The Engineer's Wife: A Novel Kindle Edition

This fascinating story about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge spans not only the east river, but the effects of PTSD, and feminism, including the women's suffragette movement. It also shows women's courageous achievements without joining the "movements during jour". Being willing to accomplish despite a lack of recognition....that is what enables progress.

The book shows the determination and planning at the turn of the century. It reveals the predisposition to the “inferior position of women at the time.” However, it also shows how one person, one woman can and did make a difference. It is a story of love, struggles, pain and honesty. It is the story of life.

I got this for my mom. She seemed to like it.

Interesting subject and well presented. I found myself wanting to know more about the bridge. I’m not sure the embellishments relating to the main character were important.

Tracey Enerson Wood combines the best of fact and fiction in her novel, "The Engineer's Wife." It is the astounding story of the woman behind the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge, an engineering marvel of its time. Emily Warren Roebling was the wife of Washington Roebling, who vowed to complete the project after his father, John Roebling, who designed the bridge, died of tetanus following a ferry accident. Washington himself becomes disabled after suffering from "caisson" disease, which I have always heard referred to as "the bends," which he acquired from his frequent visits to (and too rapid exits from) a compressed air chamber deep below the waters of the East River in New York. Emily helps Washington fulfill his promise by becoming a courier of his instructions from their home to the worksite. Woods's portrayal of the inequalities for women in the workplace and even fashion are quite rich. Emily is the subject of much derision for venturing into a "man's world." Indeed, Emily might have been quite the suffragette if not for the fact that acting as her husband's proxy took all of her time.All historical fiction books throw in made-up characters, but Woods really pushes the limits by inventing a romance between Emily and P.T. Barnum, the famous circus showman, who actually worked in Brooklyn at the same time, but of whom there is no evidence at all of a relationship with Emily. Having said that, those portions were some of my favorite parts of the book, particularly because I am so unversed in the logistics of engineering. Woods did her best to "dumb it down" for novices like me, but I still found myself at a loss for understanding exactly how the foundations for suspension bridges are built underwater.Woods brings the post Civil War time period to life by weaving in the politics, corruptions, scandals, social mores, and the complicated familial relationships of Emily and Washington. An interesting read!

I love historical novels and this one is full of fascinating details about the Civil War and the building of an iconic landmark. The details of the bridge sometimes get a bit overwhelming and the romance between Emily and PT Barnum tended to take away from the story itself, but overall it was a great read.

I like historical novels and was looking forward to reading this for our book club. But I lost interest. Too much had to do with specifics about what was entailed in building the bridge.

This isn't a bad book, but it isn't great. The book is written, but the style is a little stiff. The author never really made me care about the characters. Then it was disappointing to learn that the love triangle which made up a great deal of the story, was purely fiction. This book is more fiction than historical.

Bought for my wife.

Interesting from a historical point of view although some literary licence was used. Enjoyed reading it and liked the characters.

Great piece of historical fiction. Puts you back into the 1800's.