A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies

September 5, 2005
Playing out in Boston during the freezing winter of 1900, Cooney's sixth novel (after Gun Ball Hill
) has a steamy premise—a proper young lady winds up at a hotel where female guests are visited at night by handsome young men—but an emotionally distant execution keeps titillation to a minimum. Charlotte Heath, married to the youngest son of an immensely wealthy family, has spent her wedded life living with the clan in their imposing ancestral home. After a debilitating illness of unknown origin keeps her bedridden for almost a year, Charlotte finally leaves her room, only to find her husband on the cusp of an embrace with another woman. Without a second thought, she quits her life entirely and seeks out her only friend, the Heaths' former cook, who works in Boston at "The Beechmont: A Private Hotel for Gentle Ladies." It takes a while for Charlotte to realize what's going on at the hotel, where a whole cast of quirky characters hold court—including a handsome young stud who ultimately breaks Charlotte's heart. The narrative moves dreamlike through a web of Charlotte's musings during her unlikely adventure. Cooney's story compels, but continual flashbacks and reminiscences make the narrative feel bumpy and disjointed.