Which time period were you most drawn to in All Her Beautiful Deaths? Whose story were you most interested in following?
I already answered this - the present. I was interested in following Hadley. She sometimes drove me crazy, especially left the suitcase in the hotel room or at the office! I also like seeing how her artist brain worked. She frustrated me an kept me on my toes,
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I was most interested in 1865 Minnie’s story. I really wanted to know the background of the pictures.
I was most interested and drawn to the historical time period, although I enjoyed Hadley’s story as well. The historical part of the book was much more emotional for me, and I felt like I could visualize the characters and setting. It was very moody and intriguing.
I found myself drawn to the Victorian era and Minnie and Edith. I was fascinated with how carefully Rusby handled their love for each other. I also found it interesting in how different their queerness was handled during that era as compared to how it is handled present day in books.
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I, too, was drawn to the Victorian era storyline, yet the present was necessary to reveal the key to the death portraits.
I was much more interested in Hadley’s story. I enjoy historical fiction to a certain extent but I prefer reading about the here and now. I was more invested in finding out the answers to all of the mysteries in Hadley’s life.
I have read that most of you like the past time period in the book. Normally, that is my favorite part of a book, especially if it’s Victorian. I am having a hard time reading those parts. I feel like the author is taking too much time to get to the photos. What am I missing?
Perhaps the author wanted to elaborate details that would make the reader wonder what Edith, et. al. were doing. Photos of deceased? Remember how their cousin thought they were involved in criminal activities. The purpose of the photos wasn’t revealed until later, that is, a means to help abused women “disappear.” I was surprised by this turn as I hadn’t thought of death photos in this way. So Edith and the men were saving ladies, a noble and dangerous endeavor. In reflecting on the Victorian part of the book, I have a better understanding of how and why the author wove the two time periods to create a believable ending.
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NanK
Your response will help me be more patient with those chapters !
I was drawn to both equally for different reasons.
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I was interested in both time periods although I feel more drawn to the past.
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I agree, in order to keep the mystery going, I think the author needed both time periods.
Both time periods were necessary to the story and each informed the other, but I was more drawn to Hadley’s story.
While both timelines were interesting, I found the earlier timeline most intriguing. Just imagining the whole aspect of death photography as something that regularly occured was so fascinating
I’m a sucker for Victorian era stories so while I definitely don’t care for historical fiction typically this particular novel had me a bit more interested in the historical backstory than I might normally be. Also being queer I cheered for past characters more than caring about the current time main men 