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The Mad Women's Ball
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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review
bekakins
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

First off my #roll100 reads for March - sort but enjoyable, and an insight into French women‘s asylums which is something I knew basically nothing about prior. I found some the construction of some passages a bit odd; you would move on in time (present tense) but then immediately shift to a flashback of something that had happened since the end of the previous chapter - I‘m not sure if that was a symptom of this being translated from the French..

PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 3w
12 likes1 comment
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DebinHawaii
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

#JumpStart2024 #Readaway2024

My power was off for 9 hours yesterday until after midnight. The plus was that Kindles are great for blackouts & I got to read my first #AuldLangSpine book from @Itchyfeetreader ‘s list. I had an #ARC of this book & I‘m so glad this event pushed me to finally read it! A fascinating piece of French history about the Salpêtrière asylum, where “difficult” women were (usually wrongfully) committed by the males in their ⬇️

DebinHawaii …(husbands/fathers/guardians) that hosted an annual ball where the upper crust could meet, mingle, & mostly gawk at the patients. The story follows Eugenie who can see spirits & who is dumped at the asylum by her wealthy father so she can‘t bring shame upon her family or the devil to their house. Her path crosses with the head nurse Genevieve as she fights to get out. It‘s a short & quite compelling read & I really enjoyed it! ⬇️ (edited) 3mo
DebinHawaii … While googling the history, I found there‘s an Amazon Prime movie that I plan to watch these weekend. Thanks for a great first pick @Itchyfeetreader ! I‘m forward to my next read off the list! @monalyisha Thank you for another great match! 🤗 3mo
Itchyfeetreader Glad you enjoyed it - it‘s exactly the kind of historical fiction I enjoy - telling you something I knew nothing about! Hoping you have power again soon ! 3mo
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monalyisha Fun to find a multimedia tie-in! And thank goodness for a hobby that we can joyfully turn to when conditions aren‘t great for much else. 💓 3mo
DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳Great! 3mo
Andrew65 Excellent 👏👏👏 3mo
Vansa I really liked this book but got very annoyed with the supernatural element, it detracted from the powerful story, for me 3mo
58 likes7 comments
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DebinHawaii
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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I am very happy with your #AuldLangSpine list @Itchyfeetreader ! 🎉📚The only one I‘ve read is Lessons in Chemistry (it made my list too!), 4-5 were on my TBR & the rest are new to me, which I love.

I‘m looking at the tagged book (I have the ARC on Kindle) or one of the others pictured for January. I own The Huntress & can get the audiobook of My Monticello from the library right away but I‘ll post the others I plan to read throughout the year.

DGRachel The Huntress is one of my favorite books. I broke my work book club‘s page limit so I could assign it and everyone else enjoyed it, too. 3mo
DebinHawaii @DGRachel Awesome! I loved the Alice Network so I bought most of her other books, but haven‘t gotten around to reading them yet—so this is a good push! 3mo
julesG I really liked The Mad Women's Bakl 3mo
TheKidUpstairs I loved Whalebone Theatre! That was one of my best of 2022. 3mo
Itchyfeetreader I hope you enjoy. I am in mad prep here but plan to get busy with your list this evening! 3mo
42 likes5 comments
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carmens.library
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Enough said 😂😂

dabbe #amensista 🤣💚🤗 11mo
Meshell1313 🤣🤣🤣 11mo
44 likes2 comments
review
Itchyfeetreader
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

This is why I love historical fiction. The author has taken a small fact - that once a year the Salpetiere asylum in Paris welcomed the height of society to a ball to hawk, be horrified, have a story to tell about the ‘mad women‘ there. The story is simple and yet awful. A healthy young women sent away by her parents, a young abused woman discarded, an aging prostitute fearful of the outside world and a nurse learning to see the women ⬇️

Itchyfeetreader And their humanity. There is an anger in the story, how easy it was to cast off and ignore inconvenient women and how risky it was to be a woman but also a resignation that speaks to the time. A masterclass in historical fiction for me 12mo
TrishB Went away to check and have on kindle 👍🏻 should move it up pile. 12mo
Itchyfeetreader I think you‘d like @TrishB and it‘s not a big book - only 200 pages 12mo
TrishB That‘s a winner at the moment 👍🏻 12mo
rockpools That‘s some small fact! 12mo
50 likes5 stack adds5 comments
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smalldogs_bigbooks2419
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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This week‘s book purchase. I‘m trying to keep myself to a limit, but I‘m at least up to several purchases a month. It‘s so much shorter than I thought it‘d be!

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julesG
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

The Lenten Ball, also known as The Mad Women's Ball, is held in March at the Salpetriere Asylum in Paris. The women of the asylum look forward to this annual event.

