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Very little is known about Lizzie Burns up, the illiterate Irishwoman who was the longtime enthusiast of Frederick Engels, co-author of The Communist Manifesto. In Gavin McCrea's first novel, she actually is finally given a tone of voice - one which won't easily be forgotten. Lizzie is an employee in the Manchester, England, natural cotton mill that Frederick is the owner of. When they proceed to a posh townhouse in London to be closer to Karl Marx and his family, she must figure out how to navigate Victorian culture. We are privy to Lizzie's personal, wry, and astute views of Marx and Engels's quest to spur revolution among the working classes, also to her ambivalence toward her recently luxurious circumstances. Haunted by her first love (a cutting edge Irishman), burdened by a sense of responsibility to right past mistakes, and torn between a desire for self-reliance and the pragmatic need to be taken care of, Lizzie is aware, as she says, that "the world doesn't happen the way you think it'll. The trick is to soften to it, also to take its blows." Despite or because of their variations - in nationality, class, education, and religious beliefs - Lizzie and Frederick stay drawn to each other, making Mrs. Engels, among other things, a sophisticated and high-spirited love history.
