Durie has captured my heart - what a great character and a brilliant story.
She’s such a strong and determined lady - her story a fascinating one.
I’d never known of a bonesetter before and really liked the idea of a female in such a male oriented role. Bucking the trend of such a patriarchal society, Durie was a fighter in more ways than one and I loved her.

Once again, Frances Quinn didn't disapoint! Honestly, I can only say that I really enjoyed reading this book, couldn't stop reading, all credit to the author. This is a compelling reading, since the very first page the reader easily follows the storyline, the main character is such a strong woman especially for the time!!
A book that I truly recommend!

Two sisters go to London and through the help of their Aunt start becoming independent and self sufficient in what was then a man’s world. Durie is a bonesetter whereas Lucinda is an actress. Lovely piece of historical fiction, great characters, couldn’t put it down.

Absolutely fabulous, this book kept me up at night reading as I couldn’t get enough of Durie and her quest to be recognised. The historical story is set in regency London, we see The Tower of London, theatre life and plenty of characters in between the two and how difficult it was to be a women trying to make it on her own.
Highly recommend and thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

Really interesting and absorbing historical fiction that is deceptively simply told but packs a real punch. Based on a real character, Endurance Proudfoot is different and she needs to find her place in 18th century England. She finds she has a gift to be a bonesetter like her father but the path is not smooth. A great sensor place and time, lots of details and great characters.

I was drawn to this book by the cover and the blurb. I was so excited to receive an ARC thanks to netgalley and the publishers. I felt an instant connection to the character Drurie and found myself completely absorbed in her world and could not put this book down.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for approving me for an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed the audio version of Frances Quinn’s previous novel, The Smallest Man, and couldn’t wait to read her latest.

From the start Durie is the type of character you want to see succeed. She’s clearly different to her sister Lucinda and has clear plans on what she wants to do with her life. Unfortunately Durie’s passions break out of the social norms and even her father isn’t keen to help her achieve them. What I came to admire was not just Durie’s no nonsense attitude but the way she held herself during difficult times and fought with determination to get what she wanted.

Arguably, thanks to the influence of her Aunt Ellen, Durie does lose sight of what her end game is but you can’t fault her or her aunt for their business like minds. It’s actually because of Ellen that you see Durie achieving more than she originally planned and despite my early reservation Ellen becomes a great crutch for Durie. The journey through all her difficulties and obstacles that she faced were brilliantly written.

This story beautifully captures life in a male dominant world, where women are expected to achieve nothing but birth children and keep their husbands happy. I was cheering Durie and Ellen on happy to see them break from the mould and take London by storm. Another fantastic read from Frances Quinn, I look forward to many more!

Set in the 18th Century, the book follows the lives of two sisters Durie and Lucinda, whose mother died after Durie's birth.

The girls re brought up by their father a bone setter and their step mother. Lucinda goes into service and has a fling with the son... with the expected consequences .... durie however is a large young girl lacking in confidence... and comes across quite clumsy, one day she goes out with her father as he helps different people with their joint problems... Durie decides she would like to follow him in the profession, however a female bone setter is unheard off.

When Lucinda's predicament becomes known they are sent off to London to stay with their father's sister satiating her in her cake shop.

Both girls have different lives to the ones they had known... Lucinda to the stage and Durie as a bone setter with lots of untrue accusations thrown at her by the Doctors who consider her to be a quack /charlatan.

Interesting read.... with a poignant ending .

I really enjoyed this book. This is largely down to Durie, who was the perfect heroine. I think if you didn’t love Durie, the story wouldn’t work half as well.

Thankfully I adored Durie. Her strength, decency and determination made her a force to be reckoned with, but it was her vulnerabilities that made her so endearing. She was stubborn yet kind, intelligent but also naive.

Georgian London was vividly brought to life and I felt Durie’s frustration as she was constantly belittled by men. Independent women were so often seen as something to be scorned.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading whatever Frances Quinn writes next.

