I started reading THE SECRET LIFE OF MRS. LONDON with no knowledge of the real-life characters other than Jack London wrote THE CALL OF THE WILD and Harry Houdini performed magic. One of my favorite English literature teachers taught me to love learning about the authors behind their great works and so I was obviously very excited to learn more about Jack London. Even better, I was looking forward to learning about his second wife and her influence on him as an author.

However, I didn't expect him to be such a jerk! Rebecca Rosenberg does a marvelous job of portraying Jack London as a brilliant but highly erratic and extremely selfish author. His interactions with his valet, Nakata, infuriated me even more so than his highly volatile relationship with Charmain. His sense of superiority and entitlement ooze through the pages and I developed an intense dislike for him.

It was easy to understand why Charmain turned to other men, including Houdini. Rebecca Rosenberg makes Houdini the person seem as magical as Houdini the entertainer. I could almost forget he was cheating on his sweet wife, Bess. However, I still struggled with Charmain's character as I wanted to appreciate her determination to be an author in a time when men dominated the scene. I wanted to appreciate the strength of character that had her push Jack to write when he'd fall into drunkenness and despair. Unfortunately, I just couldn't as her destructive and volatile relationship with Jack made me cringe on more than one occasion.

Historical fiction is tricky, particularly if the characters portrayed are temperamental. THE SECRET LIFE OF MRS. LONDON wasn't my cup of tea but I'm sure others will appreciate it, particularly considering the backdrop for the storyline. Rebecca Rosenberg does a great job evoking an emotional response from her readers in THE SECRET LIFE OF MRS. LONDON and some book clubs may find the discussions surrounding the events portrayed to be quite lively.

Book Summary

San Francisco, 1915. As America teeters on the brink of world war, Charmian and her husband, famed novelist Jack London, wrestle with genius and desire, politics and marital competitiveness. Charmian longs to be viewed as an equal partner who put her own career on hold to support her husband, but Jack doesn’t see it that way… until Charmian is pulled from the audience during a magic show by escape artist Harry Houdini, a man enmeshed in his own complicated marriage. Suddenly, charmed by the attention Houdini pays her and entranced by his sexual magnetism, Charmian’s eyes open to a world of possibilities that could be her escape.

As Charmian grapples with her urge to explore the forbidden, Jack’s increasingly reckless behavior threatens her dedication. Now torn between two of history’s most mysterious and charismatic figures, she must find the courage to forge her own path, even as she fears the loss of everything she holds dear