The women making their way down the avenue, cheeks glowing from the cold, eyes burning with conviction, came from every stratum of society, the wealthiest to the poorest. This was no picket line, no stubborn demonstration by a handful of militants hoping for a small headline in the morning paper. This was a force to be reckoned with, a force to which the politicians in Washington would have to answer, sooner or later. These women were betting on the numbers; there were too many of them to ignore.
But despite the impressive turnout, the suffragettes were clearly outnumbered. The street was lined with tens of thousands of onlookers, some only curious but others intent on undermining the women’s morale. They included men of all descriptions, from common laborers in canvas and khaki to office types in overcoats and gray bowlers. Men presumably with loving mothers and sisters, devoted wives, obedient daughters. Men who no doubt considered themselves inarguably civilized but, in the blink of an eye, had changed into quite the opposite. Their relentless heckling was predictably rude, shockingly hateful.
The arrogance of these ill-mannered naysayers only served to harden May’s resolve. But their voraciousness made her nervous. The policemen stationed along the parade route didn’t seem to be taking their assignment too seriously. Rather than pushing back on the crowd, they appeared perfectly happy to let the worst of the rabble-rousers do whatever they wished. Already a few had crossed the line that separated spectators from protesters, the authorities either unaware or simply choosing to do nothing.
“Help! Please, somebody help!”
But despite the impressive turnout, the suffragettes were clearly outnumbered. The street was lined with tens of thousands of onlookers, some only curious but others intent on undermining the women’s morale. They included men of all descriptions, from common laborers in canvas and khaki to office types in overcoats and gray bowlers. Men presumably with loving mothers and sisters, devoted wives, obedient daughters. Men who no doubt considered themselves inarguably civilized but, in the blink of an eye, had changed into quite the opposite. Their relentless heckling was predictably rude, shockingly hateful.
The arrogance of these ill-mannered naysayers only served to harden May’s resolve. But their voraciousness made her nervous. The policemen stationed along the parade route didn’t seem to be taking their assignment too seriously. Rather than pushing back on the crowd, they appeared perfectly happy to let the worst of the rabble-rousers do whatever they wished. Already a few had crossed the line that separated spectators from protesters, the authorities either unaware or simply choosing to do nothing.
“Help! Please, somebody help!”
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ReplyDeleteI appreciate you taking the time to give us a great book description and giveaway as well. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for featuring my novel TEMPTATION RAG! (The Kindle versions of TEMPTATION RAG and my historical thriller THE BEAUTY DOCTOR are on sale today for only 99 cents on Amazon!) I have been so happy with the response from readers who have enjoyed TEMPTATION RAG. Often they comment that, while they knew nothing about the Ragtime Era before reading my book, they found it fascinating getting to know some of the real-life stars who inhabited vaudeville and musical theater at the turn of the 2oth century. You may have read in the book description that the story is based, in part, on the life of my husband's grandfather, Mike Bernard. But here's a "secret": The beautiful lady on the cover is actually my husband's grandmother! Her photo (which I had colorized) is from the 1920s. Hope you'll take advantage of the 99-cent sale, and GOOD LUCK with the gift card giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds intriguing! I have never read anything based in this time period.
ReplyDeleteHi, Sue. It is a very colorful era in American history! Also one of social conflict as we emerged from the restrictive Victorian period.
DeleteI love this era and can't wait to read this one, thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Victoria! Hope you enjoy it.
DeleteI liked the synopsis, sounds good.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rita. A short synopsis is always difficult to write! Especially with a book, like TEMPTATION RAG, that spans 30 years. A lot research went into the writing of it. If you enjoy historical fiction, I think you'll enjoy this story.
ReplyDeleteI love historical fiction especially when real life people are inserted into the story line. I love the cover, loved the flapper look since forever. I even dressed up as a flapper girl once and won best dressed.
ReplyDeleteHi, Katie. I love the flapper look, too! I was in London this summer and visited the city's oldest hat shop, where I found something very similar to the one on my book cover only in a rose color. Gorgeous! I bought it, of course!
DeleteGreat excerpt! I love that era.
ReplyDeleteHi, Judy. Glad you enjoyed the excerpt! Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteCreepy cover for a creepy time in history.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway; I like the excerpt. :)
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds very interesting! Thanks!
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ReplyDeleteSounds really great.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an exciting read. Especially for me as a native New Yorker. Thank you for sharing the book details.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely cover. It's hard to believe that time period was over a hundred years ago.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!
ReplyDeletesounds so good.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing
ReplyDeleteLove discovering new books to add to my TBR!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good read!
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ReplyDelete