Maison Jennie

I found Maison Jennie to be what I call a cosy novel-an absorbing read that isn't too brain taxing.Jennie Straus is the daughter of a poor,immirant,Jewish shopkeeper who settled in New Orleans, and an overbearing,whining mother who is constantly nit-picking and finding fault with Jennie.After many family traumas,Jennie eventually becomes a successful shopkeeper,selling fashionable clothes to the more affluent matrons of New Orleans society.After her horrible mother literally wears her down on the subject of marriage, she gives in and marries the man of her mothers choice, Mannie, a brutish, uneducated peasant of a man by whom she has 2 children. Earlier, at the age of 16, she met Marc Goldman,the unattainable, educated son of a wealthy Jewish family, who was to be the love of her life.Julie Ellis weaves a fascinating tale of the intertwined lives of Jennie and her family and her eventual emergence as the owner of a chain of stores bearing her name and a highly respected figure in the world of high fashion.