A Tyranny of Petticoats (Because the title is pretty great on its own)

      

    A Tyranny of Petticoats is a collection of 15 short historical fiction stories about girls in different time periods, from different places, in different scenarios. Each was written by a different author, and they were edited by Jessica Spotwood. The subjects of the stories range from a woman pretending to be a male pirate to a girl living in the civil war to a story about the Three Fates incarnated as young girls in Texas. Every single chapter was fun to read, but my two favorites were Pearls and The Legendary Garrett Girls. Pearls is about a woman who runs away from her fiance to teach at a school. One of my favorite lines from the book comes from this story; “ ‘You’d never shoot me, Helen,’ Richard says, smiling, his fangs showing. ‘No woman of mine would shoot me.’ So I shot him.”

    Historical fiction has never been one of my go to genres, so this book was a little bit of a change for me. It was fast paced, because you only stayed with each character for around twenty pages, and the leap from story to story was so huge that it felt like a new book each time. One would think that readers wouldn’t get to know the characters very well, however, a fairly detailed picture of them is painted for only having one chapter of each of them. And, they still feel like tangible people who are relatable and understandable. Because all of the authors have a different writing voice, the book is like a patchwork quilt of writing, in a good way. For example one of the stories, High Stakes, is about a descendant of Medusa and is written in eloquent and formal language. It is followed by The Red Raven Ball,  about a main character whose family has joined the Confederate army without her knowing and which is written in a more flowery and personable way. The contrasting narratives keep the reader engaged and wondering what will come next.

    One of the main reasons I chose to read this book was because it practically oozes an air of feminism. The title alone caught my eye on a shelf at the library. The text on the front of the book is “15 stories of belles, bank robbers, & other badass girls,” and I was drawn to this line. The whole work speaks to the diversity of females, and how all women are valuable and useful.  Inside of the collection, the only thing that the stories have in common is that they are all ruled by hardworking, strong girls and women. There are tales with obvious feminism like The Color of the Sky, which is about Antonia, a Black highschooler in 1926 who wants to become a pilot. And there are stories whose messages are slightly more subtle, like The Journey, whose main character’s parents are killed by white settlers, leaving her to do her father’s job and find a new home.

    There are many other important threads showcased aside from feminism, too. These included independence, individuality, following passion, and being true to yourself. The book is very empowering, and I would recommend it to anyone who needs a pick me up or reminder of how much they can do in the world. I think that with such a diverse cast and set of situations, anyone could find a main character that they relate to, be it a belle, bank robber, or other girl.