The Girls at the Kingfisher Club

By: Genevieve Valentine

Narrated by: Susie Berneis

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Jo, the firstborn, The General to her 11 sisters, is the only thing the Hamilton girls have in place of a mother. She is the one who taught them how to dance, the one who gives the signal each night, as they slip out of their father's townhouse and into cabs that will take them to the speakeasy. Together they elude their controlling father. Meanwhile, they continue to dance, until one night when they are caught in a raid, separated, and Jo is thrust face-to-face with someone from her past: a bootlegger named Tom whom she hasn't seen in almost 10 years. Suddenly Jo must weigh in the balance not only the demands of her father and 11 sisters, but those she must make of herself.

©2014 Genevive Valentine (P)2014 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic reviews

"Has a cinematic sweep... [and] lush period detail." - ( Publishers Weekly)

"Valentine raises the novel above the ordinary...Impressive." - ( The New York Times)

"This unexpected fairytale, deftly shifted into the age of prohibition, becomes a gorgeous and bewitching novel." - Scott Westerfeld, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Uglies and Afterworlds

“Delightful and suspenseful by turns, this story of tyranny, pluck, fierce love and even fiercer responsibility is set in a New York of spangles and speakeasies, fox-trots and Charlestons. Valentine retains the shimmer and shadows of the fairytale that underlies her novel, even as she transforms it.” - Christina Schwarz, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Drowning Ruth

"The Girls at the Kingfisher Club is as fast-tempoed and intoxicating as a night at a Jazz Age speakeasy, and as enchanting as a good old-fashioned fairy tale. Genevieve Valentine gives us a dozen dazzling sisters it's impossible not to root for." - Lois Leveen, author of Juliet's Nurse and The Secrets of Mary Bowser

“Genevieve Valentine has turned out an extraordinary and marvelous new thing from very old clothes. The Girls at the Kingfisher Club is a sumptuous rendering of one of my favorite fairy tales.” - Kelly Link, author of Pretty Monsters and Magic for Beginners

"I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough and stayed up late to reach the end. Genevieve Valentine resurrects 1920s New York to bring an inventive tale of shifting social mores, family bonds, and heart-wrenching choices.” - Ronlyn Domingue, author of The Mercy of Thin Air

I had to read this book for a class, and I cried.

I loved it so so much. I read it for a class, so I wasn't expecting much. I cried.

Poor narration choice

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I would have enjoyed reading this book more than listening. I don't think the narrator was a good fit and her Chinese accent was horrible, offensive, and off-putting.

Would be a great book for Masterpiece Theater

I loved the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses as a child and this loosely based rework delights me as an adult. The prose is crisp and tight. The characters are finely drawn and like able. You want to know how they will escape their uptown castle. I would olive to see this made into a miniseries as it would attract the Downton Abbey crowd and then some.

Twelve Dancing Princesses and Speakeasy's!

This is historical fiction and a fairy tale retelling. Combine the prohibition era with 'The Twelve Dancing Princesses' and you get 'The Girls at the Kingfisher Club.' The roaring twenties is a perfect setting for this Grimm fairy tale. The reality of restriction and prohibition in the society of day leading to an overwhelming majority of citizens rebelling by drinking at the speakeasy's at night. Politicians and policemen frequented the speakeasy's while their political platforms railed against corruption and the vice of drink. Bootlegging alcohol across state lines was a booming trade, and the speakeasy that got raided was the one that didn't pay protection or a bribe. Now, add the state of women's rights. Previous to 1920 American women did not have the right to vote, and married women couldn't own property. They had no legal claim to money they earned, and were subject to the will of their husband, father, or nearest male relative. What better setting could you place a story about twelve princesses tightly controlled by their father who somehow wear out their shoes every night? This type of traditional father would never allow his daughters to go dancing. In his eyes, only disobedient lascivious women would engage in lewd behavior as dancing and drinking, and only a weak man can't control his women.

Mr. Hamilton is nouveau riche. He married a woman of status. Being a driven and ambitious man he knew that if he had a son he could enter the upper echelons of society. His wife, however, only had daughters. Mrs. Hamilton was never without child until she died. She conceived and birthed twelve daughters. Her twelve daughters rarely got to see her and were confined to the upstairs rooms. Only Josephine, the eldest was announced. None of the daughters were introduced to society and most never met their father. Only two were ever let outside the house at a time with a nanny. They had a governesses but as more daughters were born their father dismissed her deciding that the girls were Josephine and the eldest girls responsibility to educate and care for. Precious rare occasions took place when Josephine was taken to a movie or the opera as a special treat arranged by their mother. It had to be and hidden from their father. There were a few books and sporadic presents at Christmas time when their father was feeling generous but otherwise the were to stay away from windows, not be seen, and be forgotten. Josephine or Jo was their father's emissary. She negotiated a $4 allowance once a month to buy clothing, shoes and any large concerns. Jo learned early not to anger their father for fear of abuse and what consequence it would have for her sisters. Several time she sent her sister Ella, the actress, to play the role of a foolish and demure young woman to obtain needs rather than go herself. She was factual tempted to challenge - something that guaranteed refusal from their father.

