The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty begins in Wichita, Kansas in 1922. Louise Brooks, who becomes the most famous of the silent movie flappers, is just fifteen. Louise is traveling by train to New York City to study modern dance at a famous studio. Louise is already beautiful but arrogant and wild. Her father hires Cora Carlisle as a chaperone. Cora is a thirty-six year-old wife and mother of two. She is a traditional upper middle class housewife with secrets. While Louise is at the dance studio all day Cora is searching for information about her birth parents. She was once Cora X, left at a Manhattan orphanage as a very small girl. When she was seven or eight Cora was sent west on an orphan train. Luckily for her she was taken in by a childless couple who loved her like a daughter. Cora Carlisle is a likable, relatable character you can empathize with.
This novel about identity, decency and acceptance is one of the best I’ve read this year.
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