The Thirteenth Husband
“It turned out that no matter how low my expectations of marriage, I expected too much.” Such is the perspective of Amy Crocker, a Gilded Age debutante left fabulously wealthy by the death of her magnate father. On the night of her father’s death, she’s visited by the Woman in White, a specter who portends death. Amy’s life is full of portents — a fortune teller warns her to be careful of marrying, noting that her thirteenth husband will bury her.
This novel is embellished biographical fiction — Aimée Crocker actually existed, and she left behind a memoir, though the author notes that she “isn’t a reliable narrator.” Aimée’s impulsive life makes fascinating fodder for a novel, and Macallister’s version (spelled Amy) is an unrepentant flirt and an accomplished liar. She globe trots and makes her way through a number of men, facing societal censure for her behavior in several areas, since the times didn’t allow for such a liberated woman. It begins with her scandalous divorce from her first husband, who won the right to ask for her hand in a high-stakes poker game. Tabloid speculation follows her throughout the decades and across continents, from California to Hawaii to Europe to Asia. Amy is thoroughly modern in outlook; she notes that she can “get away with more than most women because of my money, but even for me, there were limits.” Yet she seldom seems to bump up against those limits, instituting multiple divorces and enjoying endless flirtations while living a thoroughly Bohemian lifestyle. She admits that her common sense is persistent, but she seldom listens to its whispers, and she refuses to accept less than she considers her due — she is always seeking the next thing. Yet there is also vulnerability here. This novel will appeal to those who enjoy a story with a healthy dose of mysticism, a tale of a glamorous but flawed heroine.
