Bath by Erica Wagner reviews – a classic portrait of a great American | Fiction

Washington Augustus Roebling, or “Wash”, was the chief engineer on the Bridge Bridge, which, when opened to the public on 24 May 1883, was the longest bridge in the world. It was a success, but he didn’t do it alone. On the one hand was his father, the aggressive and brutal John Roebling, who planned and launched the bridge before his sudden death in 1869. On the other hand was his wife, the able and capable Emily, who, as well as providing moral and clerical support, took on more responsibility for the project after Washington’s own health began to fail dramatically.

Bathing is a collaboration with the Chief Engineer, Erica Wagner’s profile for 2017 in Roebling. Rejecting what he calls in his concluding remarks “clock time”, he instead frames the subject in terms of “life time”; that is, by jumping back and forth in time and space in a series of short chapters emphasizing the individual moments, choices and encounters that together made this extraordinary man who he was. It’s a bold and interesting, if somewhat confusing, way to give a book that’s less interesting and more powerful than traditional storytelling could have been.

The story begins in Trenton, New Jersey, in 1849. John Roebling’s family is a sad place to grow up. A self-made man, now rich from his wire rope business and famous for his suspension bridge over Niagara Falls, Roebling is oppressive and difficult – not to mention sarcastic. “The man who built Niagara Bridge, and so many things besides”, says Wash bitterly but in awe, “the chasms that tremble at his approach!” The same goes for his wife and children, who only look down and whisper when they are in his presence, because “that’s the safest way”. They are often hungry; the belt is usually close. Needless to say, Wash’s childhood is an unhappy one.

Fortunately, happiness comes in the form of two people: Max Andermann, a fellow engineering student, and Emily Warren, his future wife. Max is a charming and charming person (based on a real person, but here the name has been changed), who shows a quick reaction to the needy and busy Wash. They open up to each other about their difficult childhoods (“Washington had never talked to anyone like this before”), and finally share a kiss. Wash the image of the two men together for the rest of his life.

Emily also brings wisdom and joy to Wash’s life, as well as a new determination to succeed in a different way than her father. “A new leaf. A new life.” From now on”, he vowed. The two live like a strong couple of the 1900s, running the project almost, but not, equally. When Sambani starts to get sick, Emily relies on him as a “caretaker, nurse, secretary – and more and more, he feels like an engineer”. Wagner gives due attention to the emotional suffering of such a man’s wife. Although he agrees with his plans and his rock models, he is left to deal with politics and external events. Emily thought to herself: “She wanted to be alone. “But what do they want?”

Wagner clearly has a deep connection to the Brooklyn Bridge and washes himself (in his last words he admits to being a girl “I thought I loved him”). The exciting result is a detailed and colorful portrait of American luxury. Although readers may not be interested in spoiling anything about Washington Augustus Roebling, this unsettling and well-known book shows that his life was worth revisiting.