The Queen of Cups

A deeply moving portrait of the joys and pains of living with a mentally ill partner, one could feel Juliette's spirits lift and be dashed as if they were their own. Mina Samuels truly captured the vision of being with the brilliant but tortured soul Charles Pierce on both an intellectual and emotional level. Juliette was a most engaging heroine.

I loved this book. Based on real-life characters, it touches base with a great deal of historical fact and weaves in a wonderfully rich story of the amazing life of the main character from the gypsy life of her childhood through a compelling life with her renowned and troubled husband. I didn't want to put it down. This was the most surprisingly delightful book I've read in a long time.

From the moment I read "The Beginning," I was drawn in, engaged, intrigued. This is an extraordinarily imaginative story of one hopeful woman's love and devotion---and survivorship. At a local bookgroup meeting, I was privileged to listen to Mina Samuels discuss her research, motivation, and writing---and to hear the truths about the story was such a rare treat---so exciting and gratifying!

If you like deep historical detail and strong characters, this is your book. But, perhaps the most thought-provoking thing is the way Samuels traces the natural development of Juliette Peirce's psychology--from the gypsy camps to high Paris society, to her absolute faith in a brilliant but abusive and drug-addicted husband, the real-life American philosopher Charles Peirce. When our book group discussed this transition--Juliette's family and community is stripped away from her piece by piece as a child, before she has the mental facilities to fully grasp what is happening--nearly every one commented on their own relationship choices. I'd be surprised if any reader did not find some of themselves in the story of how Juliette came to America and made her way with amazing grace and charm--and complete mystery. To this day, no one knows where she came from, but The Queen of Cups tells a story that, in both historical and psychological detail, cannot be far from the truth...

While I'm usually not a fan of historical novels, I really enjoyed The Queen of Cups and enjoyed the period details, especially the references to New York in the 19th century. I also appreciated that Juliette's journey was not romanticized -- she is a real woman in a complicated relationship. After being rejected by her mother, her character deepens as she seeks love from her difficult husband. There is no fairytale happy ending here, yet the book is moving and authentic.