The Adventures of Blanche

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good book submitted by Ele Z. on August 1, 2011, 7:40pm good

adventurous woman submitted by camelsamba on August 26, 2015, 9:33pm The premise of this book is that the author rescues / inherits his grandmother's old memorabilia, and these stories illustrate the letters she wrote home to her parents during her various adventures. I assumed they were true - although certain elements defied belief, which made me wonder if she was stretching the truth to entertain her parents or what. Then I noticed the subject listing on this page says "Womack, Blanche (Fictitious character)." Next I found a 2008 interview with Rick Geary where he says "The character of Blanche is based ever so loosely on my grandmother, who taught piano in her small Kansas town and, as a young woman, studied in New York. From these facts I let my imagination fabricate her outlandish adventures."

So: not true stories. But they are pretty amazing adventures, verging on believable. They relate a strong woman, working to make her way in the early decades of the 20th century. The adventures highlight certain inequities and social conditions of the time, although likely with poetic license there as well. The lines and artwork are strong and compelling. You can almost believe it really happened - except for a few details, and for having read my review...