You can read my full review at https://mmbbookblog.com/that-bonesetter-woman-by-frances-quinn-review/

Such an interesting story with a lively and loveable main character! I truly loved Durie. The plot of the book was something I hadn't expected but I ended up falling in love. The writing as well, was unexpected, but I found myself truly enjoying it and I really liked how it made me closer to Durie and feel everything going on around her. The side characters were also enjoyable. This book was truly a delightful surprise for me and I can't wait to read more of the author's works.

Endurance Proudfoot is big, clumsy and blunt - the opposite of her sister, and the despair of her family. Her father is a bonesetter and Durie is fascinated by his work, believing that she has the family gift as well., but most people don't think women can do it. When her sister Lucinda gets pregnant, the two girls are packed off to London to stay with their aunt, and Durie starts to find a way to practice as a bonesetter. Soon she's popular with fashionable London, but setting herself up puts her in opposition with the doctors, who find every way possible to undermine and ruin her - and make her a target for unscrupulous people.

Durie is a great character! Lucinda seems slightly less so initially, but when she becomes an actress she starts to push against the restraints of what is expected for women just as much as Durie, albeit in a different way. The break and the repair of the sisters' relationship is a strong part of the book, as is their relationship with their aunt - a woman determined not to be reliant on men. The aspects with the Tower of London menagerie and the Foundling Hospital weave in other aspects of life in Georgian London and make the book all the more enjoyable, but there's no escaping that women were clearly seen as lesser citizens at the time, which is a crucial part of the plot.

Lots to think about with this book, and I really enjoyed it!

I loved The Smallest Man, so had high hopes for this one. I wasn't disappointed at all. The strong character of Durie and her struggle to become accepted by Georgian society in the male dominated job of bonesetting was very well written. I loved the side plotline of her relationship with George. The portrayal of her relationships with the other wormen in her life - her sister, aunt and stepmother - was also realistic with those characters being well written and believable. I have only one slight criticism in that I found the dialogue a little stilted at first.

I absolutely adored this book, I read it very quickly and never wanted it to end! Durie needs to take a look at my back, it would definitely be a cruncher

After seeing her father work as a bonesetter Durie Proudfoot, knows she wants to f follow in his footsteps but it’s a job traditionally passed down from father to son. Then she has to accompany her sister to London to stay with their estranged aunt.
Loosely based on the story of Sally Mapp, an 18th century female bonesetter.
I loved this book & read it in a matter of days.
Yes, it’s a little predictable & twee but I love any books that let you in to the lives of real historical figures! This is well written & very readable.
4.5/5 stars

My thanks to Simon & Schuster UK for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘That Bonesetter Woman’ by Frances Quinn.

Last year I had adored Quinn’s debut, ‘The Smallest Man’, so I was pleased to read her latest novel set in 18th Century England. It was excellent and further confirmed for me Quinn’s storytelling skills.

In the summer of 1757 Endurance (Durie) Proudfoot and her sister, Lucinda, arrive in London to stay with their Aunt Ellen, who owns a confectioner’s shop catering to an elite clientele. The sisters are very different in appearance; while Lucy is pretty and delicate; Durie is large, strong, and clumsy. The narrative follows the sisters’ time in London with occasional flashbacks to their earlier lives.

Durie has only ever wanted one thing in life - to follow her father and grandfather into the family business of bonesetting. It’s a physically demanding job, requiring strength, nerves of steel and discretion – and according to her father it is not a job suitable for a woman.

When Durie perseveres demonstrating a talent for bonesetting, her father trains her alongside her younger brother. Then Lucinda goes into service and receives the attentions of the son of her employers, she is sent away to discreetly deliver the baby.

Durie isn’t happy to interrupt her training yet accompanies her sister to London. Encouraged by her aunt, she begins to see patients and her reputation grows. Meanwhile, after her baby is taken in by the Foundling Hospital, Lucy finds success in the theatre, becoming one of the first celebrities of Georgian London.
 
As Durie becomes widely celebrated as the first female bonesetter, she begins to encounter resistance from the male physicians determined to undermine her.

In her Author’s Note Frances Quinn writes of the inspirations that she drew on for her second novel. Endurance is loosely based on Sally Mapp, an 18th Century woman who became famous as a bonesetter and later denounced as a quack by the medical establishment of the period. When researching Mapp’s life Quinn found some sources that claimed that Sally’s sister was Lavinia Felton, a celebrated actress of the period. So, the fictional Proudfoot sisters were born.

As with ‘The Smallest Man’, Quinn’s research into the period was impeccable and I felt completely immersed in the narrative as if I were walking the streets of Georgian London, visiting its coffee houses, and always cheering on Durie as she followed her vocation against all odds.

Highly recommended.

Note: every time the surname Proudfoot was mentioned, I would think of the Hobbit clan and their insistence of being addressed as Proudfeet when more than one family member was present.

A strong woman in a man's world
Durrie and Lucinda, daughters of a bonesetter, are sent to London to stay with their Aunt, the reason is Lucinda's unwanted pregnancy. The girls settle with goodhearted Emma, who finds employment for them. Durrie is an ungainly, clumsy person and causes havoc wherever she goes, her one gift is bonesetting where her strength is useful. Eventually Durrie gets her chance to use her skills but is undermined by Doctors who resent her skill and sex
The use of newspaper articles whether true or false is an interesting feature as they can make it break a person.
Another part of the story is the birth of Tom, Lucinda 's son who is sent to the founding hospital, Durrie never forgets him and makes provisions for him.
Both girls suffer at the hands of men and are taken advantage of.
A good read which shows the struggle women had if they stepped out of their society defined rolls.
Thank you Frances and NetGalley.

Description 🔖

Endurance Proudfoot has found that she doesn’t have many talents. She’s not pretty and graceful like her sister Lucinda but she has determination and she’s strong. By chance, she discovers that she does have a gift and it’s following in the footsteps of her father and his father before him. She’s a fantastic bonesetter.

Bonesetting however is not a job for a woman. It requires strength, a hard stomach and discretion; all of which Durie has, but will the rest of society be able to see past the fact that she’s a woman and will she be able to forge herself a career as the first female bonesetter?

General Thoughts 🤔

I didn’t fully know what to expect from this book as I didn’t do an awful amount of research into it, however what I ended up getting was such a lovely story that was heart warming and heart breaking all at the same time.

I don’t know why I don’t read more historical fiction, because every time I do, I enjoy it. This book transported me back into 1700’s England and it felt very real to me. The way the characters carried and conducted themselves and the descriptions of the settings were fantastic and brought the whole story to life.

Characters 👫👭👬

I think I fell a little bit in love with Durie. She was clumsy and definitely not socially “polite” but she was a gentle woman with such a good heart. I liked that she found her thing and put her whole being behind making it work for herself, no matter what stood in her way. I felt incredibly sad imagining how hurtful it must have been for her having to face the backlash and abuse that she did just for helping people.

I started off not liking Aunt Ellen very much. I thought that she was hard faced and strict and was going to rinse every bit of labour out of Durie and Lucinda that she could. However as the story progressed, she slowly grew on me and I realised that ultimately, she wanted the best for both girls and probably would have done anything to help them succeed.

Writing Style ✍️

I haven’t read Frances Quinn’s first book but I will definitely be adding it to my TBR as I really enjoyed her style of writing. She created characters that felt like friends that as a reader I could empathise with, love and also disapprove of. As mentioned previously, I really liked how this author was able to make the time and the place come to life and transport me way back in time without overdoing descriptions and context setting. I especially liked the short chapters in this book; this always makes me turn the pages faster.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

This was a relatively easy going read, but it did tug on the heart strings. If you like stories with a main character that you can get behind, root for and want to pick up every time they’re knocked down; then you will enjoy this book. I’m looking forward to reading this author’s first book and also seeing what she comes out with next.

