Book Review: Plain Bad Heroines by emily m. danforth

Plain Bad Heroines
by emily m. danforth (Danforth)

 

Plain Bad Heroines by emily m. danforth (who prefers lowercase) is a delightful big, red book about a troublesome big, red book. In a 1902 Rhode Island girl’s boarding school, several teens have become obsessed with Mary MacLane’s red-covered memoir that’s bursting with feelings, including feelings of longing for another woman. And then the mysterious deaths begin.

 

Meanwhile in the present day, a horror film director has recruited Hollywood’s top “celesbian” and a relatively unknown girl to play the leads in an on-location film about the spooky “happenings” from over a century ago. Not an entirely safe idea. This dual-timeline story does a pleasant job of harmonizing the voices of gothic historical and Twitter/Instagram-savvy contemporary fiction.

 

Plain Bad Heroines is more gothic suspense than outright horror, so it’s great for readers who want to be a little scared without going too far. There is a strong sense of place and even a map at the start of the book, which are elements I love. It also has ink illustrations by Sara Lautman, reminiscent of Edward Gorey. And footnotes! Lots of footnotes that mix humor and historical notes. What I’m saying is that it’s an especially pleasurable book to hold and read from a book construction point of view.

 

I recommend Plain Bad Heroines to readers who like spooky New England, Truman Capote, spiritualism, greenhouses, queer history, and stories where the story touches on literature both inside and outside of the fictional world. emily m. danforth received her Ph.D in English-Creative Writing from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and lives in Rhode Island.

 

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try House of Leaves by Mark J. Danielewski or Wilder Girls by Rory Power.]

[ official Plain Bad Heroines and emily m danforth web site ]

 

Recommended by Garren H.
Bennett Martin Public Library – Public Service

 

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