The story is told from the POV of the recently incarcerated Eugenie and the nurse Genevieve, mainly. The story focuses on the lives unwanted and inconvenient women led in asylums and how easy it must have been for families to get rid of their womenfolk in such establishments.

sarahbarnes I just finished reading a book on this topic recently and your review made me think of the parallels. 1y
RowReads1 I‘m drawn to this one. I think a tv show or film is being made of it. However I haven‘t read “Women 99” and it‘s reviews are higher. Not that I can‘t read both. 1y
Itchyfeetreader This sounds my kind of thing 1y
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julesG @RowReads1 There is a French film from 2021, The Mad Women's Ball. I might watch it later this week. 1y
julesG @Itchyfeetreader It's a short read. About 220 pages. 1y
julesG @sarahbarnes Sounds interesting. Stacked. 1y
TrishB Apparently I brought this in March. No recollection whatsoever, must have been 99p! 1y
julesG @TrishB Kindle crack. 🤪 1y
TrishB I love that. 1y
65 likes8 stack adds9 comments
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julesG
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Tried culling books from my Kindle. (I do that once a year.) Came across this book and only wanted to read the first page... I'm 60% in now.

Paris, the Salpetriere Asylum for women, in the late 19th century. Most women aren't mad, they were just unwanted and/or inconvenient.

Eugenie, 19 y/o, sees spirits. Which is the reason her family incarcerated her. Can she befriend the nurse Genevieve? Will she help her get out?

#MountTBR

DivineDiana Sound intriguing! Now a motion picture! I had not heard of this. 1y
RebelReader Sounds good! I need to check it out! 1y
RebelReader Sounds good! I need to check it out. 1y
julesG @DivineDiana I haven't seen the film. But the book was good. (have just finished) 1y
56 likes1 stack add4 comments
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ashw21
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Set in the 1880s in Paris, this story highlights mental health and asylums. The story takes place in the Salpetriere asylum in 1885 Paris where the patients are mainly women. Most of these women do not need to be at an asylum but it had become very convenient to have a place to keep women who do not fit into the expectations of society. I really found this story very interesting and a part of historical fiction I didn't know much about.

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Nik_reads
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Mehso-so

I was super excited to read this book but in the end it was not as good as I had hoped. When I first started I had to keep going back to make sure I was keeping the characters straight. The story took off and then died down as I went along and the ending felt rushed to me. Great story idea but execution could of been a lot better.

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Curvybookgirl
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

This is my favourite book of the year so far. Beautifully written with sympathy and empathy and based on a real life hospital, characters and events

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Blh87
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

This book was was a borderline pick…it was a very quick and straightforward storyline, with very frustrating truths about how “inconvenient” women were just thrown into asylums.

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Blh87
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Rainy day while camping means we‘re stuck inside…and, yes, our 70 lb American pit bull terrier just HAD to sit in my lap.

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JennO1
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Painting: Mad Woman by Chaim Soutine, 1920

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Cazxxx
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

Set in Paris this a a story of men claiming that women are mad and mentally ill if they‘re not behaving according to their rules, therefore they must be taken to the mental asylum where their treatment is awful. This was unexpectedly good and very much character based, I ended up reading it in 2 days I enjoyed it so much
4 🌟

Erinsuereads This looks magnificent! 2y
Cazxxx @ErinSueMreads I found myself completely engrossed, very good! 2y
perfectsinner Won an ARC of this a few years ago from Goodreads. 2y
Cazxxx @perfectsinner It‘s a good one 😊 2y
perfectsinner Ohh i didn't agree lol 2y
43 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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Cazxxx
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Mitch
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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I‘ve just finished the book and it‘s howling a snowstorm outside - so think a sneaky day time movie might be the order of the day!

review
Mitch
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

The history of the treatment and abuse of women who society would rather not deal with in this novel based in the real setting of the Parisian Salpêtrière asylum is a stark reminder of what happens in a patriarch society when agency is lost. This story feels a little tame though. The anger and suffering seem muted and gentle. But a good read to re remember how delicate our freedoms are.

TrishB Great review 👍🏻 2y
Mitch @TrishB 🙏 2y
JaneyWaneyB Ooh I added that to my TBR list a while ago...I'll give it a read. And do I spy the gorgeous reading chair in the background 2y
70 likes4 stack adds3 comments
blurb
Mitch
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Such a shiny cover - very bling!

