The Engineer's Wife: A Novel of the Brooklyn Bridge
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She built the Brooklyn Bridge, so why don't you know her name?
Emily Roebling built a monument for all time. Then she was lost in its shadow. Discover the fascinating woman who helped design and construct the Brooklyn Bridge. Perfect for book clubs and fans of Marie Benedict.
Emily refuses to live conventionally--she knows who she is and what she wants, and she's determined to make change. But then her husband asks the unthinkable: give up her dreams to make his possible.
Emily's fight for women's suffrage is put on hold, and her life transformed when her husband Washington Roebling, the Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge, is injured on the job. Untrained for the task, but under his guidance, she assumes his role, despite stern resistance and overwhelming obstacles. But as the project takes shape under Emily's direction, she wonders whose legacy she is building--hers, or her husband's. As the monument rises, Emily's marriage, principles, and identity threaten to collapse. When the bridge finally stands finished, will she recognize the woman who built it?
Based on the true story of an American icon, The Engineer's Wife delivers an emotional portrait of a woman transformed by a project of unfathomable scale, which takes her into the bowels of the East River, suffragette riots, the halls of Manhattan's elite, and the heady, freewheeling temptations of P.T. Barnum. The biography of a husband and wife determined to build something that lasts--even at the risk of losing each other.
"Historical fiction at its finest."--Andrea Bobotis, author of The Last List of Miss Judith Kratt
Other Bestselling Historical Fiction from Sourcebooks Landmark:
The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris
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Community Reviews
What’s it about?
The New York legislature approves John Roebling’s design of the Brooklyn bridge in 1867- not long after the conclusion of the Civil War. Roebling has plans to build the bridge with the help of his son Wash. Just as construction is set to begin in 1869 John Roebling is injured and dies a few days later due to tetanus. His son Wash now takes over the mammoth project. He leans on his young wife Emily to help as she can. As Wash is incapacitated more and more by Caisson disease (from working at such a great depth) he leans even more on Emily. Eventually it is Emily who is leading the project- in a time that woman are not seen as capable in any area outside of the home.
What did it make me think about?
How the stars must have aligned for Emily Warren Roebling to have been given this opportunity. Tracey Enerson Wood does an impressive job of demonstrating how difficult it would have been for any woman to make a significant contribution at this time in history. It is so wonderful that Emily Warren Roebling is getting more attention for the role she played in the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Should I read it?
This was an interesting story about a very impressive woman. Tracey Enerson Wood takes lots of liberties with Emily’s personal life and with her motivations- so I am not sure I know Emily Warren Roebling any better than I did before I read the book. I do now know of her accomplishments though- and that is worth reading about!
Quote-
” I should have liked to say that my dedication was accepted and appreciated by the scores of men with whom I worked, but that was not he case. I simply determined that their reluctance to do so was their problem, not mine.”
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