Review by Goodreads Author, Cathleen Townsend
Imagining Violet is an epistolary tale, which is something I have a cordial dislike for. Telling a story through a series of letters is very different from telling it as a straight narrative. It has a much different rhythm. People include things in letters, everyday details that wouldn’t make it into a typical three-act tale. I seem to have worn a three-act groove into my soul at an early age, so that’s a disadvantage for this book with me as a reader.
However, as an epistolary story it was exceptionally well done. The world may have had a great deal of non-narrative related detail, but it was all vivid and felt incredibly real and authentic. Judging it as the type of story it is, I would say it’s very successful. The line editing is flawless. The main character feels three-dimensional and her personality leaps off the page.
Violet is a young woman in 1892. She describes herself as born in Ireland, living in Scotland, but really an Englishwoman. She takes up studying music along with other liberal arts in Germany, a very demanding course of study that has her relying on tutors for months to get up to speed.
Violet is a young woman in 1892. She describes herself as born in Ireland, living in Scotland, but really an Englishwoman. She takes up studying music along with other liberal arts in Germany, a very demanding course of study that has her relying on tutors for months to get up to speed.
We see pre-Weimar Germany through Violet’s eyes, and it’s a fascinating glimpse, with the education of a young violinist, social experiences of upper-class young women, ice skating on the canals, celebrating holidays—all filled with youthful exuberance, and eventually disappointments. Should appeal to historical fiction fans who enjoy the Victorian period. Or possibly Jane Austen fans who like epistolary formats. For these groups, I would highly recommend this book.
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