The Book Club for Troublesome Women

The Book Club for Troublesome Women (2025) by Marie Bostwick follows four women in 1960s America who form a kinship through a book club. The first book they read is Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, and it has long-lasting repercussions on the women’s marriages and lives. The narrative, which takes place largely in the year 1963, is peppered with references to historical US events as well, including Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech at the Lincoln Memorial and President Kennedy’s assassination. The novel explores themes such as The Pervasive Nature of Patriarchy, Community as Sanctuary for Women, and The Empowering Nature of Storytelling.

Marie Bostwick is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of numerous works of historical and women’s fiction. Her books have been translated into 14 languages and have earned accolades, including being a finalist for the prestigious Oklahoma Book Award (“Biography.” Marie Bostwick, 11 Jun. 2025).

This guide is based on the 2025 Harper Muse Kindle edition of the novel.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of gender discrimination, pregnancy loss, mental illness, and death by suicide.

Plot Summary

Margaret Ryan, a homemaker who lives in suburban Concordia, Virginia, starts a book club. The other members of the book club all live in her neighborhood: Vivian “Viv” Buschetti, Theodora Leonora “Bitsy” Cobb, and Charlotte Gustafson. Margaret’s impetus for starting the book club is to get closer to Charlotte, the newest entrant into the neighborhood. Margaret feels an unexpected kinship with her new neighbor—she believes Charlotte feels the same dissatisfaction with her life that Margaret feels with hers.

On Charlotte’s suggestion, the first book the women read is Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. The book goes on to have repercussions on each of the women’s lives.

Intrigued by an essay contest in a magazine, Margaret secretly buys a typewriter and sends in her piece. While it is rejected because of the seasonal theme, Margaret’s writing impresses the editors enough to land a columnist job. Her husband, Walter “Walt” Ryan, is less than thrilled, and Margaret’s job adds to the simmering tension that already exists between them. Margaret begins writing for the magazine regularly, bolstered by the “Bettys”—the other women in the book club—and taking pride in seeing her work in print and earning a paycheck.

Bitsy, who is married to a much older equine veterinarian, Dr. Kingsley “King” Cobb, takes a job at a stable nearby. She once dreamt of being an equine vet herself, but despite her excellent grades, her university professors refused to write recommendation letters because she is a woman. After her father’s death, Bitsy accepted King’s proposal of marriage, believing it was her only option. Now, Bitsy feels pressured to give King a child.

Viv, who once served in the war as a nurse, decides to return to nursing when her six children are old enough. Her husband, Anthony “Tony” Buschetti, an officer at the Pentagon, is unconditionally supportive. However, when Viv becomes unexpectedly pregnant, she keeps it a secret from Tony, especially when she lands a job at a clinic far away from Concordia.

Charlotte aspires to be a successful artist. She loathes her husband, Howard Gustafson, whom she was forced to marry when she got pregnant as a young woman. Despite Howard’s constant infidelities, Charlotte stays with him, fearing that her parents will cut off her money and take her children away if she divorces Howard.

Through the book club sessions, the four women share their personal stories and support each other in times of tribulation.

Bitsy and King get into a fight when she offers to treat a client’s horse. King disappears for days. Though he eventually returns, he leaves Bitsy, having had an affair with a waitress and gotten her pregnant. An overjoyed Bitsy celebrates the end of her marriage and returns to university to complete her education, going on to become an equine vet.

Tony eventually discovers Viv’s pregnancy. Despite the fact that Tony forgives her for keeping it a secret, Viv quits her job, wanting to spend time at home with her children after all. After they are all grown, however, Viv and Tony spend years on a hospital ship, where she gets to revisit her career.

Charlotte almost sleeps with a museum curator to make a connection in the art world. Margaret calls her out on the lack of effort she puts into her art despite her constant complaints of unfairness. The argument between the friends leads Charlotte to make a change: She works hard and takes her portfolio to a different gallery director. Although he rejects her work, he suggests that she platform other people’s work instead. After gathering photographic proof of Howard’s infidelity, Charlotte blackmails her father into allowing her to divorce Howard and gain custody of her children, along with a huge financial settlement. Charlotte uses her newfound wealth to open a hugely successful gallery.

Margaret and Walt work through the tensions in their marriage, with Walt apologizing for his initial lack of support for Margaret’s writing. He admits to being jealous of her getting to do what she loves, which leads her to contemplate the limitations placed on both men and women by their rigid gender roles. Inspired by Charlotte’s bravery, Margaret pens an article on the impact that Friedan’s book has had on her and her friends’ lives.

Margaret is fired from her job for this piece, but the Bettys contribute money to get the column published as an advertisement, which was Walt’s idea. Margaret’s article is noticed by Katherine Graham, the newly widowed publisher of the Washington Post. Mrs. Graham invites Margaret to a luncheon attended by other women in publishing, like Jacqueline Kennedy. After President Kennedy is assassinated days later, Margaret and Walt decide to live their lives differently. They sell their house, travel the country, earn advanced degrees, and find their dream careers—Walt as a research librarian at the Library of Congress, and Margaret as a successful writer.

The book ends in 2006, four decades after the Bettys first meet. They gather at an award ceremony where Margaret is being celebrated for an article written on the occasion of Betty Friedan’s death. Charlotte has passed away, and her daughter Denise attends as her representative; Viv is now a widow, and Bitsy attends with her husband Kyle. As Margaret leaves the ceremony, a young woman asks her for an interview, and Margaret gives her a business card, promising to talk the next day.