Shadow Marriage

by Kathleen Thompson Norris

STICKER RESIDUE, SCUFFING, EDGE WEAR & SOME DINGS ON COVERS AND SPINE. AGE TANNING & SOME DISCOLORATION INSIDE COVERS & ON PAGES. MUSTY ODOR. SMALL BLACKOUT ON FRONT COVER AND ON FIRST PAGE. NO OTHER MARKING OR WRITING NOTED IN BOOK.

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

Educated at the University of California, Kathleen married Charles Gilman Norris, brother of the late Benjamin Franklin Norris, Junior, in 1909. She was a prolific author, producing over 80 novels in addition to numerous short stories and articles. Norris was a regular contributor to leading magazines such as Atlantic and Ladies' Home Journal. Her first novel, Lost Sunrise, appeared in 1909 and was immediately popular. By the end of her career her books had sold over ten million copies and made her the highest paid female author of her day.

Reviews

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favorite Norris books is The Heart of Rachael which, written in 1916, is a ringing endorsement of marriage and a rousing condemnation of divorce. Shadow Marriage written nearly forty years later, is neither of those things. Nor is it as uplifting and full of hope as The Heart of Rachael. I wonder if that was the result of a change in the author's point of view or just a reflection of changing times. Either way, I found the book rather depressing. It's well written and absorbing, but Georgia's life is hardly one of happiness. Neither of her marriages is a good choice and the second is especially painful to read about because of how it affects her small sons. I kept waiting for her to retrieve the mistake—in fact, it was hard not to blame her for not getting them out of that situation at any cost. The fact that she never does, and that the book ends by jumping forward fifteen years to show her still trapped in her (mentally) abusive marriage, her lover gone and one of her sons dead didn't exactly make for a satisfying or uplifting ending. It's a long leap from Rachel's hope: "The wonder of marriage came to her, the miracle of love rooted too deep for disturbance, of love fed on faults as well as virtues; so light a tie in the beginning, so powerful a bond as the years go by" to Georgia's quiet endurance. And not a happy one.

[Melinda · Rating 1 out of 5]

No happy ever after in this book. The poor heroine is trapped in a loveless marriage. Her husband is a collector of beautiful things and wants their marriage to be only on the surface. He wants to select her clothes and escort her to parties and show her off as one of his possessions. She tries to love him and to get him to agree to a true relationship but he never agrees.