The Lacemaker’s Fortune
Catalano tells the dramatic and engaging tale of a love triangle. The story opens in New York City in 1879, when the Maguire sisters, immigrants from Ireland, struggle to earn a living. Mary works her trade in a brothel, and Eileen creates lace for a milliner. Soon two men enter the picture—wealthy Laurie Bernard, who drowns his ennui in an opium den, and prophet-like, mysterious Stanley Jones, a Catholic minister who rescues Laurie from his sinning ways. Jones convinces Mary, Eileen, and Laurie, along with a ragtag group of others, to accompany him to the West. He will establish a church, and Laurie will buy a silver mine. Halfway through the novel, the setting shifts from New York to Leadville, Colorado, where Laurie, wealthier than ever due to the immediate success of his mine, and Eileen, who tries to adopt a lady’s behavior and wean herself from laudanum, marry in Leadville’s most elegant hotel. Both keep an eye on Stanley Jones with his commanding presence, with results that are both expected and unexpected.
Alternating between Eileen’s point of view and Laurie’s, Catalano creates fully developed characters, especially with Eileen Maguire. Their interior monologues are revealing, and sometimes lengthy. Many of the minor characters—especially Justine the cook and Seamus the butler—are carefully drawn. Catalano includes just enough historical context to anchor her novel in time, but readers who seek substantial information about bias against the Irish, working conditions in mines, and the politics of the era will need to look elsewhere. The plot moves rapidly toward twists, some satisfying and some possibly excessive. The sex in the novel, which takes many forms, is upfront and direct, but always serves the story.
