LIBERATED LADY

by Trish Vradenburg ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 16, 1986

Vradenburg's first novel is an uninspired chrysalis-to-butterfly tale of a New Jersey housewife who becomes the creature of the title. It's 1973, but really the Dark Ages for Jessica Simon Kantor, a suburban wife and mother who (as portrayed by Vradenburg, who consistently overplays her hand) is a cross between Snow White and Little Bo Peep. All of this changes when she discovers her doctor husband Eliot (a crude caricature of an early 70's swinger) in the vicelike embrace of his nurse. Turning down his suggestion that they have an open marriage, she grabs their daughter, Susan, makes a quick change in a phone booth and--presto!--it's Washington, D.C., 1984. The divorced Jessica, replete with law degree, is now powerful administrative assistant to Pennsylvania Senator Sam Ford, an alcoholic womanizer who depends on her to such an extent that rumors around town say she runs the whole show. She gains a rep as an up-and-coming dragon lady, but keeps looking for love in all the wrong places (her latest wimpy suitor is a rich lawyer who thinks of her as a ""hostess"") until she meets Ben Casale, ""a caricature of a handsome Italian stud,"" who is administrative assistant to Congressmen Richard Calvin, also from Pennsylvania. Not only is the sex great, but Ben can cook and is willing to put up with her dreadful one-liners (when he asks her how she likes her eggs, she replies: ""The same way I like my men: over hard""). The plot now shifts into high, clanking gear as Vradenburg jury-rigs a primary battle between Ford and Calvin, who wants Ford's Senate seat. Ben and Jessica turn on each other with cries of betrayal, fight tooth and nail, but eventually make up when, conveniently enough, Ford wins the primary, but throws his weight behind Calvin because he suddenly realizes he's tired of politics. In sum: a stiffly written effort with a labored plot, an unbelievable finale, and a central romance which lacks, as they used to say, pizazz.

Pub Date: June 16, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1986

Categories: FICTION