Come, Josephine

Come, Josephine is a synthesis of formula and literary traditions. It conforms to the Historical Romance genre since the plot integrates the typical meeting, losing, and happy ending of re-uniting with a loved partner even though Josie endures poverty and prejudice beforehand. After her mother's ostracism, Josephine sails across the Atlantic on her own, goes into service, and fights the attempted seductions of a couple of men even as her own sexuality calls. When she finally gives in...
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Come, Josephine is a synthesis of formula and literary traditions. It conforms to the Historical Romance genre since the plot integrates the typical meeting, losing, and happy ending of re-uniting with a loved partner even though Josie endures poverty and prejudice beforehand. After her mother's ostracism, Josephine sails across the Atlantic on her own, goes into service, and fights the attempted seductions of a couple of men even as her own sexuality calls. When she finally gives in and becomes pregnant, she is abandoned by the wealthy father to rear their son alone in New York City. Naturally, the ending culminates with a reunion with all three, but not without other traumas. The manuscript also is historical in its descriptions of time and place in the American cities of Milwaukee, St. Louis, Chicago, and then New York from 1906-1926. The novel describes the physical buildings, period clothing styles, social milieu, including Josie's witness of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. The story culminates with her reunion with her son and well-to-do husband in 1926. As she asserts at the end, "I've gotten the husband, son, and home I always wanted, but not in the conventional order." On the other hand, the novel challenges the conventional formulae because as Creative Non-Fiction, it is a first person account from my grandmother's point of view so that readers can share an immigrant's assimilation into American culture, participate in the German milieu just after the turn of the century, and relive some women's issues in the first quarter of the 1900s. The historical saga is reminiscent of The Outlander Series by Diana Galbadon and of the popular TV series of Downton Abbey since Josie is the ambitious servant who climbs from scullery maid to esteemed housekeeper in a grand Park Avenue penthouse.