Cote’s voice is clear and specific, but unfortunately her specific of choice is ME ME ME. This book is not entirely without charm or merit, as Cote does strive for intersectionality and inclusivity and does note on the fact that the source material at hand (specifically that of the Victorian era) more-likely-than-not fails to include people of color, non-binary people, and people who do not subscribe to hetero-normative constraints in general. Like Alice Bolin’s equally frustrating and misleading Dead Girls, Cote pulls freely from her inspirations by using summaries of whatever happens to tickle her fancy at any given moment, but those references- most of which are not Victorian in nature, theme, or time period, fail to illustrate anything other than “look at me, I too am a literary force to be reckoned with”. The majority of this book is about Cote’s thoughts, feelings, desires, and wishes- there is a little bit of Victorian literature thrown in to adhere to the theme, but not much.

Cote builds a case that society is out to get women who do not fit into the molds prescribed, but really Cote seems upset that the memoir that she wanted to write wasn’t picked up so she had to force it into a mold already prescribed. Rachel Vorona Cote leans hard into the concept of women being described as “too much”, which really has already been covered (and covered better) by Lindy West’s Shrill, Anne Helen Peterson’s Too Fat, Too Slutty, and Too Loud, and many other women who are currently writing, podcasting, and generally speaking their minds today. Sounds interesting! Sounds like something that would be well-researched and thoughtfully commented upon! Sounds like a thematically appropriate think-piece during our increasingly fraught times! The concept is fascinating: using examples from Victorian literature, frame how modern women are still locked into the same constraints. I wanted a thoughtful, interesting, and possibly irreverent commentary on how the rules and regulations of Victorian society (you know- something like the title of the book) still keep us in check today, but what I got instead was a self-indulgent combination of temper tantrum and pity party. I heard about this book a few months ago and I was immediately intrigued.

Rachel vorona cote