The Winthrop Agreement

October 1, 2023
The daughter of a Jewish immigrant rises from poverty to fame among New York's upper crust. Rivkah Milmanovitch arrives at Ellis Island in 1893, pregnant and planning to make a new life with her husband, who had made the trip from Lithuania earlier. But Rivkah can't find Jacob and instead moves in with a friend from home, Lottie Aarons. With her last name changed to Milman, Rivkah carves out a hardscrabble life, raising her daughter, Mimi, with the help of kindly neighbors. When Mimi is 15, she meets Frederick Winthrop, the sadistic, 30-year-old youngest son of a wealthy family that employs Lottie as a bookkeeper. Though Mimi and Frederick meet only a few times, the teenager becomes pregnant and loses her mother soon after. Not knowing Frederick's last name, Mimi can't seek help--but then rumors start spreading about Frederick and a young girl and the Winthrop family and Lottie put the pieces together. In exchange for Mimi's silence, the family gives her a building from which she can operate a clothing shop, an opportunity that launches her on a designing career that brings her security and fulfillment. But Frederick's worst impulses remain unchecked, and the more Mimi hears about him, the more she becomes concerned that his cruelty could pose a danger. Tonally inconsistent, this novel can't decide what kind of story it wants to be--a thriller about a serial killer, the story of a young woman who makes her way in the world, or a Gilded Age tale of haves and have-nots. The resulting muddle picks up and drops potential throughlines, introducing plot points in brief chapters that reveal too little to be interesting. Characters are inconsistent and underdeveloped, including Rivkah, who is introduced as young and dreamy before immediately being recast into a cold and angry mother with no true depth. This novel never finds a plot worth pursuing.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 15, 2023
Newlywed, recent-immigrant Rivkah Milmanovitch, pregnant and abandoned by her husband, seeks the help of the only person she knows in America, Lottie Aarons. Raising her daughter, Miriam, in the Lower East Side tenements, Rivkah becomes strict and old before her time. Miriam longs for the glitz and glamour of those, like the Winthrops, who live on Fifth Avenue. A kind girl with an eye for fashion, Miriam learns how to sew and make garments from her mother. A chance meeting in the park with Frederick Winthrop changes the course of Miriam's, now Mimi's, life. With the help of Lottie, she must navigate through economic disparities and the flu epidemic to make a life of her own. Interspersed with Mimi's story is the disturbing perspective of Frederick. Frederick and his actions add a thriller element to the tale, while a late-stage character adds some romance. Rich in characters and awash in period details of Gilded Age New York as well as the sumptuous fashions of the time, this book is a treat for historical-fiction fans.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.