Readin' and Dreamin'

I jumped at the chance to read and review this. I am a geek for old-time theatre and love stories of women busting through the gender restrictions of their time.

Jumping from Edinburgh to London to Bath and everywhere in between, this is the story of Sophie McGann, a young woman who has more of her share of hard times, trying to fight for a voice in the theatre. She suffered through an annoying censor who was one of many who had their opinion that the theatre was no place for 'petticoat playwrights,' and other road blocks such as her work being stolen and having to choose between her work and love.

It amazed me how this little Scottish woman persevered through every hardship that came her way, and believe me, there was a lot of hardship. It seems every time she turned around, there was something there to take her down. I wondered if Sophie was going to ever get any type of happy ending.

Wicked Company blended both fiction and real historical figures. I loved the focus on the women playwrights, who have been largely forgotten. Sophie came across a few of them at Drury Lane, such as Kitty Clive and Elizabeth Griffith. This book opened my eyes to their work, which I plan to further explore in the future.

Wicked Company was right up my alley. I loved. it. It was a thick historical novel set in the 18th century with a wickedly strong heroine and with a great view of the gritty world of the theatre. The descriptions and characters were spot on. I know this sounds cliché, but I felt like I was right there with Sophie, experiencing her frustrations.

This is one of my top books read this year!