The Vanishing Point

Written by Mary Sharratt

364 pages

Published by Mariner Books

Review by Edgar James Rice

Receives:

Historical fiction has proven to be a unique and useful tool to examine what had in the past been a largely ignored aspect of history—the lives of women. Primarily what we have known about the past has been about men, written by men or taken from men’s accounts of what transpired. But as time has passed and we have learned more about women’s roles, that new knowledge has allowed some authors to create some fascinating stories, inviting us to learn, through historical accuracies and settings and fictional characters, what life was like for women. In her novel The Vanishing Point, Mary Sharratt has created just such a world where we can learn about life for women, double standards and all, during the 17th century both in England and the Colonies.

Mary Sharratt, author of The Real Minerva, spent ten years researching information for this novel, the story of two sisters, Hannah and May Powers. The sisters are like night and day, opposites in personality, one shy, the other dynamic, and after several mishaps in their native England, both sisters find themselves in the Maryland colony. Soon Hannah must uncover the mystery of her sister’s disappearance while struggling with her own questions. The attention to sensory detail is especially strong here as Sharratt pays close attention to what life was like in the Chesapeake region during this period. Here are vivid details about spinning, tobacco planting, even contraceptives of the time. Although at times the narrative can become confusing as it switches between point of view, overall the attention to detail and the historical narrative carry a strong story of two sisters in a specific place at a specific time. How did women live and love at this time in history? For readers with a particular interest in women’s roles in the early colonies, they will enjoy this book. ______________________________________________________________

Edgar James Rice is a writer from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is currently writing his first historical novel.