Endurance, Drurie, Proudfoot dreams of a career as a bonesetter - a kind of 18th century chiropractor - and hopes to be apprenticed by her father to succeed him. But a female bonesetter is not what people are used to. Still, she and her brother are allowed to join their father so he can choose who's got the knack. But then Drurie's sister Lucinda gets pregnant and the sisters go to their aunt Ellen in London so Luncinda can give up the child to The Foundling Hospital. Drurie sees her dream go up in smoke.

What a fantastic book! Quinn has such a fine storytelling style and is tremendously good at creating believable characters that you really empathise with. Drurie is a sturdily built woman and bold in her speech, which makes her constantly feel out of place. But she is strong and therefore very suitable to become a bonesetter.

Her sister Lucinda is her total opposite and tries to get a good position through the men in her life. And then there is Aunt Ellen, who has built a career on her own through her cake shop, without any help from men. As you can tell, there's a feminist plotline in this book. The men in Drurie's life (with one exception) make things very difficult for her, especially the other doctors. Purely out of jealousy.

You would think that a female chiropractor had sprung from the author's imagination. But Drurie's story is loosely based on the life of Sally Mapp, a female bonesetter who earned her living in London during the 18th century.

There are so many different plot lines in this book: Drurie bonesetter's dream, Lucinda's career as a stage actress, Ellen's cake shop, Drurie's visits to the menagerie of the Tower and The Foundling Hospital where Lucinda's baby ends up. 18th century London really comes alive.

I now urgently need to read Quinn's first book 'The smallest men' and look forward to what else she will write next.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

I connected with Durie from the beginning of the story. Her self-consciousness about physical appearance, desire to be useful, and desire to follow a purpose. I liked the theme of Durie wanting to change the male line of inheritance to become the first female bonesetter. Good choice for readers who enjoy historical fiction, feel-good fiction, and women going against the norms.

Frances Quinn has triumphed again, taking an largely forgotten period of history and making it completely alive for the reader without overloading the history. You don't feel weighed down by the historical details, they're just woven in beautifully and just as they should. I adored her first book The Smallest Man and have fallen in love with 'That Bonesetter Woman' in exactly the same way, I haven't stopped talking about it since I read it.

'That Bonesetter Woman' is the story of Endurance Proudfoot, known to everyone as Durie - she is clumsy and not delicate, unlike her older sister Lucinda who turns heads everywhere she goes. Durie's father is a bonesetter, helping members of their community to fix broken bones, dislocated shoulders, sprained ankles etc. He's always said the gift passes down from generation to generation, father to son, Could it be possible for the gift to pass to a daughter too?
Durie helps her father out in an emergency, and is amazed to find out that for the first time ever, rather than feeling clumsy and ungainly, she is competent and confident. She is desperate to become her father's assistant, but his is set on offering the position to his son, Durie's younger brother. Her father can see she is talented but society deems it unladylike for a woman to be a bonesetter and so he cannot see a way forward.

Due to a change in circumstances, Lucinda and Durie move to their aunt's house in London (Aunt Ellen is a phenomenal character!), where both sisters get the chance to find out more about who they want to be and what city life has to offer. Durie accidentally starts work as a bonesetter and then establishes herself, taking on society's preconceptions about femininity, beauty, strength and power as she does,

Her story is utterly compelling, I read some parts of the story with my heart in my mouth, willing her to make a different choice, but understanding her reasons for doing what she did. Her character has such a strength and resilience to it, in a similar way to Nat Davey in The Smallest Man - not willing to be told where the boundaries are. 1750s London society felt so real and vivid whilst I was reading it, as did the characters - there are so many back stories I want to know more about!

I have already bought my own copy of the book to keep forever- thats how good it is!