Lidie: The Further Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton: A Novel
This sequel to Smiley’s The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton (1998) opens over Christmas 1857 in Lidie’s hometown of Quincy, Illinois. Lidie seeks refuge back home after a brief marriage, a short time in Kansas Territory, and the murder of her abolitionist husband. Recovering back in Quincy, she lives with one of three much older, oppressive half-sisters from her father’s first wife. Lidie, now twenty-three, is the only surviving child of her father’s second wife.
Lidie bonds again with her slightly younger, beautiful niece, Annie. Annie acts in local plays, where she is discovered by theatre agent/producer, Mallory Cunningham, from Liverpool, England. Mallory invites Annie and a maid (Lidie) to Liverpool at Mallory’s lavish expense. Lidie and Annie jump at the chance and sneak away by train and ship before the sisters can stop them.
Plot tension is constant. Will they survive the passage? Where will they stay in Liverpool? Will Annie fail as an actress with a strange accent? What purpose will Lidie find beyond Annie? The prose meanders with Lidie’s first-person thoughts and dialogue. However, the narrative fits Lidie as she often jumps from deep musings about big issues such as racism, religion, and her recent past to everyday concerns about food, clothes, gardening, how people speak, the nasty weather, and where to find what she needs. Lidie, well-read, fiercely independent and clever, is easy to cheer for. Secondary characters from Annie, Mallory and his family, to the locals are all well done with interesting quirks. There is a master gardener, a minister in a small church, a Black teacher, and an unruly young girl trying to cope with horrible eyesight. Highly recommended as a literary portrayal of talented young women making their way in two worlds. Because of unresolved endings, readers of this novel will eagerly hope for another book in the series.
