The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

In the summer of 1922, Cora Carlisle, aged 36, accompanied 15-year-old Louise Brooks to New York. It would be a season of tremendous change for Cora even though her role was meant to be that of chaperone while Louise attended Denishawn in hopes of becoming a dancer with the company. Their time together was not particularly wonderful as the two clashed about many things while sharing that tiny apartment. They did not bond or become friends, but they did get something that each wanted or needed during their time in New York. This is not a story about Louise and how she became a star, the narrative focuses more on Cora and it's meant to be loosely based on true events and lots of research by the author. Cora is certainly an unconventional woman for that era and though she pretends to be morally above reproach and as such, a suitable chaperone for an adolescent, there are secrets and lies simmering beneath her placid surface. Meanwhile, she tries to rein in the headstrong Louise but finds that it might just be impossible to exert any influence.

This was just an excellent story -- I loved the writing style and the characters came to life on the pages. I've long been fascinated with this period of time in American history and enjoyed reading about the places (Wichita, New York City), the daily life of the people, and just everything about the 1920s and beyond as events unfurled.

I really liked this novel and am glad I decided to read it after watching the movie adaptation on PBS just last Sunday evening. I regret that it languished on my TBR pile for so long especially since I was given access to this title on NetGalley courtesy of the publisher a LONG TIME AGO! My apologies for the tardiness of my review.

I recommend it to any fan of Louise Brooks of course, but also to anyone who likes a book that deals with how characters handle the good and the bad in their lives. Some bend, some break.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre -- historical fiction, coming of age, Louise Brooks references