Bloomsbury Girls: A Novel by Natalie Jenner

Today I’m taking a bit of a departure from the Austenesque and taking part in the blog tour for Bloomsbury Girls: A Novel by Natalie Jenner. Now, this isn’t an entire departure, as one of the main characters of Bloomsbury Girls was in Ms Jenner’s previous book The Jane Austen Society, which was a fictionalised account based on the setting up of the real society, which secured Austen’s last home in Chawton, which is now the Jane Austen’s House Museum, in Chawton. I really enjoyed that book, so was keen to read this one too. I’ll tell you a bit about the book (which is available now in ebook, hardback and audio) and then I’ll move on to my review of the book.  

Book Description

Natalie Jenner, the internationally bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society, returns with a compelling and heartwarming story of post-war London, a century-old bookstore, and three women determined to find their way in a fast-changing world in Bloomsbury Girls.

Bloomsbury Books is an old-fashioned new and rare bookstore that has persisted and resisted change for a hundred years, run by men and guided by the general manager's unbreakable fifty-one rules. But in 1950, the world is changing, especially the world of books and publishing, and at Bloomsbury Books, the girls in the shop have plans:

Vivien Lowry: Single since her aristocratic fiancé was killed in action during World War II, the brilliant and stylish Vivien has a long list of grievances--most of them well justified and the biggest of which is Alec McDonough, the Head of Fiction.

Grace Perkins: Married with two sons, she's been working to support the family following her husband's breakdown in the aftermath of the war. Torn between duty to her family and dreams of her own.

Evie Stone: In the first class of female students from Cambridge permitted to earn a degree, Evie was denied an academic position in favor of her less accomplished male rival. Now she's working at Bloomsbury Books while she plans to remake her own future.

As they interact with various literary figures of the time--Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Sonia Blair (widow of George Orwell), Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and others--these three women with their complex web of relationships, goals and dreams are all working to plot out a future that is richer and more rewarding than anything society will allow.

BOOK TRAILER

AUDIOBOOK

Narrated by esteemed stage and screen actress Juliet Stevenson, enjoy the full unabridged edition of Bloomsbury Girls. “Stevenson delivers the satisfying triumph at the end with perfect polish.” —AudioFile Magazine

AUDIOBOOK EXCERPT

Born to be a Heroine by Christine Combe - Except

Today I’m happy to be welcoming Christine Combe to the blog with her new book, Born to be a Heroine. You may recognise this as a Northanger Abbey reference, but this is a Pride & Prejudice variation. Let’s look at the blurb and then I’ll pass over to Christine for an excerpt from Born to be a Heroine. 

Book Description

When Elizabeth Bennet meets the new residents of Netherfield at Meryton’s monthly assembly, she does not expect to make a fast friend in the perpetually cheerful Catherine Morland -- nor does she expect the surprise of being asked to dance by the proud and haughty Mr. Darcy.

Fitzwilliam Darcy doesn’t care to dance unless he is particularly acquainted with his partner, so no one is more surprised than he when not only does he accept the challenge presented to him by Miss Morland, but he also asks the playful Miss Bennet for a dance as well.

Catherine Morland joined Mrs. Allen in accepting the invitation of Mr. Bingley, great nephew of Mr. Allen, to visit Netherfield for the simple pleasure of making new acquaintances and seeing a new place. She is most delighted to have found in Elizabeth Bennet and her elder sister Jane the kind of dependable friendship she found in Eleanor Tilney.

When an old nemesis of Darcy’s comes to town, trouble quickly brews in which both Elizabeth and Catherine become entangled. While one young lady battles the workings of her heart, the other is caught in a compromise which could damage her respectability in society. Each is forced to look deep inside herself to discover the strength that proves she was born to be a heroine.

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The Barrister’s Bride by Suzan Lauder - Blog Tour, Excerpt and Giveaway

I’m happy to be hosting a stop on the blog tour for Suzan Lauder’s new Pride & Prejudice variation, The Barrister’s Bride. Suzan has joined us with an excerpt of the book and has brought a giveaway opportunity. Let’s look at the book description and then I’ll hand over to Suzan to introduce the excerpt.

Book Description 

A pact that will change their lives forever…

Fitzwilliam Darcy is a successful young barrister with a bright future. His late uncle has guided his career, made him his heir, and even selected a bride for him—sight unseen—whom he’ll meet and marry upon her majority. Who could have predicted that making the acquaintance of Miss Elizabeth Bennet in Meryton would throw those careful plans into disarray?

Elizabeth Bennet doesn’t know what to make of “Fitz” Darcy, who intrigues and draws her notice like no other. Despite Fitzwilliam’s warnings, she allows Mr. George Darcy, Fitzwilliam’s older brother and master of Pemberley, to charm her. Little does she know that she, too, has been promised in marriage by her late father—to an unknown barrister, no less. What is she to do when her hopes to marry for love disappear in the blink of an eye?

Is George Darcy’s suit in earnest? Can this mysterious bridegroom of her father’s choosing become the husband of her dreams? With the danger of duels and deceit, what will come of the initial attraction between her and Fitzwilliam? Will she become the barrister’s bride?

Note: contains scenes with adult content.

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The Murder of Mr Wickham by Claudia Gray - Review

One of my favourite genres to read aside from Austenesque is cosy mysteries.  So when the chance came to read a book that was the two combined I obviously jumped at it. The Murder of Mr Wickham by Claudia Gray has an enticing title for any Austenesque reader, and when you read the blurb and find out that there are characters from a number of Austen’s novels then it draws you in all the more. I’ll share the book description with you and then move on to my review of the book.

Book Description

A summer house party turns into a thrilling whodunit when Jane Austen's Mr. Wickham—one of literature’s most notorious villains—meets a sudden and suspicious end in this brilliantly imagined mystery featuring Austen’s leading literary characters.

The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a party at their country estate, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances—characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they’re all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered—except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst.

Nearly everyone at the house party is a suspect, so it falls to the party’s two youngest guests to solve the mystery: Juliet Tilney, the smart and resourceful daughter of Catherine and Henry, eager for adventure beyond Northanger Abbey; and Jonathan Darcy, the Darcys’ eldest son, whose adherence to propriety makes his father seem almost relaxed. In this tantalizing fusion of Austen and Christie, from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray, the unlikely pair must put aside their own poor first impressions and uncover the guilty party—before an innocent person is sentenced to hang.