Bloomsbury Girls: A Novel
"Delightful." --People, Pick of the Week
*Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Katie Couric Media, the CBC, the Globe and Mail, BookBub, POPSUGAR, SheReads, Women.com and more!*
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 book store 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 fiance 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.
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Community Reviews
I found this story incredibly delightful despite not having yet read Jenner’s first novel, Jane Austen Society. I was happy to discover this did not hinder my experience of reading this book despite several characters from her first novel making appearances.
The character development for every character I found quite strong. I really enjoyed Jenner’s writing style and providing anecdotes for each characters’ backstory throughout the novel. The reader got a sense of how they all ended up in the bookshop and the rationale behind their behavior. The three leading female characters are truly a force to be reckoned with. The story really showcased what women were up against post war with the men who survived and were returning back into the workforce and society.
As a lover of classic literature, there were several titles and authors woven into this book that elevated the experience for me. I absolutely adored the integration of famous authors (Samuel Becket, Daphne DuMauier) and other well-known pop culture figures pertaining to the era woven into befriending the characters.
Thank you to Netgalley, St.Martin’s Press, and Natalie Jenner for an ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The character development for every character I found quite strong. I really enjoyed Jenner’s writing style and providing anecdotes for each characters’ backstory throughout the novel. The reader got a sense of how they all ended up in the bookshop and the rationale behind their behavior. The three leading female characters are truly a force to be reckoned with. The story really showcased what women were up against post war with the men who survived and were returning back into the workforce and society.
As a lover of classic literature, there were several titles and authors woven into this book that elevated the experience for me. I absolutely adored the integration of famous authors (Samuel Becket, Daphne DuMauier) and other well-known pop culture figures pertaining to the era woven into befriending the characters.
Thank you to Netgalley, St.Martin’s Press, and Natalie Jenner for an ebook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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