Tag: London

The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin

Publication August 26, 2025-Harlequin Trade Publishing-Historical Fiction-336pp

Book Summary

A captivating new historical novel from Madeline Martin, set in Victorian London about a forbidden book club, dangerous secrets, and the women who dare to break free.
You are cordially invited to the Secret Book Society…
 
London, 1895: Trapped by oppressive marriages and societal expectations, three women receive a mysterious invitation to an afternoon tea at the home of the reclusive Lady Duxbury. Beneath the genteel facade of the gathering lies a secret book club—a sanctuary where they can discover freedom, sisterhood, and the courage to rewrite their stories.
       Eleanor Clarke, a devoted mother suffocating under the tyranny of her husband. Rose Wharton, a transplanted American dollar princess struggling to fit the mold of an aristocratic wife. Lavinia Cavendish, an artistic young woman haunted by a dangerous family secret. All are drawn to the enigmatic Lady Duxbury, a thrice-widowed countess whose husbands’ untimely deaths have sparked whispers of murder.
        As the women form deep, heartwarming friendships, they uncover secrets about their marriages, their pasts, and the risks they face. Their courage is their only weapon in the oppressive world that has kept them silent, but when secrets are deadly, one misstep could cost them everything.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

“You are cordially invited to the Secret Book Society.”  Madeline Martin’s novel is an intriguing study of the lives of three Victorian ladies, their personal struggles, and how one person, through kindness and caring, made a life-changing impact on each of them. In London, 1895, the young, widowed Lady Duxbury opens her home and her extensive library to establish a bond of friendship and protection for these women who had each been abandoned in some way. Lady Duxbury encourages and supports the women in finding their voice, expressing thoughts, and discovering passions. As the women continue to meet in secret, bonds are formed, and trust is forged. Madeline Martin’s narrative sinks the reader into the restrictive, stifling lives of women during the 1800’s; a time when choosing what to wear was one of the few decisions to be made and reading was limited to choosing menus and household improvements. Novels were considered a harmful distraction! The hopefulness, inspiration, and motivation each woman finds in truthful sharing gives credence to the popularity of book clubs today. The pleasure of finding kindred spirits is celebrated.

The Secret Book Society is a delightful glance back in time, as we rejoice in knowing that choices in present day reading is a “magical retreat.”

The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry

Publication April 2, 2024-Atria Books-Historical Fiction-Paperback-384pp

Magical Website: https://www.patticallahanhenry.com/the-secret-book-of-flora-lea

Book Summary


In the war-torn London of 1939, fourteen-year-old Hazel and five-year-old Flora are evacuated to a rural village to escape the horrors of the Second World War. Living with the kind Bridie Aberdeen and her teenage son, Harry, in a charming stone cottage along the River Thames, Hazel fills their days with walks and games to distract her young sister, including one that she creates for her sister and her sister alone—a fairy tale about a magical land, a secret place they can escape to that is all their own.

But the unthinkable happens when young Flora suddenly vanishes while playing near the banks of the river. Shattered, Hazel blames herself for her sister’s disappearance, and she carries that guilt into adulthood as a private burden she feels she deserves.

Twenty years later, Hazel is in London, ready to move on from her job at a cozy rare bookstore to a career at Sotheby’s. With a charming boyfriend and her elegantly timeworn Bloomsbury flat, Hazel’s future seems determined. But her tidy life is turned upside down when she unwraps a package containing an illustrated book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. Hazel never told a soul about the imaginary world she created just for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to Flora’s disappearance? Could it be a sign that her beloved sister is still alive after all these years?

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Patti Callahan Henry’s dual time-line novel begins with the 1939 evacuation of children out of London known as Operation Pied Piper. Hazel Linden and her five-year-old sister, Flora Lea, have travelled by train to Oxford to escape the predicted London bombings. The lush description of the cottage at Binsey, the surrounding woodlands near the Thames, and the warm reception by Bridgette Aberdeen and her son Harry, allow readers a deep breath of relief. The sisters are distracted from the fears of war by “Bridie’s” daytime adventures, but at night with love and warmth, Hazel creates a fairy tale with a secret realm to comfort Flora Lea. The late-night imaginings whimsically named Whisperwood and the River of Stars, become the sisters’ personal, secret lifeline to survival. Patti Callahan Henry has created a mystical, magical, mystery within a mystery. In the depths of this novel’s soul is the disappearance of a fairy tale, Whisperwood and the River of Stars, along with Flora, into the river Thames.

