Marry Me by Midnight

I recently had the opportunity to renovate my room and include a small dressing table. The amount of teasing I received about this from friends and family was unanticipated. Everyone felt the need to remind me that I am not a fashion model, nor particularly chic or beautiful. I ignored them all. Because when I sit at that table and brush my hair or apply sunscreen, the power I experience is worth every annoying joke made at my expense. These are not just clothes and accessories. They are armor that I am applying for the day in the few moments of peace and quiet that I have before I go do battle with the world. I like to think that in this regard I resemble Isabelle Lira, protagonist of Felicia Grossman’s historical romance Marry Me By Midnight.

Isabelle has a spectacular sense of fashion. The descriptions of her outfits are gorgeous. They are also necessary. As a Sephardic Jewish woman in 1830’s London trying to salvage her place in her father’s business after he dies, Isabelle is in need of every piece of armor she can get. In order to avoid being forced out of the company by her father’s business partners, Isabelle must find a spouse that can provide her the power that only males in that society could wield. Yet she must also balance the need for this man to give her free reign over the business and not take advantage of her. It’s a tall order and she doesn’t have much time, which is why she hosts a series of festivals to which she invites all eligible men in the community so that they can vie for her hand.

Fashion isn’t Isabelle’s only weapon. She recruits Synagogue custodian, Aaron Ellenberg, to help her vet potential candidates. Aaron is an orphan who faces the age old dilemma of Jewish males – he’s neither a learner nor an earner. His position at the Synagogue has been given to him by the community as a form of charity. Despite his many other admirable qualities, due to his lack of wealth and Torah knowledge, he has no hopes of having a wife and children of his own. However, with the money Isabelle is promising to pay for his help he just might be able to change that. What he and Isabelle haven’t counted on is the attraction they begin to feel for each other.

If this sounds like a gender bent Cinderella story to you -that’s because it is! But it is also so much more. Isabelle is not only battling with societal mores of what women can and cannot do, she is also a Jew trying to advance herself in gentile society. She’s forced to concede to gentile views on modesty and propriety that are not necessarily held by her own community. Plus, many of her suitors are Asheknaz, a group that at the time was less accepted by British gentiles due to their being more recent arrivals in the country.

When it is suggested that Isabelle focus her search on Sephardic candidates, so as to appease the gentiles that patronize her business, her response is sheer perfection. I do not want to give away spoilers – please read it for yourself – but let me just say that her words regarding how outsiders relate to Jews are still valid today. Isabelle has a lot of wisdom to offer in terms of how to be true to ones self while putting up with the demands of society at large.

Isabelle is clever, determined, and rich. That still doesn’t mean she is going to get everything she wants. Because she is also a woman in 1830’s London and that comes with certain unchangeable limitations. The author is meticulous in providing period details and she therefore acknowledges this aspect of Isabelle’s life. Isabelle’s happily ever after cannot be obtained without some concessions on her part, but that makes it feel all the more real and all the more relatable.

Note for my romance readers who like to read on the train or at work – yes there are explicit spicy scenes. You will learn fun slang for genitalia used in the 1830’s Jewish community. But maybe save those scenes for when you are alone unless you want to get some strange looks from the commuter reading over your shoulder. (Yes, this happens to me. Why do people do this?)

When I sit at my dressing table and select the face I want to present to the world on any given day, I remind myself that women have been doing this for ages. Isabelle is a model of courage and ingenuity, but her character arc is also a lesson in how and when to reach out for help. Aaron’s character arc reminds me that I do not have to do this alone. That I am a member of a community, and that we should support each other always. Those feel like pretty decent lessons to take with me every morning.

Note: BookishlyJewish received an e arc of this book from the publisher after we asked for one.

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