Editorial note: I received a copy of The Mad Wife in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
The Mad Wife by Meagan Church is an intriguing historical and psychological suspense novel about the pressure society places on women.
I don’t often read many historical fiction stories that also fall into the suspense arena. But wow, after reading The Mad Wife, I’m very interested in reading other stories that mix the genres. This was such an engaging and surprising story.
The story is set in 1950s America, which was a very different world for women. And if any woman experiences anxiety, postpartum depression, etc., they were instantly branded with “female hysteria.”
While I love reading or watching movies or shows set in the ’50s, it definitely doesn’t make me want to live in that era. Behind the glitz and high fashion was an extremely dark time, especially for women.
What’s the Story About
We read the story entirely from Lulu Mayfield’s perspective. She has spent the last five years molding herself into the perfect 1950s housewife. Lulu tries to forget her tragic past, and even though she is so exhausted by taking care of her son and the household duties, she goes above and beyond to keep her household happy, and her gelatin salads are the talk of the neighborhood.
But after she gives birth to her second child, Lulu’s carefully crafted life begins to unravel.
When new neighbors move in next door, Lulu believes there’s something more sinister at play. As she works to uncover the truth, she begins to question everything she knew, and soon others begin to question her sanity.
The Inspiration
I conducted an interview with Meagan Church, and I asked her about the inspiration behind the story. She said that as she searched for a new story idea, she stumbled across a psychiatric training film from the 1960s on YouTube.
“In it, a woman dressed like Laura Petrie from “The Dick Van Dyke Show” sits on a therapist’s couch, smoking, legs crossed, and says she doesn’t like it when it’s quiet. What follows is a monologue about her childhood trauma, her failing marriage, and her belief that it’s all her fault because she “just needs to get her nerves in order.” I watched that clip several times, wondering what she wasn’t saying. What she couldn’t say.
That led me down a rabbit hole into the history of hysteria and women’s mental health, and then back to rereading The Bell Jar. I started to imagine a version of that story written for the modern reader, one that explored how easily women’s pain can still be misunderstood, dismissed, or silenced. And that became The Mad Wife,” she said.
Lulu’s World
It was intriguing but also terrifying to be on this journey with Lulu, where it’s impossible to know if it’s madness or something else at play. While the story is slower-paced, the suspenseful narrative kept the tension going the entire time. I truly did not know what would happen next.
Lulu is someone who is trying to be the perfect housewife, and we know now that perfection doesn’t exist. Something has to give at some point.
I felt for Lulu, and I wanted her to have more help. And while she does have a good friend in the neighborhood, there’s no one really to pick her up and give her a break. Her husband just isn’t aware of the struggles she’s going through, or chooses to turn a blind eye.
Verdict
I keep these spoiler-free, so I don’t want to go too much into detail. I think this is quite an interesting novel that is well worth your time. It will have you questioning so much, and you’ll want to read it in one sitting.
A great one for book clubs with much to discuss. Check out my book club questions here.