Patti Callahan Henry transports readers from the banks of the Thames in 1940 to Hogan’s Rare Book Shoppe in Bloomsbury, London, 1960. Hazel has spent these last twenty years working and searching for Flora Lea, never giving up hope that she was alive.  Then on Hazel’s last day at the book shop before her dream job at Sotheby’s Auction House begins, a parcel arrives from America, an illustrated children’s book with the exact title of her secret realm; Whisperwood and the River of Stars.

The characters PCH creates make surprising choices and keep secrets out of love and protection from the truth. Realizing that “grief, confessions, and memories remain long, and dark and cold,” Henry’s readers learn the fear of discovering truth and who to blame creates trauma and its effect called memory reframing. As the mystery unfolds readers hopes are lifted and dashed as Hazel attempts to find the sender of the parcel, hoping, and praying the creator is Flora Lea. This novel is filled with heartbreak and hope; how to overcome fear, loneliness, loss, and find renewal, but most of all to hold tight and “never surrender to anyone else’s idea of who and what you should believe.”  

The beloved, elderly owner of Hogan’s Rare Book Shoppe once told Hazel, “Stories and books always find their rightful owners.” Life will become magical as rightful owners discover Patti Callahan Henry’s The Secret Book of Flora Lea.  

Highly recommended; 5 magical stars!

A New York Times Bestselling Author
Co-creator and co-host of the weekly web show and podcast  Friends & Fiction. Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sixteen novels and podcast host. A full-time author, mother of three, and grandmother of two, she lives in Mountain Brook, Alabama with her husband, Pat Henry. Her newest novel, The Secret Book of Flora Lea, is set outside Oxford in the hamlet of Binsey, and will be released on May 2nd, 2023 with Simon & Schuster Atria.

The Queens of London by Heather Webb

Publication February 6, 2024-Sourcebooks-Historical Fiction 368p

Book Summary

Maybe women can have it all, as long as they’re willing to steal it.

1925. London. When Alice Diamond, AKA “Diamond Annie,” is elected the Queen of the Forty Elephants, she’s determined to take the all-girl gang to new heights. She’s ambitious, tough as nails, and a brilliant mastermind, with a plan to create a dynasty the likes of which no one has ever seen. Alice demands absolute loyalty from her “family”—it’s how she’s always kept the cops in line. Too bad she’s now the target for one of Britain’s first female policewomen.

Officer Lilian Wyles isn’t merely one of the first female detectives at Scotland Yard, she’s one of the best detectives on the force. Even so, she’ll have to win a big score to prove herself, to break free from the “women’s work” she’s been assigned. When she hears about the large-scale heist in the works to fund Alice’s new dynasty, she realizes she has the chance she’s been looking for—and the added bonus of putting Diamond Annie out of business permanently.

A tale of dark glamour and sisterhood, Queens of London is a look at Britain’s first female crime syndicate, the ever-shifting meaning of justice, and the way women claim their power by any means necessary, from USA Today bestselling author Heather Webb.

Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

The Queens of London is based on real life Diamond Annie, her gang the Forty Elephants, and first female detective Lilian Wyles- or Inspector Wyles, as she quickly corrects. Readers get a sneak peek behind the swinging doors of pubs in the East End and posh entries into the shops of Mayfair.  The suspenseful plot is advanced by four main characters.

The antics and heists of the female gang, the Forty Elephants, with Diamond Annie as the Queen, continue to be a major focus for Scotland Yard in 1925 London. The main character is based on the real-life Alice Diamond. Webb develops Annie so deeply that I changed from being dubious of her motives to being very anxious that she might get caught and be sent back to prison! Somewhere, deep down, Annie does have a heart covered by years of scars. Inspector Lily Wyles is also based on one of the first female detectives. She begins at Scotland Yard with “womanly duties” such as watching for shoplifters and orphan chasing. As the plot progresses this former nurse begins to question justice and her rigid rule following.  Her tolerance for finding logic relaxes in a very satisfying turn of events.

Dorothy, a vibrant, unique, shop girl and aspiring designer, reveals her dreams of moving out from her mum’s flat to an independent lifestyle. A fictional character, filled with angst at finding a husband or following her dreams, she’s very typical of young girls of that time.  The development arc is deftly drawn and will keep readers engaged and cheering for Dorothy.  

The ten-year-old beautiful, brown skinned Hira Wickham is a heart stealer who reads etiquette books, deals with her wealthy, hateful uncle, and makes gut-wrenching decisions. Hira is smart, brave, and with her lovable, street-smart dog, Biscuit, tugs at all the emotional heartstrings.

Diamond Annie and the Forty Elephant’s next major heist is just the case that could change everything for the female crime syndicate and Inspector Wyles. An immensely nerve wracking but exhilarating chase!

Heather Webb is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of nine historical novels, including her up and coming Queens of London set to release in 2024, and her most recent novels, The Next Ship Home and Strangers in the Night. In 2015, Rodin’s Lover was a Goodread’s Top Pick, and in 2018, Last Christmas in Paris won the Women’s Fiction Writers Association STAR Award. Meet Me in Monaco, was selected as a finalist for the 2020 Goldsboro RNA award in the UK, as well as the 2019 Digital Book World’s Fiction prize. Three Words for Goodbye was a Prima Magazine’s 2022 Book of the Year. To date, Heather’s books have been translated to seventeen languages. She lives in New England with her family and a mischievous kitten. (Books in bold are books I’ve read and loved!)

Coronation Year by Jennifer Robson

Publishing April 4, 2023-William Morrow-400pp

A royal-adjacent historical novel: Check out Jennifer’s Facebook page for all her posts and research: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJenniferRobson/posts/pfbid02HfQxTE6EnjxNZLQN7WfuwQxnASM5SATE3eVhxiPmZZqhn8RP6m48pvT4YCBDhgMAl

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Jennifer Robson’s Coronation Year captures the thrill and majesty of the year leading up to Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation Day, June 2, 1953. Readers view the approaching day from three different perspectives. Main character Edie Howard, proprietor of the 400-year-old Blue Lion Hotel, is desperately trying to keep the hotel in the “black.”  News that the floundering hotel is right on the Coronation Day route might be the business boost Edie needs.  Two other Blue Lion residents that play an important role in the year leading up to Coronation Day are Stella Donati, Italian photographer and Holocaust survivor, and Jamie Geddes, a Scottish artist of Indian heritage, a war hero. Robson seamlessly threads their personal stories into Blue Lion activities and the planning of royal events.

Robson’s novel, like an English trifle, is one delicious layer after another. The foreboding nightmares, compelling memories, and catastrophic situations Stella and Jamie have endured are sweetened in the narrative by the genuinely compassionate, supportive nature of Edie. Robson convincingly reveals Edie’s anxiety and stress as Coronation Day plans begin to unravel. With the receipt of anonymous threatening letters, what was at first a hectic but jolly lead up to the big day takes a sinister, mysterious turn. Readers endure the weight and tension of the impending deadline stretching right up to Coronation Day.  

Robson’s descriptions of the parks, iconic buildings, and statues bring London to life as readers are swept into the hysteria and mass of humanity surrounding preparations and the ceremony itself.  As the new “telly” is installed in the Blue Lion lobby for residents and millions from around the world to view, throngs of royal followers are packed right out front, madly waving the Union Jack in wild anticipation of the queen in her golden coach.

Put on a pot of tea and get a glimpse of royal pageantry as a menacing mystery unfolds on June 2, the biggest day in 1953, Coronation Year.

“An academic by background, a former editor by profession, and a lifelong history nerd, I’m the author of seven novels set during and after the two world wars: Somewhere in France, After the War is Over, Moonlight Over Paris, Goodnight from London, The Gown, Our Darkest Night, and Coronation Year. I was also a contributor to the acclaimed anthology Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War.

I was born and raised in Peterborough, Ontario. I studied French literature and Modern History as an undergraduate at King’s University College at Western University, then attended Saint Antony’s College at the University of Oxford, where I obtained my doctorate in British economic and social history. While at Oxford I was a Commonwealth Scholar and SSHRC Doctoral Fellow.

I live in Toronto, Canada, with my husband and children, and share my home office with Bonnie the sheepdog and her feline companions Mika, Rachel and Obi.

My photograph was taken in September, 2022 by Megan Preece.”

The Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner

Published May 17, 2022

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

Bloomsbury Girls is the delectable telling of how three extremely different, but cunning young women and five miscalculating men interact in the Bloomsbury Bookshop in postwar London, 1950. Bloomsbury is home to the British Museum, the University of London, and the Bloomsbury Bookstore where general manager, Herbert Dutton and his 51 Rules have been in charge for 20 years. He now employs quiet but forthright Cambridge graduate, Evie Stone; Grace Perkins escaping from her unreal life with Gordon, a war survivor; and Vivien Lowry, “an orphan in a storm with no social connections.”

Jenner’s cast of characters includes politicians, aristocrats, American socialites, writers, and publishers, all intertwined with a gossipy thread.  Jenner’s narrative creates endearing characters readers will care about; strong females who support and encourage each other and bookstore events with newsworthy surprises! There are also entanglements and budding romances which create great anticipation for readers and Evie’s secret mission leads readers on a wonderful “book chase.” With the fate of the bookstore, marriages, and mysteries waiting to be revealed, there are lots of reasons to celebrate and read The Bloomsbury Girls.

The Kew Gardens Girls at War by Posy Lovell

Published April 19, 2022

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/690567
“Inspired by real events, a touching novel about a new class of courageous women who worked at London’s historic Kew Gardens during World War II.“

“Posy Lovell is a pseudonym for British author and journalist Kerry Barrett. Born in Edinburgh, she moved to London as a child with her family. She has a passion for uncovering the role of women in the past. She lives in London with her family and is the author of The Kew Gardens Girls.

Here’s The Grateful Reader’s review of Posy Lovell’s first book, The Kew Gardens Girls. This post includes the review/summary and a map and photos of Kew Gardens in London. Enjoy!

https://gratefulreader.home.blog/2021/03/27/the-kew-gardens-girls-by-posy-lovell/

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

“Gardening’s all about the future, isn’t it?” Ivy asked Daisy.

For readers and gardeners who are always looking to the future for hope, this is an inspiring tribute to the courageous women who filled in the gaps during World War ll. Posy Lovell continues her series set at the historic Kew Gardens by featuring the “Dig for Victory” model created to provide an example of how a back garden of fruits and vegetables could feed a family year-round. Daisy and Beth, two young girls from opposite parts of London are chosen to plot, plant, and promote the Dig for Victory garden. The hope is that the model allotment-vegetable garden will attract many visitors seeking advice and asking questions. Equally important, the Vegetable Drugs Committee is created to harvest British grown plants for medicinal purposes. This concept and the model allotment project blossoms and grows beyond anyone’s imagination.

Following the lives of Daisy and Beth through the growing seasons of 1940 and beyond, readers will reap many benefits from the life lessons learned as they each face inner turmoil and make personal choices that impact not only their families, but their future. Posy Lovell’s superbly developed characters take readers on an emotional garden path; sowed with agony and grief, choked with confusion, chaos, even shock, but at the end discover a bountiful harvest of relief and joy. The theme of racial and gender injustice influences the cultural landscape of The Kew Gardens Girls at War, but the women learn that adapting, making the best of situations, and helping others is key to helping yourself.

With Love from London by Sarah Jio

Published February 8, 2022

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/251412/with-love-from-london-by-sarah-jio/

“Sarah Jio is the #1 international, New York Times, and USA Today bestselling author of eleven novels. She is the host of the ModAboutYou podcast and also a longtime journalist who has contributed to Glamour, The New York Times, Redbook, Real Simple, O: The Oprah Magazine, Bon Appétit, Marie Claire, Self, and many other outlets, including NPR’s Morning Edition. Jio’s books have been published in more than twenty-five countries. She lives in Seattle with her husband, three young boys, three stepchildren, and two puppies.”

