A Romance For Its Time

Disclaimer: All views expressed in this review are the opinion of the reviewer and not necessarily those of Selfishgenie Publishing.

Dancing In the Ring, by Susan E Sage, is something of an oddity for me. It is part biography, part drama and part love story.
 
The book tells the story of Robert (Bob) Sage and the woman he marries, Catherine (Kate) McIntosh. If you notice a similarity between the name of the author and the name of one of the characters, it is because Bob Sage was her great uncle, who she never met.
 
This is the biographical part of the story, as the author tells what she knows of the life of her great uncle and his wife, pieced together from family stories and documentary evidence. Kate is less well documented, so much of her story is a dramatization.
 
It means that a lot of the scenes in the book are imagined rather than real, and that tends to undermine the biographical basis for the book. On the other hand, the author can’t change what is known about the two characters, which undermines the drama and love story elements. Where a writer of romance or drama might put the characters on a different path, Susan E Sage is constrained by historical fact.
 
Bob and Kate meet at law school where Kate is much the better student. However, the chauvinism of the age (the book is set in the 1920s and 30s) means that Kate can only ever dream of a lofty legal career, while the less academically able Bob is assured of an easier path.

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"the course of true love never did run smooth"

To pay for his education Bob Sage enters the boxing ring, where he displays some talent. That, and the love of dancing of both characters, gives the book its title. Over the course of the first third of the book Bob and Kate’s romance is played out sensitively and with some well observed romantic highlights. It is after their marriage that the real drama starts.
 
I can’t say too much because of the risk of spoiling the story for readers but, as Shakespeare said, the course of true love never did run smooth.
 
The book is set in its real life location of Detroit, Michigan, against the background of first Prohibition and then the Depression. Both present problems for the lovers, who enjoy nothing more than a night out dancing and drinking.

"The book is well observed and well written, and the author has a real feel for the period."

​The Depression then impacts on Kate’s career in particular. In the 21st century she could expect a glittering legal career, but a hundred years ago she was far more limited, and she spends a lot of her working life as a paralegal (as we would call it today) and doing pro-bono legal work for those who are unable to pay for legal advice.
 
The book is well observed and well written, and the author has a real feel for the period.
 
Having enjoyed reading the book overall, I have elected only to award four stars and there are reasons for that.
 
The story is told in a very “matter of fact” style, which means that a lot of emotion is stifled, especially in the case of Kate’s feelings. I’ll give just one example.

"Kate is clearly suffering from mental health issues"

​Kate’s father, Mickey, was physically abusive towards her mother, which Kate often observed and her distress at this is noted. Bob Sage does, sometimes, physically assault Kate and given her feelings about her mother’s abuse, you would expect highly emotional responses from her. However, that is not felt. The emotions of fear, distress, humiliation, anger and others just aren’t visible to the reader. Or to this reader anyway.
 
Later in the book, when Kate is clearly suffering from mental health issues, no attempt is made to analyse the possible causes of those. At this distance after the events it would not be possible to make an accurate diagnosis, but some introspection and reflection on the part of Kate might help the reader to identify with her better and to understand why she is the way she is.
 
Both characters come across as quite self-centred at times. As a young couple in love you might expect them to focus a lot of their time and emotional energy on making each other happy, but such behaviour is noticeably lacking in places. Bob, in particular, displays symptoms of narcissism, putting his own ego before that of everyone else, except perhaps his mother. Perhaps that was what they were really like, and the author is painting an accurate picture, but it means that the two central figures in the story aren’t always likeable, so the love story part of the book is less than successful.
 
However, even after saying all that I still enjoyed the book and did become quite engrossed in Bob and Kate’s life. I recommend “Dancing In The Ring” by Susan E Sage to readers who want to understand life in the early part of the 20th century a little better, with a bit of romance and drama thrown in.
 
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