The Only Woman in the Room is Marie Benedict’s third novel featuring a powerful woman overlooked by history — in this case, a female actress popular in the 1930s and 1940s named Hedwig Kiesler, who you might know by her stage name Hedy Lamarr. All I knew about her was that she was an actress but I had never seen any of her movies. There is so much more to learn about this extraordinary woman that I am sure The Only Woman in the Room will be a fascinating and engrossing read for many. Furthermore, the story is very topical and relevant for current times because it deals head-on with misogyny.
Hedy Lamarr was a beautiful and accomplished actress who also happened to be extremely smart, strong, clever, and determined. I felt like I got to know her through these pages and found her very likable while rooting for her all along her journey. Ms. Benedict does an outstanding job bringing Hedy Lamarr to life via words on the page. It is well-written and it is clear that a vast amount of research went into this story, making it a compelling read. At its core, this is a story of self-discovery and self-acceptance with a lot of historical significance along the way.
Ms. Lamarr was Austrian and Jewish though she was not religious (not that the Nazis ever cared about such a distinction). In order to keep herself and her family safe, she married Fritz Mandl, the richest man in Austria who sold weapons to anyone and everyone, earning him the nickname the “Merchant of Death.” He forced her to make many sacrifices, including her acting career and her heritage. After they were married, Heddy learned quickly that he was an extremely controlling man. He dictated her clothing choices and told her which shade of lipstick to wear. But these were small things — ultimately, he became much worse. She was confined behind seven locks on the door and was unable to go anywhere without his permission. The numerous servants made sure she obeyed his wishes.
There were only rules and locks and fury. By imprisoning me, it seemed, he hoped to cage the rampant virus that was Hitler. I became the unspoken emblem of the evil within and without whenever he needed a place to vent his anger.
During her time married to this monster, she listened and learned everything she could about his business as well as his dealings with Mussolini and Hitler. She had a scientific bent and her curiosity prompted her to invent things, which came in handy later as she invented signal frequency hopping technology, earning her a patent, which would have vastly improved the accuracy of torpedoes during WWII. However, her invention was discounted simply because she was a WOMAN! The war would’ve ended sooner and lives would have been saved if gender didn’t get in the way of evaluating this new technology. They told her she would be more effective if instead of trying to invent things, she sold War Bonds. While she was confident she was much more than a pretty face, she conceded and in the course of one night, she sold $2,250,000 in war bonds!
Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment