This is a mother-daughter story set in the early days of the movie industry in New York. The balance between story and historical details was perfect as was the plot. Secrets, ambition, survival, and dreams are the main premise of The Courtesan's Daughter. Set in the early part of the 1900s, this book gives us a glimpse of Justine and Sylvie's story.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a interesting historical fiction novel that felt well researched and believable.
Both characters were interesting, but I found Justine more relatable.
This was a compelling, intriguing story and I felt engaged the whole way through.

The only downside is that the ending felt a little rushed in comparison to the book - although I find this common within a lot of stories within this genre, and may just be indicative of my own interest.

4 stars!

I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The dynamic between the mother and daughter was absolutely captivating, and the way the story weaved through time had me completely engrossed. The mother's hidden secrets were truly unbelievable, and I can't help but wonder if being honest from the start would have saved their relationship. Nonetheless, it was an incredibly fascinating journey and I couldn't put the book down.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The mother daughter relationship was compelling and travelling through the centuries was interesting. The secrets the mother is keeping is unbelievable and I realise she was just trying to protect her daughter but being upfront would have saved the relationship.

Thank you for allowing me free access to this incredible novel for a review. I really enjoyed the unique storyline that The Courtesan's Daughter has. Set in New York in the early 1900s, Sylvie is a young woman on the cusp of adulthood and ready to be someone. She's been sheltered her entire life, but is still a loyal hardworking young woman. Caught up with a handsome young man, she makes several bad choices that land her exactly where she asks to be....but with a price. Sylvie has to learn the cruelties of the world without her caring mother, while her mother learns to relinquish control and to find genuine friendships. The mother daughter relationship brought so much joy and sorrow as I relate to it very much. Both a coming of age and a family saga! I also really enjoyed learning about the Vitagraph girls, mob-life, early filmaking and sewing! A seemingly simple story with very complex characters. As it seems to be with many novels like this, the ending always feels rushed...but maybe thats because I wanted more, in all the best ways! There was certainly enough here to satisfy the story, but I enjoyed it so much that I want a follow-up on their lives, haha.

I have been craving a book like this for years - they just don't write teen historical fiction well anymore. Thank the stars for Susanne Dunlap! This book was everything I had been wanting and missing. Excellent dialogue, solid historical accuracy and details, an independent, likeable heroine, romance. I just savored each page and was very sorry when it ended. I will definitely be buying this book in print! TEN STARS!

I have read and loved many of Dunlap's works. She has the ability to write about person and place in such a way that the reader is spellbound. With this latest work, Dunlap takes readers on one woman's journey to protect her daughter at all costs. Justine would do everything in her power to place her daughter on a path for success. Sylvie accepted her mother's efforts until she realized that making her own decisions allowed her to fulfill her unspoken dreams. Unmentioned horrors and unexpected dangers amount to a flurry of secrets that neither can truly unveil to the other. The inclusion of the early years of Vitagraph Studios was a very nice addition and correlated well with Sylvie's desires.

This book didn't hit the mark for me as much as I would have liked. I found myself skimming many areas and could not find an emotional connection to either main character. I received a copy of this title via NetGalley.

Secrets, ambition, survival, and dreams are the main premise of The Courtesan's Daughter. Set in the early part of the 1900s, this book gives us a glimpse of Justine and Sylvie's story.

This story, though, is set in that time period, which is something that we see even today. In the name of dreams and ambitions, a lot of young adults get pulled into glamor, but with disastrous consequences. Sylvie wants to be a Vitagraph girl and wants to be in movies.

The premise of this book is good, and the glimpse into the early movie industry is really informative. However, some of the stuff was extremely repetitive. I really enjoyed reading more about Justine's story than Sylvie. Thank you, Netgalley, and BooksGoSocial for the book.

I was totally rooting for Sylvie and Justine by the time I got to the halfway point of the book.
The novel is laced with lovely descriptions of early 20th century New York, life of the working classes and the early development of moving pictures. I love the sense of discovery in the industry within the book.
The story has mysteries that each character is trying to figure out, while we the reader know the story, bit also a mystery for the reader to try and untangle. I found the male violence awkward to read, but understood their place within the plot.
I enjoyed the pace of the story, although it did take me some time to get on board. I haven't read any historical fiction set in this era till now and I'm glad I picked this one up as I liked so much of what Susanne Dunlop did questioning women's position in society as well as drawing me into the plot's intruigue.

Quite a good historical novel, didn’t lean too heavily on the romance aspect, and was very nicely evocative of its time and place. Lots of interesting insight into early moving pictures, but not so much that it weighed the story down. I enjoying it.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC for this review.

This book is about a French immigrant Justine and her daughter Sylvie. The novel is set in early 20th century New York. Justine, had a secret past and arrived in NY because she fled, with her daughter to give her a better life. Sylvie has grown always being told that she would attend teachers college and make a better life for herself. Both mother and daughter support themselves by being seamstresses. But Sylvie has other ambitions to become an actress. As the novel proceeds Justine's past comes front and center and Sylvie becomes involved with a group that is on the wrong side of the law.
The book is interesting and kept my interest throughout. Thanks to Net Galley for an advance copy for my honest review.

The author did an excellent job portraying life in the tenements of early 20th century NYC. In addition to the setting and time period, I appreciated the research and historical accuracy with which the author described the seamstress profession and the rise of the movie industry. The book alternates between the worlds of a mother, Justine, who fled France 15 years earlier and who ekes out a living as a seamstress, and her teenage daughter Slyvie, who is being pushed to go to a teaching college to better herself but who instead has dreams of being in the movies. Justine's troubles in the past come to light and Sylvie gets into trouble in the present, leading to conflict between the two women. I enjoyed this historical fiction novel.

An interesting book about amother and daughter's relationship and their perception of the world. French immigrant Justine struggled so much in life and only wants her daughter's better future. Sylvie only wants to work in acting career. It's about how they survive their ongoing problems and take strong actions for themselves. A nice past time read set in Nineties.

This was interesting and unique following two generations, a mother and daughter and the different traumas they face both from their past and present. I found this was beautifully written yet it had some very dark themes I wasn't expecting. I liked the storyline and premise however it did seem quite slow and repetitive at points with characters actions being sometimes too unrealistic. Saying that I did enjoy this but I don't think it is the most amazing book out there.

Brilliant story which takes you to the early part of the 20th century when motion pictures were in their infancy.
The story surrounds a young women Sylvie and her mother Justine who came to New York from Paris to create a better life for them both.
Justine who was a courtesan in Paris prior to that training as a seamstress wants a better life for her daughter but Sylvie is draw to the glamour of the silent movies .
Both women have secrets that will inevitably come out.
Really good read.

Seventeen-year-old Sylvie has been pushed all her life to do well at school and become a teacher. Her dream, however, is to be a star in the new moving pictures. A handsome Italian boy encourages her ambitions, and she begins living a double life, pursuing her dreams while keeping her mother in the dark. Will she understand her mother's desire to hide the past or will she find danger in the streets of New York?

I had to think about this one for a while. There were parts that I enjoyed. The details of what it was like behind the scenes of the early movies were fascinating. How each person played multiple parts, ie. seamstress and background actress, stagehand and actor, were my favorite scenes. The details of the time period were also interesting to read as I don’t know that much about it.

At the same time, I didn’t care much for the conflict between mother and daughter, which was the central part of the story. How could she immediately trust someone she just met? I didn’t quite understand why Sylvie just ran away. I was also put off by the scenes with Justine that involved rape. They were not detailed but enough to make my stomach turn.

Overall, it was well written. The narrative jumps between Sylvie and Justine, and I feel like I would have liked the story better if it had been just one focus. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy historical fiction.

The first book of Suzanne Dunlap’s that I read was The Portraitist, which was a richly detailed look at the life of Adelaide Labille-Guiard, one of the few female portrait artists who rose to prominence in France around the time of the French Revolution. (See my full review at https://temafrank.com/book-review-the-portraitist-by-susanne-dunlap/). Like that book, the Courtesan’s Daughter also profiles women who defied the norms. It is a parallel look at the lives of former Parisian courtesan, Justine, who fled to New York and a low-key life as a seamstress in the early 1900s, and her teenage daughter, Sylvie. Justine has been pushing the smart and beautiful Sylvie to focus on her education, with the aim of becoming a teacher, but Sylvie longs to become a cinema star. In alternating chapters we get the perspectives of both women, each of whom is hiding secrets from the other. The plot is full of twists and turns as Justine’s past comes back to haunt her and as Sylvie’s pursuit of her dream gets her into ever-deeper trouble.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t seem nearly as nuanced and layered as The Portraitist. The hot water Sylvie lands in through questionable choices was simply too predictable, and at times I felt that the plot relied too heavily on coincidences. Although it was strongly telegraphed, I did like the gradual development of Justine’s relationship with Mr. Silverstein, the businessman for whom she has been sewing shirtwaists for years, and who takes an avuncular interest in the welfare of the two women.

