Pearl Luke

Madame Zee was a real person but not much is known about her so Pearl Luke has invented a history for her. Madame Zee was born Mabel Edith Rowbotham in England and immigrated to Canada where she taught school in a series of one room school houses. She became interested in the occult and particularly Spiritualism. She married a bank manager whose father was a Spiritualist minister in Pensacola, Florida. The marriage dissolved but Mabel moved to Pensacola and became involved with a wealthy entrepreneur, Roger Painter. Through him Mabel came to know the Brother, XII who was running a Utopian colony on Vancouver Island. Roger and Mabel moved to the colony and Mabel (who had changed her name to Madame Zee) became the mistress of the Brother, XII.

Historical accounts described Madame Zee as cruel and sadistic but Ms Luke decided there had to be more to the woman than that. I found some of the story compelling and some I had to work at. I also found the end a little too abrupt. I could have used more description of the colony and less of Mabel's life in Florida. All in all it was an interesting story about a group that I never even knew existed until I read this book.… (mere)

Based on real people, this is a novel about Madame Zee, mistress and lieutenant to Canada's cult leader, the Brother, XII. The author became intrigued by Madame Zee after seeing a documentary of the Aquarian Cult she led. While the book is well researched, there is little historical information about Madame Zee.

The book is well written, and it is interesting to see young Mabel Rowbotham grow from a child in England to a teacher in Saskatchewan, to the wife of a convicted criminal and gambler, and then transform herself into Madame Zee and join a utopian cult. Mable/Madame Zee is a strong character who wants to understand more about her clairvoyant powers. In searching for the meaning of her visions, she sometimes loses sight of who she really is.

An interesting read about a part of Canada's history I knew nothing about.… (mere)

This is a highly fictionalized account of the life of "Madame Zee", the mistress of and some would say enforcer for, a cult leader known as the Brother, XII. The author freely admits that very little is known about her subject's life. Accounts of her involvement with the Brother, XII, are sparse as well as contradictory. So, she made it all up. Or almost all of it. And she did a pretty good job of creating a life and backstory for Zee, who was born Mabel Rowbotham in 1890 in England, the child of a fairly prosperous businessman. Very early in her life, Mabel begins to have strange dreams, visions, and clairvoyant episodes. Although she quickly learns that she cannot discuss these experiences with anyone, she does her best to educate herself about psychic phenomenon, Theosophy and reincarnation, seeking some understanding of the mystifying things she "sees". Eventually, after a failed teaching career, a disastrous marriage and several re-locations, Mabel changes her name and realizes her long-held dream of meeting the Brother, XII, and joining his Utopian colony off the coast of British Columbia. The narrative flows well, and Mabel is an intelligent, interesting and sympathetic character who avoids a good many stereotypical pitfalls only to stumble into others even though she sees them looming. It's a decent story of a strong but flawed woman who ultimately finds that she is her own best friend. Occasionally I found her a tad too modern in her speech and thinking for her time and place, and sometimes I felt the author failed to provide us with sufficient motivation for Zee's actions. I can't give it more than 3 stars, but I'm glad I read it.… (mere)