The escape from their cage is dancing. Over years Jo's responsibility makes her seem like the nannies, and found she could escape with one of the girls for a few hours. They went to the movies, saw dancing, and fell in love. They practiced and made up steps until they grew the nerve for the oldest to leave, grab a cab, and go to the first club they heard of. They danced all night, but their were rules. You couldn't go if you were sick, if you were heart-sick, you could tell no one names or where they lived, if you got drunk you would be left, and they went home on Jo's orders. Over time they became know only as the princesses. They got a reputation for having tin hearts because they didn't dance for romance. Also, the princesses stuck together, if someone got handsy they had all the princesses to contend with.

Their father decides its time for them to marry and creates heartache and fear. It isn't that the girls don't want to marry. The concern is for the kind of man their father will pick for them. No introduction to society is planned. They are still a secret. Instead a few girls at a time will host quiet dinner parties with men their father deems suitable. Considering their fathers controlling and traditional values the sisters don't have much hope for nice open-minded men. What kind of man would want a woman who had been closeted away and knows nothing of the world.

This is a beautiful retelling. Valentine turned a tale about misbehaving cold-hearted young women on its head. It shows controlled, captive women struggling to find independence during the twenties when women just received the vote. Many women were breaking out of the sole role of being at home as mother and housekeeper. The story shows their need to be cold. Solidarity for the sisters was a necessity of survival. Valentine's writing is beautiful, but I found I didn't have the time to read as much as I wanted. When I saw it was available on audible I snapped it up. It's a fabulous way to enjoy the book. Susie Berneis is the narrator. I had read some critique of minimal character development of the sisters outside of Joe. Listening to Susie Berneis I didn't notice it as much. There are a few sisters who definitely do not get as much attention, but the narration made it feel natural. This is not a romance but does deal with gender roles and the dynamics in dating and marriage during the era. A few kisses are discussed perfunctorily, but nothing in any kind of detail.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys the roaring twenties, fairy tale retelling, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and the study of social dynamics during Prohibition in the twenties. Listen to this rather than reading it if you enjoy audible books.

good but with one flaw

Would you consider the audio edition of The Girls at the Kingfisher Club to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the print version, but the audio probably isn't better than the print. This is because one person with Chinese heritage is given the worst accent in the world. Just because someone is mentioned to be Chinese (and if I remember correctly, he didn't immigrate to America, but was born here) doesn't mean they sound like that. In fact, they should just sound like anyone else born in the US. Obviously. As an Asian-American, I was pretty offended when I realized that that weirdo "accent" was supposed to be a "Chinese accent" that didn't need to be there in the first place. What was going on in the director's and narrator's minds when they did this? Please. Seems like some people need a lesson in diversity.

Not quite 12 dancing princesses…

Valentine has a talent for character development, and can craft an entrancing storyline, but after the first half of the novel was read, it seemed as though its relation to the supposed Grimm Bros. roots was upended. Twelve girls, dancing out every other night with a suspicious father and a suitor on their trail, yes, but everything else tears away from the heart of the tale.
— Which isn't inherently bad, it's just inspired by something to which its relation is tenuous. The writing and narration are a little short of excellent, but it is nonetheless an engaging yarn. If you want a good women's empowerment period piece, with close female relationships, it's worth a listen.

Such an off-putting voice!

The narrator's voice was so nasal, course, and broad that it almost sounded like she was pretending at an American accent and laying it on too think. The way she voiced the girl's characters sounded like rough and bratty teenage boys, not interesting and dynamic women. This made the characters unlikable to me. There was no charm or finesse in her reading style, even when not voicing a character. I will be careful not to purchase any other books narrated by her.

As for the story- it was just alright. It ended abruptly when I expected to be in the middle of the tale rather than the end. The thing I enjoyed most was the 20's setting. I do think it was interesting to rework the old fairy tale and I believe that resetting it was nicely done. Unfortunately, the story and characters fell flat, and I was expecting more.