Book excerpt: Not all love stories have a happily ever after.... All Lydia de Lisle Edwards wants from her new marriage is to love and be loved by the handsome man who rescued her from the embarrassing, and potentially life shattering, ramifications of conceiving a child out of wedlock. However, as Lydia gets to know Isaac Edwards, along with the strange woman who serves as a mother-figure to her new husband, and the terrifying doctor specializing in women's health--particularly hysteria--Lydia begins to realize this marriage might just be her undoing. An exploration into the struggles of being a woman in the 19th Century, The First Mrs. Edwards examines what it was like to live in a time when women were told they were crazy simply for being women. The First Mrs. Edwards is based on a character from the literary novel Beneath the Inconstant Moon. While it is not necessary to read that book first in order to enjoy this one, it is recommended.