There are a handful of authors I trust implicitly. No matter the subject of their next book, I will pick it up on or before publication day, no questions asked. Camille Di Maio is one of those authors. Her historical stories are usually center on women finding their place in the world and are guaranteed to be interesting, thought provoking and dramatic. In The First Emma, Di Maio writes about real-life people for the first time.
The story centers on Emma Koehler, the namesake of the boutique Hotel Emma in San Antonio and the spitfire wife of entrepreneur Otto Koehler. When Otto is murdered by one of his two mistresses, both coincidentally named Emma, his wife finds her inner strength and takes over Pearl Brewery (which is now the Hotel Emma), the business closest to her heart. Despite her challenges—she’s been confined to a wheelchair since a horrible car accident years ago—she loves the business and will do anything to make sure it doesn’t fail during the difficult years of prohibition.
Emma is truly ahead of her time, strong, steadfast and unintimidated. She knows what she wants and won’t let anything or anyone stand in her way.
This line epitomizes her attitude throughout the story:
“There is much in life that is out of our control. The answer is not to give up and crumble. The answer is to find a way around it, no matter the difficulty. No matter how impossible the obstacles.”
We meet Emma when she’s in her eighties and has decided to hire a young woman, Mabel Hartley, to write her life story. Mabel finds inspiration in Emma’s incredible story, using it to spur other women to believe in themselves.
Mabel says,
“I hope to encourage women to get into business and forge their own path in the world.”
I loved everything about this wonderful story—the immersive storytelling, the descriptive details about Texas during the first half of the twentieth century and the riveting narrative featuring two compelling heroines. Though Emma’s life story is really the focus, the romance and mystery side plots make the story even more layered. Di Maio made me want to travel to San Antonio. I visited as a child and I still remember the Alamo (haha), the Riverwalk, and the missions. If I ever make it there again, I will definitely stay at the gorgeous and unique Hotel Emma.