The Medicine Woman of Galveston
When we first meet Dr. Tucia Hatherley in St. Louis in 1900, her world has fallen apart. She has been expelled from an internship at a hospital, supposedly for incompetence. She finds work in a dangerous corset factory but is fired when she resists her boss’s attention. She struggles to raise her six-year-old son, who has special needs and no apparent father. As the last straw, she is about to lose her lodging because she cannot pay down the debt for her medical school education.
Tucia has a chance encounter with Huey Horn, also known as the Amazing Adolphus. He owns a traveling medicine show, setting up performances in towns throughout the middle of the country. He offers to pay off Tucia’s debts if she joins his troupe. Seeing few alternatives, she agrees and befriends other members of the company including a handsome handyman, a dancing giant, a bow-legged musician, and an Indian who wants to be a writer. Gradually, she learns their secrets and they learn hers. At first, the Amazing Adolphus asks Tucia to participate in his scams by impersonating a fortune teller. Then he asks her to assist him as he offers exams to his audience members and sells them useless nostrums. Once the troupe reaches Galveston, his demands become increasingly unreasonable.
Skenandore has done a splendid job with perfect pacing and original characters who change convincingly over time. Her settings are a bit vague as the troupe moves from town to town, but once the show reaches Galveston, readers smell the water, envision the buildings, and sense the forces of nature. Readers will route for Tucia and the members of the troupe to free themselves from the Amazing Adolphus.
