The Lodger

September 1, 2014
In this intriguing blend of fact and fiction, Treger’s debut novel explores the socially unacceptable loves of little-read author Dorothy Richardson in early 20th-century London. Still haunted by guilt over her mother’s suicide, Dorothy lives in a shabby boarding house at the seedy edge of Bloomsbury, barely supporting herself as a dentist’s assistant. In 1906, she meets and succumbs to the intelligence, eloquence, and admiration of H.G. Wells, the husband of an old school friend. Initially repelled by Wells’s scientific certainty and hesitant to betray her friend, Dorothy nevertheless capitulates to his sexual and literary urgings. The varied responses of her well drawn landlady, Mrs. Baker, and fellow boarders—Russian Jewish émigré Benjamin, Canadian Dr. Weber, and suffragette Veronica Leslie-Jones—both clarify and complicate Dorothy’s life. While deftly examining moods ranging from exhilaration to sexual longing to despair to shame, Treger uses Dorothy’s increasing confidence as a writer and eventual ability to “banish her narrator entirely”—that is, those narrative conventions of the day that she was convinced were “simply an expression of the vision, fantasies, and experiences of men”—as a metaphor for Dorothy’s emotional growth and discovery of her “inmost self.” Readers familiar with the period will recognize echoes of Virginia Woolf and Edith Wharton in Dorothy’s views.

September 15, 2014
A woman has an affair with H.G. Wells, observes the beginnings of women's suffrage and comes into her own as a writer in this debut novel from Treger. Dorothy Richardson lives a quiet life of near solitude in a London boardinghouse. When she visits her old friend Jane for a weekend, she doesn't expect to find Jane's husband quite so interesting. Of course, Jane's husband isn't just anyone-he's H.G. Wells, also known as Bertie. Although Bertie is no great looker, Dorothy discovers that he's actually quite charming. So begins her agonizingly painful and passionate affair with him, one that leads her into some significant complications. But the affair with Bertie isn't the only situation Dorothy deals with. There's also her budding friendship (and possibly more) with fellow boarder Veronica, a suffragist. The early 1900s weren't exactly a friendly time for single women in London, and the book does a wonderful job of showing Dorothy's desire for independence as well as her fear of being alone. The sections dealing with women's suffrage don't feel as fleshed out as Dorothy's relationship with Bertie, and given her real-life status as a great writer, readers may wish to know more about Richardson's actual career. However, Treger's writing flows easily and the book is impeccably researched, making this an enjoyable read. Dorothy Richardson may not be a household name, but Treger's novel does a fine job of showing just how compelling her life was in this novel full of passion, history and literature.

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September 15, 2014
This biographical novel about author Dorothy Richardson (18731957) vividly depicts the lot of a single working woman in London circa 1906. Working for a pittance as a dental assistant and rooming in a ramshackle boardinghouse, Dorothy is, at times, gripped with a deep fear about her future. Her clothes are shabby and she often goes hungry, but she revels in the sights and sounds of cosmopolitan London, which gives her an invaluable sense of freedom. She reconnects with her childhood friend, Jane, and Jane's new husband, Bertie (aka H. G. Wells), who pamper her with sumptuous meals and long walks at their country house. She is soon entirely mesmerized by Bertie's intellect and impish nature, and when he presses her for a sexual relationship, she gives in, despite her guilt about betraying her longtime friend. But Bertie opens up a new intellectual world to Dorothy, one that gives her the impetus to become a writer. In her first novel, Treger vividly depicts the allure of forbidden love and the bravery of a woman who is utterly alone in the world yet unafraid of exploring her creativity.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)