The Incorrigibles

The parallel narratives of this uneven historical from Jaeger (The Pilot’s Daughter) link two San Francisco women across eight decades as they rebuild their lives after betrayals by men. Irish immigrant Annie Gilmurray is working as a housemaid in 1890 when she falls in love with her employer’s seductive nephew, Albert Hughes, who gives her an opal ring. It turns out the ring was stolen, and after Annie’s arrested for possessing it, Albert denies having given it to her. Convicted of grand larceny, she’s sentenced to a year in San Quentin. In 1972, Judy Morelli leaves her unfaithful husband, Tony, and their home in the Sacramento suburbs. She moves to San Francisco and, hoping to resume the fledgling photography career Tony resented, finds a job at a photo studio. When her boss shows her his collection of old mug shots, which includes Annie’s, Judy is haunted by the fear she sees in the woman’s face. Judy searches historical records for clues to Annie’s fate and begins taking photographs again. In Jaeger’s hands, Annie’s story offers a moving and well-researched glimpse into the challenges facing women immigrants in the Gilded Age. Unfortunately, Judy’s chapters feel tepid in comparison. This doesn’t quite reach the heights of the author’s earlier work. Agent: Jenny Bent, Bent Agency. (May)