From Jennifer Chiaverini, New York Times bestselling author of Resistance Women and Switchboard Soldiers, a compelling Victorian-era tale of empowerment, love, and the enduring fight for women’s rights.
In the vibrant society of late nineteenth-century England, spirited Josephine “Jo” Mayberry is an aspiring solicitor in an era when women are barred from practicing law. The daughter of a prominent lawyer and a disgraced heiress, Jo’s place in polite society is overshadowed by an old family scandal, so when the London matchmaking season arrives, her father sends her to live with a distant cousin, Florence Wallace Pomeroy, Viscountess Harburton.
Lady Harburton is supposed to help Jo navigate the marriage market, but she is also a leader of the progressive Rational Dress Society—a radical movement advocating women’s freedom from corsets, heavy skirts, and other traditional attire that damages women’s bodies and impairs their movement. Sensing a kindred spirit, Lady Harburton asks Jo to lend her legal training to help the cause. It will not be an easy fight; critics of Rational Dress rightly suspect that they have even greater ambitions. Once women are enabled to move freely and independently in the world, they may claim a greater share of it, including the vote.
As Jo rises to the challenge, she also grapples with an unexpected romantic entanglement with a handsome journalist and the weight of her mother’s scandalous past. When the Rational Dress Society finds itself at the center of a historic court case, Jo resolves to stay true to her principles even at the risk of her reputation.
Inspired by the true story of early heroes of the Women’s Rights Movement, The Rational Dress Society paints a vivid picture of a young woman finding her voice in a world resistant to change.