“The Physician’s Daughter” by Cleveland native Martha Conway is a richly detailed historical drama about a persevering woman and a tormented veteran.
It begins in Lark’s Eye, Massachusetts, only a month after the Civil War, with Vita Tenney telling her father, a doctor, that she wants to go to medical school. He calls her a fool and tells her that her duty is to marry and have sons to replace the men who were lost in the war, like her brother Freddy. Freddy was the one who was supposed to be a doctor, though he had little interest.
The other main character is Jacob Culhane, a native of Lark’s Eye who had left his drunken father and the “whaling village past its prime” for Cincinnati, where he owned a steam engine shop. Now he wants to sell the family farm, his father having died, and set up a new business in Boston. Jacob has survived the war, but with severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Dr. Tenney immediately shoves Vita at him, promising a substantial dowry.
The plot device of a marriage of convenience has been used in many ways. Vita and Jacob agree to marry and split the dowry, but he tries to renegotiate the deal and she walks out, making her way to booming Cleveland to study medicine, leaving Jacob miserable. He begins his search.
Conway demonstrates the scrupulous research shown in her previous historical novels, as Vita herself researches female doctors to make her case for admission. Every character, down to Vita’s fellow boarding house residents, is intriguing, and the dramatic climax is unexpected.
Conway’s 2004 book “12 Bliss Street” was nominated for an Edgar Award in the Best First Novel category. She also wrote the extraordinary 2014 novel “The Thieving Forest,” set in the Great Black Swamp in the earliest days of the Ohio’s statehood, and “The Underground River” from 2017, about a reluctant abolitionist. They were described as the first two in “a planned trilogy of novels set in Ohio during key periods in U.S. history.” It’s not clear if “The Physician’s Daughter” is the third. In any case, a sequel would be welcome.
Martha Conway will sign “The Physician’s Daughter” at Loganberry Books, 13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights, at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Events
Loganberry Books (13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights): Chante Thomas signs “Sean and the Book Cures: The Great Sacrifice,” 1 p.m. Sunday; Karen Hermann-Cacioppo signs her comic memoir “Swiping for Love in All the Wrong Places,” 3 p.m. Sunday. At 7 p.m. Thursday, Doc Janning, Poet Laureate of South Euclid, reads from his work; also at 7 p.m. Thursday, Rachel Feltman joins the Peculiar Book Club in a virtual discussion of “Been There, Done That: A Rousing History of Sex.” Register at loganberrybooks.com.
Mac’s Backs (1820 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights): Poets Dianne Borsenik, Victor Clevenger and John Dorsey read from their work, 7 p.m. Thursday.
Mansfield-Richland County Public Library (43 W. Third St., Mansfield): Marty Gitlin, author of “The Ultimate Cleveland Indians Time Machine,” presents “From the Spiders to the Indians to the Guardians,” 6 to 7 p.m. Monday. Register at mrcpl.org.
Hudson Library & Historical Society: Former Metropolitan Police Department officer Michael Fanone talks about “Hold the Line: The Insurrection and One Cop’s Battle for America’s Soul,” in a Zoom event at 7 p.m. Monday. At 7 p.m. Thursday, gastroenterologist Shilpa Ravella talks about “A Silent Fire: The Story of Inflammation, Diet, & Disease.” Register at hudsonlibrary.org.
Akron-Summit County Public Library (North Hill branch, 183 E. Cuyahoga Falls Ave.): Sharon Dennis Wyeth, author of “Evette, the River and Me” and “Juneteenth Our Day of Freedom,” signs her books and answers questions, 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at akronlibrary.org.
Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library (30 Public Square, Willoughby): James A. Willis signs “Ohio’s Historic Haunts: Investigating the Paranormal in the Buckeye State,” 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Register at we247.org.
Mentor Public Library (Mentor-on-the-Lake branch, 5642 Andrews Road): Willliam G. Krejci signs “Buried Beneath Cleveland: Lost Cemeteries of Cuyahoga County,” 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Register at mentorpl.org.
Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library: Aziz Gazipura joins the Online Author Talk Series, discussing “Not Nice: Stop People Pleasing, Staying Silent, & Feeling Guilty … And Start Speaking Up, Saying No, Asking Boldly, and Unapologetically Being Yourself” in a virtual event from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday. Register at smfpl.org.
Akron-Summit County Public Library: Elie Mystal, author of “Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution,” talks about the Constitution and its relevance, in a Zoom session from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Register at akronlibrary.org.
Holmes County District Library (3102 Glen Drive, Millersburg): Mary Tipton, Shelly Spade and Cheryl Fields, authors of “Holmes County Hair Raisers,” present “Myths and Legends of Holmes County,” 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Fairview Park branch, 21255 Lorain Road): Dave Schwensen, author of “The Beatles in Cleveland,” presents “The Beatles at Shea Stadium: The Beginning of Stadium Rock,” 7 to 8:15 p.m. Thursday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Visible Voice Books (2258 Professor Ave., Cleveland): Phil Adamo signs “The Medievalist,” a novel about Yale students fighting neo-Nazi propaganda, 7 p.m. Thursday.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch, 1876 S. Green Road, South Euclid): Achut Deng discuses her memoir “Don’t Look Back: A Memoir of War, Survival, and My Journey from Sudan to America,” 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson): Misty Wilson signs her children’s graphic novel “Play Like a Girl,” about a middle-schooler who wants to play football with the boys, 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Barnes & Noble (Great Lakes Mall, 7900 Mentor Ave., Mentor): Jennifer Boresz Engelking signs “Lost Lake County, Ohio,” 1 p.m. Saturday.
Stark County District Library (Jackson Community branch, 7487 Fulton Drive Northwest, Jackson Township): James Willis signs “Ohio’s Historic Haunts” and discusses his experiences visiting these haunted landmarks, 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Register at starklibrary.org.
Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. Barbara McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.
