The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers

This is the freshest, most interesting take on the early tobacco industry I have ever read. 

Big Tobacco. World War II. Fashion in the South. 

I couldn’t put it down. Adele Myers tells a beautiful, intensely colorful story (this time, you can judge a book by its cover) that contextualizes the tobacco industry from an entirely new angle. 

It’s a celebration of women finding and holding onto power during a time when men believed women’s responsibilities were a comprehensive combination of being delicate and looking pretty. 

Maddie, a young seamstress with huge potential, navigates the very dark & twisted rabbithole of a tobacco town and its politics in the 1940s. There’s a ton of money and resources involved, as indeed there always is. Maddie picks up bits & pieces of a detrimental secret through meetings and interactions with the wives of the tobacco farm owners (upon which the entire town runs) as she creates their custom looks for the celebratory gala (the biggest social event of the year).

I’ll let you discover for yourself where (and with what) she ends up.

Rich vs Poor and Man vs Woman is everywhere in this story, and it is detailed to us in both nuanced and obvious ways. A perfect, intentional cocktail of between-the-lines and in-your-face; a pile of juxtapositions that were assembled with care for a wildly engaging read. 

I won’t say much more, because it is such a gratifying adventure to have on your own. But do read the afterword from Ms. Myers—she describes where this story began and how it evolved to the copy in our hands. Even that little nugget is enthralling. 

Do Paige and I agree? Discover her rating (and her TL;DR) here.