Very little is known about Lizzie Burns, the illiterate Irishwoman who was the longtime lover of Frederick Engels, coauthor ofThe Communist Manifesto. In Gavin McCrea's first novel, the unsung Lizzie is finally given a voice that won't be forgotten.
Lizzie is a poor worker in the Manchester, England, cotton mill that Frederick owns. When they move to London to be closer to Karl Marx and his family, she must learn to navigate the complex landscapes of Victorian society. We are privy to Lizzie's intimate, wry views on Marx and Engels's mission to spur revolution among the working classes, and to her ambivalence toward her newly luxurious circumstances. Haunted by her first love (a revolutionary Irishman), burdened by a sense of duty to right past mistakes, and torn between a desire for independence and the pragmatic need to be taken care of, Lizzie learns, as she says, that the world doesn't happen how you think it will. The secret is to soften to it, and to take its blows.”
Despite or because of their differencesin nationality, class, education, and religionLizzie and Frederick remain drawn to each other, makingMrs. Engels a complex and high-spirited love story.
