I rooted for Robert & Effie! Set in Post-Civil War Louisiana, Women of Magdalene exposes the shameful treatment of women that was very real.

Robert Mallory, shunned by his parents, finds himself the physical-physician for allegedly disturbed women at the Magdalene Asylum for Women. His employer repeatedly makes clear that Robert's domain is the physical, while the employer's area of "expertise" is the woefully lacking female mind.
Poole-Carter masterfully unveils layer upon layer of deception, and the reader lays blame for the deceit at the feet of "genteel" society AND the selfishness of certain players in her story. Like another reviewer, I also found this novel cinematic in its nature. Wrenching but true -to-life, Poole-Carter's skill is in making clear that much of what still pains us today was happening in "the good old days." Were there ever "simple times"?