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

“Books have feelings. Only you can unlock them. It’s easy, though, all you have to do is read the pages.” There are plenty of feelings to unlock in With Love from London. Sarah Jio shares two love stories: one with tragic timing and one with “stardust luck.” Valentina, a librarian and bookstagrammer, arrives in London as the new proprietor of The Book Garden, previously owned by Eloise, her estranged, recently deceased mother. Sara Jio draws readers into Eloise’s dream of escaping London’s East End, her unlikely life in California, and how she “finds some semblance of life again.” After Valentina arrives in London relationships of husband/wife, parent/child, and best friends are delicately explored in years of letters, shared memories, and scavenger hunts just like her mother had created when she was a child. In this dual timeline, themes of friendship and family inspire readers to examine feelings ranging from anger to understanding and from pain to forgiveness. Read With Love from London with anticipation of healing, revelations, and a new lease on life!

Happy Pub Day! The Last Dance of the Debutante by Julia Kelly

Julia Kelly is the international bestselling author of historical women’s fiction books about the extraordinary stories of the past. Her books have been translated into 13 languages. She has also written historical romance. In addition to writing, she’s been an Emmy-nominated producer, journalist, marketing professional, and (for one summer) a tea waitress. Julia called Los Angeles, Iowa, and New York City home before settling in London.

The Grateful Reader Review by Dorothy Schwab

“This next year will determine the rest of your life,” said Grandmama.

Thus began the pressure filled game that is the Season in London, 1958. This high society swan song of drinks, balls and dining rooms set for thirty-six was taking what many thought would be the last curtsy of those being presented to Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. The society pages were filled with photos and predictions for the coveted “Deb of the Year.”

Author Julia Kelly “presents” readers with three debutantes in various social positions. Vying for the top spot is Miss Leana Hartford; from ‘old money’, entitled, demanding, always with drink in hand, and flaunting a gown by Norman Hartnell, favored designer of the Queen. Second, from “new money” is Miss Katherine Norman, daughter of the newspaper magnate; kind, encouraging, supportive, aiming to surprise her naysayers by accomplishing something unexpected. The third deb whose Grandmama and mother hope she will find a wealthy husband during the Season is Lily Nicholls; sensible, loves literature and wants to study at university. Lily happens to be seated next to Leana in the waiting area lined with gilt chairs and illuminated by teardrop chandeliers known as the Ball Supper Room in Buckingham Palace.

Julia Kelly’s description of debs waiting to curtsy before the Queen simply oozes with nervous anticipation. The absolute thrill of being invited to be presented at Buckingham Palace makes up for the long nights of parties, building pressure and “stultifying” conversations. Just reading about The Season is dizzying, leaving readers longing for an afternoon nap! The delicious details of a deb’s transformation after zipping up a designer ball gown, luxurious table settings, and fern ensconced ball rooms lends an omniscient perspective. Readers will love to hate Leana for her bossy, beastly behavior, love to love Katherine for understanding her parents’ aspirations, and simply adore Lily for her devotion to the “Imperfects!”

 With a whiff of L’Air du Temps perfume, the rustling of taffeta, and the melodic tune, The Way You Look Tonight readers will be whisked into the Ritz and the long-ago world of The Last Dance of the Debutante.

Julia’s mom suggested she read this book in February, 2020; that “it might make a good novel.”

Autobiography/Memoir: “Once upon a time the well-bred daughters of Britain’s aristocracy took part in a female rite of passage: curtseying to the Queen. But in 1958 this ritual was coming to an end. Under pressure to shine – not least from their mothers – the girls became the focus for newspaper diarists and society photographers in a party season that stretched for months among the great houses of England, Ireland and Scotland. Fiona MacCarthy traces the stories of the girls who curtseyed that year, and shows how their lives were to open out in often very unexpected ways – as Britain itself changed irreversibly during the 1960s, and the certainties of the old order came to an end.”