Preview
  • An Elegant Woman

  • A Novel
  • By: Martha McPhee
  • Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
  • Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
  • 3.9 out of 5 stars (32 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

An Elegant Woman

By: Martha McPhee
Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $20.24

Buy for $20.24

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

“A portrait of self-creation in the vein of F. Scott Fitzgerald”, (The Wall Street Journal) An Elegant Woman is “a rich exploration of legacy and memory” (Entertainment Weekly) that follows four generations of women against the sweep of 20th century American history.

Drawn from the author’s own family history, this powerful, moving multigenerational saga from National Book Award finalist Martha McPhee masterfully explores the stories we tell ourselves, and what we leave out.

As Isadora, a novelist, and two of her sisters sift through the artifacts of their forebears’ lives, trying to decide what to salvage and what to toss, the story shifts to a winter day in 1910 at a train station in Ohio. Two girls wait in the winter cold with their mother - the mercurial Glenna Stewart - to depart for a new life in the West. As Glenna campaigns in Montana for women’s suffrage and teaches in one-room schoolhouses, Tommy takes care of her little sister, Katherine: trapping animals, begging, keeping house, cooking, while Katherine goes to school. When Katherine graduates, Tommy makes a decision that will change the course of both of their lives.

Told “with an easy grace many historical novels lack” (Los Angeles Times), An Elegant Woman follows one woman over the course of the 20th century, taking us from a drought-stricken Montana farm to a yellow Victorian in Maine; from the halls of a psychiatric hospital in London to a wedding gown fitting at Bergdorf Goodman; from a house in small town Ohio to a family reunion at a sweltering New Jersey pig roast. Framed by Isadora’s efforts to retell her grandmother’s journey - and understand her own - the novel is “sharp, precise, and, yes, elegant” (The Boston Globe) in its gorgeous depiction of 100 years in a family’s history.

©2020 Martha McPhee. All rights reserved. (P)2020 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about An Elegant Woman

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    16
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    13
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Which character do you like best?

Glenna, Katherine, Pat, Tommie, ZaZu? You will discover the depth of these characters slowly and either agree or disagree that the theft of a name was proper and right and deserved. As I look back on these lives, I realize how I judged these characters. I argued with the narrator because I did not agree with her. Characters were so alive agains a seemingly bleak landscape. A very satisfying “I knew it “ conclusion.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!