“Relative Fortunes” by Marlowe Benn – Fatal Price of Independence

Marlowe Benn has certainly announced her arrival on the literary scene with a lot of enthusiasm by publishing her first novel, Relative Fortunes. Taking us back to 1924 Manhattan, we follow the story of a young suffragette, Julia Kydd, with barely realistic dreams of launching a printing press of her own.

When her friend's sister dies in what is apparently a suicide, Julia isn't entirely satisfied with the handling of the case, and sets out to prove it was indeed a cleverly disguised murder.

Marching with Marlowe Benn towards Murder and Freedom

Women's battle for respect, recognition and equality has been a long-going struggle, with so much left to do on the global scale despite the tremendous achievements made in the past centuries.

Historically-speaking, many women's attempts to escape oppression and gain independence were met with heavy resistance and violence, lethal in some cases. While in modern-day North-America it might not be as much of a factor, it is good to remember not so long ago times were quite different, as we will get to see in Marlowe Benn's Relative Fortunes.

Taking us back to 1924 Manhattan, we are introduced to Julia Kydd, a young suffragette with a distinct love for books and a dream of opening up her own private printing press.

She spent her whole life fighting for what is hers, and her dream is now so close at hand, if only it weren't for her half-brother Philip, who has deemed necessary to challenge her claims to the family inheritance. Without the money, Julia's aspirations are nothing more than ruins.

Things take a turn for the morbid and strange when Naomi Rankin, sister to Julia's friend, is found dead in what appears to be a clear-cut case of suicide, at least as far as her wealthy family and the police are concerned.
Julia, however, cannot come to terms with Naomi having taken her life, especially considering she made the strong choice to live in relative poverty to be free form her rich family.

As she sets out to uncover the truth behind Naomi's death, Philip proposes a wager to his sister: if she can indeed prove her suspicions of it being a murder, he will relent his claim to the family inheritance. Seeing this as her only chance of achieving what she wants in this world, Julie dives headfirst into an investigation with infinitely more dangerous implications than she can imagine.

A Bit of Each Genre

When I first picked up the book I wasn't quite sure what I would be getting myself into. On one hand it is labelled as a work of historical fiction, while on the other hand it is also classified as an amateur sleuth novel and an investigate mystery.

While it isn't exactly groundbreaking to mix and match genres like this, in my eyes it's one of those things which the author can either pull off quite well or not at all. In the case of Relative Fortunes, it seemed to me the book pertained more to the former category, and Marlowe Benn had a good idea of how to balance the different elements.

On one hand, there are a good amount of descriptive passages, describing the times and struggles of the suffragettes, their day-to-day activities, aspirations, and so on and so forth.

Benn does take a bit of time to set up in the world with enough detail to get us immersed in it, to make us feel as if we are standing on the streets besides Julia ourselves.

However, she never goes too profoundly into the history behind the story we are reading, and seeks to cover it on a more superficial level, so we might move on with the investigative part.

As much as I enjoy historical fiction, it is true many authors find it difficult to move the events forward at an enjoyable pace without getting bogged down in history's small details.

I believe the investigative plot of this novel helps alleviate this problem quite a bit, for there is always something concrete driving the plot forward, a specific mystery and an end goal to go along with it.

It seemed to me as the story went on, more attention was paid to the sleuthing rather than the historical context, and personally-speaking, I was more than happy with this turn of events.

The Efforts of a Determined Fighter

Julia Kydd is, as you may have gathered by now, our protagonist for the entirety of the journey, and on the whole I quite enjoyed her presence on the page. When writing strong women, many authors fall into the trap of making them unbelievably perfect and capable of virtually anything.

While I am certain such women do exist in this world, something tells me there are more of them in literature than there have been through human history.

Quite thankfully, Benn managed to avoid this pitfall and created a layered character who is believable in both her successes and failures. Her accomplishments never feel over the top or ridiculous in any sense, ultimately making her a relatable person, despite living a hundred years before our time. It is also quite interesting to see how she contrasts with her contemporaries, being a woman somewhat ahead of her time.

Taking a look at the murder mystery itself, while I wouldn't venture to say it's anything genre-defining, it certainly solidifies the plot by giving everything a concrete direction, and I think it's fair to say it will challenge veterans to some extent.

I had the impression it was more about Julia's investigation, the different characters and places it takes her as well as the realities of the world it exposes her to. The resolution to it all is quite satisfying and left me yearning for a bit more.

Despite some turbulent moments, she definitely has the makings of a sleuth should the author choose to bring her back in such a capacity for future adventures.

The Final Verdict

Relative Fortunes by Marlowe Benn is a solid and captivating historical murder mystery cloaked in the cape of historical fiction, delivering on both fronts but giving the former one some priority.

The world, the characters in it, as well as the investigative plot all come together seamlessly to create a fairly unique entry in the world of books. If you enjoy history and investigation combined together, then I highly recommend you give this book a chance.

---

Marlowe Benn Personal site Marlowe Benn is an American writer who grew up in an Illinois college town, after which she earned a master's degree in the book arts from the University of Alabama as well as a doctorate in the history of books from the University of California. She spent the bulk of her professional career as an editor and college teacher, only recently beginning her successful venture into the realms of authorship. Her first novel, Relative Fortunes, came out in 2019 and her second novel, Passing Fancies, is slated for 2020.