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful 💛❤️ 2y
Erinreadsthebooks Interested to hear if you like this one! 2y
Cathythoughts That‘s some nice bling 👍💫 2y
See All 9 Comments
Jess I really liked this one. I hope you enjoy it! 2y
Cupcake12 Lovely cover x 2y
Mitch @Cathythoughts Gotta love a shiny cover! 2y
Mitch @Jess it was a good read - lighter & gentler than I thought it would be though. Have you seen the movie? Wondered if it was good?? 2y
Mitch @Erinreadsthebooks it was a mild pick for me! Good but not earth shattering! Have you read it? 2y
Erinreadsthebooks @Mitch I haven‘t read it, but it was on my radar after hearing about it on a podcast. If I remember correctly, the hosts felt the same way you do about the book. 2y
66 likes9 comments
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Mitch
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Choosing the perfect bookmark pairing is one of my rituals when starting a new book. Today I‘ve chosen a bookmark I picked up in Shakespeare & Co in Paris - seems fitting for this nineteenth century Parisian novel! 👍🏼

AmyG Nice match! 2y
LeahBergen Lovely! 2y
EvieBee Nice! I do the same thing. I can‘t start until that is squared away. 2y
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Mitch @EvieBee me too! It sets the tone for page 1! 2y
Ednica It pairs nicely!!! How is the book? 2y
Mitch @Ednica it was a good read - slim and tame - but good! 2y
65 likes1 stack add6 comments
review
Charlie_A
Le Bal des folles | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

This was a page turner for me. Something I did not expect happened and I was taken in completely. Victoria Mas writing is beautiful and actually accessible to those whose French isn‘t their first language (perhaps B1/B2 levels).

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Cindyelizavaz
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

What an impressive debut! This was such a page turner for me and I loved it, perhaps way more than I expected to!

It was harrowing to read about how women was treated - as though women are a thing, a test subject. If you‘re not following rules set by men of the house, then you‘re mental. So off to the mental hospital you go.

Some of the scenes thoroughly broke me and made me so terribly mad. Must read. Five solid stars!

15 likes1 stack add
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jenniferw88
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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#balls #200pnpcovers @CrowCAH @mabell

I wouldn't be me if I didn't join this one 🤣

mabell Yay! And great choice! 👏👏 2y
CrowCAH Aren‘t we all a little bit mad?! Lol Thanks for being you and joining this month! ☺️ 2y
60 likes2 comments
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adoramichaels
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

Another book of history and terror. Very well done!!

#victoriamas #themadwomensball #historicalfiction

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charl08
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Salpêtrière has changed since the arrival of Professor Charcot twenty years ago, that only genuine hysterics are locked up nowadays. But... Twenty years is a short span in which to change the deep-rooted convictions of a society governed by fathers and husbands. No woman can be certain that her words, her aspirations, her personality will not lead to her being shut away behind the fearsome walls of the hospital in the thirteenth arrondissement.

48 likes4 stack adds
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AmandaBlaze
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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mirnas
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

Hysteria, doctor Charcot, Salpêtriere hospital, hypnosis, 19th century Paris, the birth of psychiatry are a setting... This novel adresses the question of the thin line between sickness and health and shows, by telling the story of three women, that mental illness is often a social construction.

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Twocougs
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

Wonderful gothic story though maddening at the treatment of women in the past. I always enjoy a book in translation, especially French ones.

28 likes1 stack add
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FelinesAndFelonies
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

The title of this book is deceptive. There is very little content to do with The Mad Women's Ball. Which was... a bummer. On the upside, I did Google like crazy to learn more about it.
The book is very character driven & tells the story of a bright girl, Eugenie, who is visited by spirits. This gift gets her sent to the asylum in Paris where she meets a nurse named Genevieve & finds the gift that made her a prisoner may also set her free. ⭐⭐⭐✨

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FelinesAndFelonies
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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"Dreams are dangerous things, Louise. Especially when they depend on someone else."

57 likes1 stack add
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FelinesAndFelonies
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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So freaking excited! This is one of my most anticipated book of the fall. Is this on anyone else's TBR?

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KatieDid927
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

I really liked this story. It felt appropriate to be reading a book about the systemic way men have controlled women‘s bodies and minds over the centuries. This is also a great read for the spooky season.

#ARC U.S. pub date 9/7

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Vansa
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Vansa
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Vansa
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Every page an absolute zinger. #TheMadWomensBall

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perfectsinner
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Mehso-so

I received an ARC of this book from Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.
The Mad Women's Ball is a really quick read at around 200 pages. The characters were interesting and entertaining. The story moved quickly and I rather enjoyed this book. A solid 3 star good book.

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perfectsinner
The Mad Women's Ball | Victoria Mas
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Goodreads giveaway win #arc #bookmail
The Mad Women's Ball by Victoria Mas

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Adventures-of-a-French-Reader
Le Bal des folles | Victoria Mas
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Pickpick

In this historical fiction, not translated into English, the author shares the fate of several women confined to the mental institution of La Salpêtrière.
I really enjoyed this book which evokes the frailty of women condition in the 19th cent. The author shows how inhumane the system is, and gives a moving portrait of these women.
Now, I want to read non-fiction on this subject!

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