Three generations of indomitable women in nineteenth-century Philadelphia endure family feuds and the making and breaking of fortunes and reputations as they struggle to survive scandal, poverty, separation, and betrayal Set in late-19th-century Philadelphia, Women's Own is a departure from Carr's medieval historical novels ( By Right of Arms, LJ 5/1/86; The Troubadour's Romance, LJ 7/85). It is the story of three generations of Armstrong women, all strong, stubborn, and seemingly cursed when it comes to men: Amanda, married and widowed three times; her daughter Emily, married to a man who abused her and abandoned her to poverty; and Emily's daughters, Patricia, repelled by the physical aspects of love, who forces herself to marry a man she abhors, and Lilly, who loves a man she cannot have. This is also the story of four women who try to live their lives on their own terms. Though the plot is predictable at times and the romantic scenes cliched, the characters are strongly drawn and engage the reader's interest and emotions. - Susan K. Cohen, Westfield Memorial Lib., N.J. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.