belle

only for one day from the war, when he discovered a picture of his wife in a compromising position with another man. He went out and proceeded to get drunk and shoot his mouth off, which was his untimely demise.

Belle knows she is considered a troublemaker in Gentry. She really did not care. So what if she bobbed her hair, so what if she wears inappropriate bathing suits, so what if she is carrying on a love affair with a married man. The townspeople look at it differently, because she is a widow, she should conduct herself as such. Belle knows she is a widow, but she isn't dead. Life as you know it could be snuffed out in a surprise second. Didn't her husband's death prove that? She wants to live life to the fullest, not sit in her chair and grieve. She also has a daughter to raise without the benefit of a husband.

Belle has in her mind, "The Primer of Propriety," a list of what a proper woman should be. In chapter one, she states, "A lady shouldn't do something she's going to feel guilty about later." She knew she shouldn't wear the bathing suits she did and she was a little concerned if someone saw her dressed like that, they would throw her in jail for indecent dressing, but she took a chance anyway and did it. It was the 1920's and women just didn't do half the things she did, but it's her life and she's going to live by her rules.

This is an amazing book. You find yourself cheering Belle on, you really want her to have fun, but not get caught at it. By the end of the book, Belle feels like your best friend and you would not change a thing about her. Five Bad Behaviors.

©Patsy Glans, gottawritenetwork.com
November 18, 2006