Helpful Score: 3
The title and cover of The Tobacco Wives intrigued me, and the novel proved worthy of both. Set in 1946 Bright Leaf, North Carolina, this story of Big Tobacco features the Tobacco Wives, an elite group of women connected to industry leaders. This group includes Mitzi, wife of the company president, and Frances and Rose, mother and wife of the company's medical advisor.
The narrator is 15-year-old Maddie Sykes whose mother drives her to Great Aunt Etta's Bright Leaf home in the dark of night and leaves her there to pursue her next husband. Etta is a highly-regarded seamstress to the Tobacco Wives and is busy designing their gowns for the summer social scene. When Etta suddenly becomes very ill, Maddie is forced to step in and take over her aunt's work. She's befriended by Mitzi and temporarily moves into the Winston stately home. While there, Maddie accidentally makes a shocking discovery about the new mint-flavored MOMints cigarettes the company is marketing to women, especially during pregnancy, and then must decide what, if anything, to do with this knowledge.
This novel reminded me of Steel Magnolias with the Southern small town setting and the power of relationships among women; Frances definitely gave me Shirley MacLaine vibes. It also has a strong feminist theme, including women continuing to work at the cigarette factories as "the men" return from fighting in WWII, and Frances' mentoring of Maddie.
Author Adele Myers works in advertising so I found it so interesting that she explores the role of cigarette advertising in her debut novel. It's shocking to read about promoting the "health benefits" of smoking cigarettes to pregnant women with our current knowledge, but this makes me wonder which current healthy lifestyle choices will be proven harmful in the future.
I enjoyed the audiobook narrated by Shannon McManus and Janet Metzger and am grateful to listen via Libby through my local library.
The narrator is 15-year-old Maddie Sykes whose mother drives her to Great Aunt Etta's Bright Leaf home in the dark of night and leaves her there to pursue her next husband. Etta is a highly-regarded seamstress to the Tobacco Wives and is busy designing their gowns for the summer social scene. When Etta suddenly becomes very ill, Maddie is forced to step in and take over her aunt's work. She's befriended by Mitzi and temporarily moves into the Winston stately home. While there, Maddie accidentally makes a shocking discovery about the new mint-flavored MOMints cigarettes the company is marketing to women, especially during pregnancy, and then must decide what, if anything, to do with this knowledge.
This novel reminded me of Steel Magnolias with the Southern small town setting and the power of relationships among women; Frances definitely gave me Shirley MacLaine vibes. It also has a strong feminist theme, including women continuing to work at the cigarette factories as "the men" return from fighting in WWII, and Frances' mentoring of Maddie.
Author Adele Myers works in advertising so I found it so interesting that she explores the role of cigarette advertising in her debut novel. It's shocking to read about promoting the "health benefits" of smoking cigarettes to pregnant women with our current knowledge, but this makes me wonder which current healthy lifestyle choices will be proven harmful in the future.
I enjoyed the audiobook narrated by Shannon McManus and Janet Metzger and am grateful to listen via Libby through my local library.
