

Rated: Moderate, for three uses of the f-word, all during one drunken conversation. Soon to be a feature film from the creators of Downton Abbey starring Elizabeth McGovern, The Chaperone is a New York Times-bestselling novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise. As a novel and as a piece of period fiction, it gives us a very interesting look at a time and two different places through the eyes of a woman who slowly starts to realize that she’s got what it takes to find happiness and keep it, as unconventional as it may require her to be. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for The Chaperone / Flesh and Blood / Mrs. And while I didn’t always agree with Cora’s choices, I did like to get into her head and watch her eyes open to the bigger world, with all its faults. In 1922 Cora Carlisle, a yearning 36-year-old housewife in Wichita, Kansas, volunteers to escort a rebellious 15-year-old.

In the last part of the story, time went by so fast that it felt as if more often we were being told what happened instead of really being a part of the action. The Chaperone offers an imaginative take on womens lives. Available at: Laura Moriarty's The Chaperone is the enthralling story of two womenone famous, the other not one drawn from history, the other mostly imaginedand how their unlikely relationship changed their lives.

I liked the pacing of the first two-thirds of the book better than the final third. The bulk of the story takes place during their New York trip, but the book itself travels throughout Cora’s life, where we can see the consequences of the choices that she and her husband make - and we also get to follow along with Louise as she rises to silent film stardom and back down again. Despite the fact that I could only read it in short spurts, it kept my attention and I was always pleased when I could pick up Cora’s story and learn more about her life. I’ve written a really simplistic plot summary, not just because my window of time in between feeding my twins is very small, but also so that I can leave the bulk of the story to the reader to discover. Cora has her own reasons for wanting to be in New York, and during their time in the city, Cora learns not only more about who she is but what kind of person she would like to be and what sort of life she wants to have. In the early 1920s, Cora Carlisle, respectable wife and mother, leaves Wichita to chaperone the then-unknown 15-year-old Louise Brooks as she travels to New York City to study with the Denishawn School of Dance.
