The Second Edition of The Beauty Doctor by Elizabeth Hutchinson Bernard, will come out on January 4, 2024. I was able to read an ARC of this book. This historical fiction novel takes place in the early 1900s. It deals with an assortment of ethical issues.
What You Should Know
This was not the book I expected. From the book’s description, I thought that it would be historical fiction mixed with a bit of romance. While there is a historical fiction element to the book, I wouldn’t really consider it a romance. Mystery, crime fiction, or suspense would be the genres that I would pick to describe this book.
Reader Warnings
As a warning to readers, there is a bit of swearing, and there’s some behind-the-scenes violence. The on-the-page violence is mostly domestic violence. This includes physical violence as well as at least one scene where there was some sexual violence (although it was not described in graphic detail).
There are a few scenes where you know that the characters are about to have sex or where they talk about it having happened, but you don’t get the graphic details of the actual events.
Ethical Issue Topics Discussed
This book includes some potentially controversial topics. Some of them are particularly controversial for the time frame. Some that come to mind include cosmetic surgery, natural selection of humans, involuntary sterilization of humans, involuntary institutionalization, domestic violence, prostitution, the exploitation of those with deformities (such as Siamese twins), and sexism. I felt like the author handled these topics in a sensitive manner.
What I Liked
The one thing I really liked about this book was that there was character development. Our main character, Abigail, is a much stronger character at the end of the novel than she was in the beginning. This might be a bit of a spoiler, but she does learn to stand up for herself and others.
End Thoughts
Overall, while this wasn’t the book that I expected to read, it was a really enjoyable read. I’d probably give it 4.5 stars. One of the biggest reasons that I didn’t give it a solid 5 stars was that I felt like something was missing. I’m not even sure that I can fully explain it. I wanted an early cosmetic surgery story. Instead, the story focused on ethical issues, both some we deal with now and some that were a bigger issue during this time.
