Today, I’m so happy to be a tour stop on the blog tour for Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner. Thank you Austen Prose PR for inviting me to participate.
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Published: May 17, 2022
Source: ALC via Macmillan Audio
SUMMARY:
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.
My thoughts:
Having enjoyed Natalie Jenner’s debut novel, The Jane Austen Society, I knew I had to read her sophomore one, Bloomsbury Girls. Little did I know that not only would I be getting another enjoyable story but some familiar faces would be appearing in this new book!
This is a charming story set in 1950 postwar London. The three women we meet are strong and determined to have their say, frustrated with the men in their lives not recognizing their ideas and/or contributions. This is definitely a character-driven story and I loved that it touches on so many thought-provoking topics in such a way that the story never gets bogged down.
I loved learning about the inner workings of the bookshop, however antiquated some of the systems and roles might have been. Most interesting of all were the manager’s rules – all 51 of them. I loved how the author started each chapter with these rules – it was such a clever way to begin the chapters because more often than not the rule somehow tied into what was going to happen in the chapter.
There were also some pretty interesting literary figures that make appearances throughout the book, my favorite being Daphne du Maurier. I loved that these some of these literary figures were instrumental in helping the women move forward!
A charming tale about bookstores and female empowerment, I think this will appeal to all historical fiction readers.
Audio thoughts:
I just loved the narration for this book. Juliet Stevenson did a fantastic job bringing this book to life. Her cadence and intonation was spot on and she managed to give each of the characters their own unique voice and personality, even adding accents when needed. I was completely engaged with this audio and definitely recommend it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Kristin. I also enjoyed being in a London bookshop with the three main characters and look forward to Jenner’s next novel.
Author
Thank you for having me on the tour! And yes, I will be eager to see what she writes next!