The Book Club for Troublesome Women

By Marie Bostwick

Book Overview

USA TODAY BESTSELLER - SOUTHERN INDIE BESTSELLER - A BRENDA NOVAK BOOK GROUP PICK - GLOSS BOOK CLUB PICK - THE GIRLFRIEND BOOK CLUB PICK - A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2025 (SheReads) - Margaret never really meant to start a book club . . . or a feminist revolution, for that matter in this bold and plucky novel from New York Times bestselling author Marie Bostwick.

"Ideal for fans of historical fiction and those who enjoyed Bonnie Garmus's Lessons in Chemistry." --Library Journal, starred review

"Readers will cheer." --Kirkus

"Perfect for those who love book club, nostalgia for the 1960s, and stories of female friendship." --Booklist

"A feel-good beach read with . . . elements that spark a revolution." --Southern Review of Books

By 1960s standards, Margaret Ryan is living the American woman's dream. She has a husband, three children, a station wagon, and a home in Concordia--one of Northern Virginia's most exclusive and picturesque suburbs. She has a standing invitation to the neighborhood coffee klatch, and now, thanks to her husband, a new subscription to A Woman's Place--a magazine that tells housewives like Margaret exactly who to be and what to buy. On paper, she has it all. So why doesn't that feel like enough?

Margaret is thrown for a loop when she first meets Charlotte Gustafson, Concordia's newest and most intriguing resident. As an excuse to be in the mysterious Charlotte's orbit, Margaret concocts a book club get-together and invites two other neighborhood women--Bitsy and Viv--to the inaugural meeting. As the women share secrets, cocktails, and their honest reactions to the controversial bestseller The Feminine Mystique, they begin to discover that the American dream they'd been sold isn't all roses and sunshine--and that their secret longing for more is something they share. Nicknaming themselves the Bettys, after Betty Friedan, these four friends have no idea their impromptu club and the books they read together will become the glue that helps them hold fast through tears, triumphs, angst, and arguments--and what will prove to be the most consequential and freeing year of their lives.

The Book Club for Troublesome Women is a humorous, thought provoking, and nostalgic romp through one pivotal and tumultuous American year--as well as an ode to self-discovery, persistence, and the power of sisterhood.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400344743
• ISBN13: 9781400344741
• Release Date: April 2025
• Publisher: Harper Muse
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.12 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Loved this story of 1960s sisterhood

Thanks to NetGalley & Harper Muse for a digital advanced readers copy. All comments and opinions are my own unless otherwise noted. Wow! Five stars!! I loved this book! Author Marie Bostwick credits a conversation she had with her mother about Betty Friedan’s groundbreaking book “The Feminine Mystique” for the inspiration that resulted in this page-turning historical novel. The story begins in 1963, soon after “The Feminine Mystique” is published. Through the four female characters who form a book club and then become best friends, Bostwick portrays the middleclass lifestyle of the traditional American housewife, “with the rules, attitudes, and indignities that confined and constricted women of that time period.” The questions of the day include discussions of whether marriage and motherhood is enough to make a woman happy, or is there more to life? While this is fiction, it includes many of the events and people of the time. Martin Luther King, Jr., Jackie and President Kennedy, and “Washington Post” publisher Katherine Graham all have cameos that fit so well with the story being told. I also loved the way many significant books were included in the novel. I read an early copy so I hope the final book includes a list of all the books and authors mentioned as I’m sure readers will want to look them up. What makes this novel so good is how Bostwick weaves the historical events, people, and attitudes of the time into an unputdownable story about the four friends as they develop a bond of sisterhood. This is a book that’s perfect for book clubs to read and discuss. I highly recommend it.

4 stars

THE BOOK CLUB FOR TROUBLESOME WOMEN by Marie Bostwick This was a wonderful story of female friendship, sisterhood, and empowerment set in 1963 Virginia. Margaret Ryan, Charlotte Gustafson, Viv Bushetti and Bitsy Cobb live in a suburban planned community in Virginia. They seem to have it all, but do they really? They start a book club, naming themselves ‘The Bettys’, after reading “The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedman. It’s through these meetings that the women rediscover parts of themselves they’ve lost touch with. I really loved how the women’s friendships grow as they get to know each other and realize they’re not so different despite age differences or life stages. The characters felt real and were relatable; I was rooting for all of them at the end. Recommend if you’re in need of an uplifting, feel-good yet timely read. Rating: 4/5 ⭐️ Pub Date: 04.22.25 **ARC courtesy of Netgalley & HarperMuseBooks