If you are looking for an entertaining, easy read that gives you a flavor of life in the New York immigrant world of the early 1900s and an introduction to the early days of cinema, you will likely enjoy this book.

[NOTE: I received early access to this manuscript in exchange for writing an impartial review. Thank you netgalley and Atmosphere Press. Publication Date: April 25, 2023]

THE COURTESAN’S DAUGHTER is historical fiction set in New York City during the early years of the motion picture industry, involving two women - a mother and daughter. It's sort of a coming-of-age novel about both of them. Awarded three stars on Goodreads.

For 15 years, Justine (the mom) and Sylvie (the kid) have only had each other. Justine, a French immigrant, ekes out a meager living, applying her formidable sewing skills to piecemeal work supplied by a kind neighbor. In an effort to protect her child from scandal and "the law", Justine keeps Sylvie sheltered, making sure they both shun the company of others. Justine’s ambitions are all focused on Sylvie’s future, convinced her child’s best chance of rising out of poverty is a degree from the local teacher’s college. But Sylvie, though a dutiful child, harbors ambitions of her own. She dreams of becoming a famous actress.

That, in essence, is author Susanne Dunlap’s set up. Then, an unexpected event and a couple of impulsive decisions lead both women to diverge onto new paths. Justine has secrets that must slowly be revealed (no big surprise really given the book’s title) and the sheltered Sylvie finds a not-so-glamorous side to movie-making. As each woman explores the world beyond their home — they must form new relationships, take new risks, witness how women are too often abused, and learn about the fragile nature of trust.

Sounds pretty good so far, right? Unfortunately, I found the novel’s pace slow and plodding, with some plot twists tending toward the unbelievable. Lots and lots of words spent reviewing the internal thoughts of characters, worrying obsessively over the same few concerns. The pace picks up about two-thirds of the way in. But even then I mostly just wanted to see how the plot resolved. I didn’t find I was emotionally invested in any of the main characters. For me, it was all just story.

If you have an interest in the early days of movie-making or a glimpse of life in early 20th century NYC — you might enjoy this one. Otherwise, if you want to read something by this author, I personally think you'd be more engaged by The Portraitist.

Sylvie is a teenager with big dreams; her mom Justine escaped years before from France and a secret past that Sylvie knows nothing about, and wants more for her daughter than what she has had to escape. Of course Justine’s hopes and Sylvie’s wishes don’t match, and when Sylvie meets a boy from a shady family (in church no less!) she is drawn into something potentially dangerous and illegal. Fearing to be caught in something illegals, Sylvie runs away and hides at a local movie company. And the plot thickens from there.

Told between Sylvie’s and Justines point of view over the course of nearly a year, Dunlap builds a compelling story that is quite representative of its time period: the role and relative impotence of women in society, the excitement of the nascent movie industry, the hard lives of immigrants amidst discrimination and the brutality of industrialist, and surrounding it all, the resilience of the human spirit and the drive for a better life. The Courtesan’s Daughter has it all wrapped in a story that sucks you in and won’t let go. Definitely worth the read!

Interesting read. The big takeaway from this book: secrets always come out, and that often leads to trouble and heartache. It's also a tale of a young girl making her own way in the world. Finally, it's a cautionary tale: be careful who you trust. This applies to two of the men in this book. Thankfully, one redeems himself in the end, but the other...he's a jerk through and through! Dunlap draws you in, but at times, she can get a bit wordy and the characters can be a little too introspective. Ultimately, if one likes turn-of-the-century novels set in NYC, this is the book for you.
Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this advanced copy, which I voluntarily read and reviewed.