews