Behind Every Good Man
Beverly Diamond is the perfect mid-century wife to her husband, Larry, the campaign manager for Maryland senator Sam Gibson, who’s seeking re-election. Every day she wakes before him to doll herself up and have breakfast on the table for him and their two young children before he leaves for work. Once he leaves, she scurries to finish the household chores so Larry never knows how much exhausting work happens behind the scenes of their picturesque life. So, when she catches him fooling around with his secretary one afternoon, she isn’t just hurt—she’s livid. She throws him out, but he claims he can’t afford to keep her in the house if he has to pay for his own place as well, and then laughs in her face when she says she’ll get a job.
Angrier than ever, Beverly does get a job—as the campaign manager for Sam Gibson’s underdog opponent, Michael Landau. With her well-intentioned but often overbearing mother watching the kids and some excellent advice from her father—a former minority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives—Beverly throws herself into Michael’s campaign to prove to both Larry and herself that she isn’t lost without a husband.
Confino has managed the rare trick of dishing up a social commentary that’s both illuminating and sharply funny. As Beverly navigates womanhood in 1962—complete with plenty of references to Jackie Kennedy—she proves the power of women’s voices, even at a time when they were thought to be unimportant. Buoyed by a delightful cast of well-rounded secondary characters and sprinkled with a dash of romance, the novel shows the power of blazing one’s own trail, even against frightening odds. Readers who love strong female leads won’t want to miss this one. Highly recommended.
