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Title:
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Mad Wife, The |
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Authors:
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Church, Meagan |
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Genre:
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Fiction |
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Pages:
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352 |
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Year:
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2025 |
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Publisher:
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Penguin Books |
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Language:
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English |
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Description:
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They called it hysteria. She called it survival.
Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the perfect 1950s housewife. Despite the tragic memories that haunt her and the weight of exhausting expectations, she keeps her husband happy, her household running, and her gelatin salads the talk of the neighborhood. But after she gives birth to her second child, Lulu's carefully crafted life begins to unravel.
When a new neighbor, Bitsy, moves in, Lulu suspects that something darker lurks behind the woman's constant smile. As her fixation on Bitsy deepens, Lulu is drawn into a web of unsettling truths that threaten to expose the cracks in her own life. The more she uncovers about Bitsy, the more she questions everything she thought she knew—and soon, others begin questioning her sanity. But is Lulu truly losing her mind? Or is she on the verge of discovering a reality too terrifying to accept?
In the vein of The Bell Jar and The Hours, The Mad Wife weaves domestic drama with psychological suspense, so poignant and immersive, you won't want to put it down. Penguin, Taken from the book blurb.
Comments from BDS Reviewers:
A book that speaks to all women across time of social expectations and pressures we all still face.
The author writes well, this story is like an insight into the lives of the mothers of middle-aged women in N.Z, and echoes our own. It's real, moving, and an easy read - tackling difficult subjects well.
I loved this book on every level from the first word, 'remember' to the final word, 'remember'.
Provides an interesting view on life in the 1950s, and the pressures young mothers would have had to deal with, with a limited understanding from medical people as to why these women might not be coping with life, and what could be done to support them.
It made me think of my own mother in that period, and my own experience of early motherhood. A story of societal expectations. mental health and resilience.
I have seen a description which labels the book as 'domestic suspense'. There is certainly mystery as the reader is drawn into Lulu's struggles and self doubt and social conditioning. We are unsure of what is reality.
Horrifying in parts, the story also stands as a testament to the strength of a woman, who, against all the odds, survives with a clearer sense of identity.
An inspirational read, which is scary but not without hope.
Ultimately the ending is happy, and that's a bit of a relief given the way it could have ended.
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Categories:
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Fiction, Just Added, 2027_2 Titles |
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