Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I adored this novel. It’s historical fiction at its best from the author of The Jane Austen Society. The main characters were unique and talented women fighting for their rightful place in post-war London. I loved their comradery and their growing sense of self as the story progresses.
The audio narration by Juliet Stevenson was superb.
The audio narration by Juliet Stevenson was superb.
Definitely finished this one feeling like I'm going to miss my friends... the fictional characters in the book! Jenner's ability to create rich, realistic characters is impressive. This wasn't on my radar until I'd read [b:The Jane Austen Society|43557477|The Jane Austen Society|Natalie Jenner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568730506l/43557477._SY75_.jpg|67763037], also by Jenner. Now, I'm chomping at the bit for the next one in the series!
I just finished Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner and here is my review.
Bloomsbury books sells new and rare books and has been run by men for 100 years. After the war, things need to change but the management, all being men, means nothing will change. The ladies that work there have other ideas.
Vivien, Grace and Evie all come from different backgrounds and life experiences but their goals all seem to align. Vivien should have been married but he died in the war. Grace, married with two sons but her husband is a shadow of his former self after the war. Evie was in the very first class of women allowed to get a degree at Cambridge but lost an academic position to a less suited male.
They all have dreams that women would never dream of having back then but they all want more than life is giving them.
This historical fiction is set in the aftermath of WWII and follows the lives of 3 women who all work in a book shop. It starts out a little slow but it gives us a chance to meet the ladies and really get to know who they are. I didn’t really warm up to any of them like I usually would but I found their dynamic rather charming. They were all strong women during a time where women were little more than placeholders to their spouses.
Loved the setting of the book store and the ambience of the old building. There were some really lovely descriptive parts in the book which I really enjoyed. The book was really quite wonderful and I thought the ending was really well done.
I will definitely be on the hunt for more from this author.
4 stars,
Thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy
Bloomsbury books sells new and rare books and has been run by men for 100 years. After the war, things need to change but the management, all being men, means nothing will change. The ladies that work there have other ideas.
Vivien, Grace and Evie all come from different backgrounds and life experiences but their goals all seem to align. Vivien should have been married but he died in the war. Grace, married with two sons but her husband is a shadow of his former self after the war. Evie was in the very first class of women allowed to get a degree at Cambridge but lost an academic position to a less suited male.
They all have dreams that women would never dream of having back then but they all want more than life is giving them.
This historical fiction is set in the aftermath of WWII and follows the lives of 3 women who all work in a book shop. It starts out a little slow but it gives us a chance to meet the ladies and really get to know who they are. I didn’t really warm up to any of them like I usually would but I found their dynamic rather charming. They were all strong women during a time where women were little more than placeholders to their spouses.
Loved the setting of the book store and the ambience of the old building. There were some really lovely descriptive parts in the book which I really enjoyed. The book was really quite wonderful and I thought the ending was really well done.
I will definitely be on the hunt for more from this author.
4 stars,
Thank you @stmartinspress for my gifted copy
Loved it! Story is set in post-war 1950 London and the 'girls' of Bloomsbury books are three mature and unhappy women who don't have equal footing in a 100 year old bookstore run by men. Wonderful characters from literary history appear -Samuel Beckett, Daphne du Maurier.
Evie Stone is one of the first young women to graduate from Cambridge University. Unable to gain employment at Cambridge as a research assistant, she finds a job at Bloomsbury Books. It's 1950 and the historic bookstore is run by Herbert Dutton, whose health is failing. He manages the store with a long list of rules that are restrictive and ridiculous. Especially to young and smart Evie and the two other women who work in the shop. Vivien Lowry, an aspiring writer, had lost her fiancé in WWII. Grace Perkins, a working mother, is stifled by a difficult husband she has drifted apart from. The rest of the staff is comprised of a group of men who are dealing with their own issues. Lord Baskin, the store’s owner and landlord, is grappling with the fact that while he lives high on the social ladder, he is in desperate need of cash. Selling the bookstore could solve some of his problems but he is hesitant to walk away from it.
Readers of author Natalie Jenner’s enjoyable debut, The Jane Austen Society, will remember the character of Evie. While Bloomsbury Girls is not a sequel, Evie continues to grow and impress those around her, as she did in the first book. Members of the Society makes welcome appearances and provide the young woman with support and guidance. Together, the three women in the bookstore show ingenuity and their efforts start to yield positive results including a successful in-store event with Daphne du Maurier. This lovely book captures the post-war era well. It shows the people of London, during the early 50s, recovering from the scars of the war and women starting to play a larger role outside the home. The book weaves in appearances of real-life figures such as du Maurier, Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim and others, which enhances the story. There is a major part of the plot that involves the 1827 novel The Mummy by Jane Webb, which I found especially fascinating. You’ll be rooting for Evie, Vivien and Grace in this enjoyable book.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read Bloomsbury Girls advance of its May 17, 2022 release.
Rated 4.25 stars.
Review posted on MicheleReader.com.
Readers of author Natalie Jenner’s enjoyable debut, The Jane Austen Society, will remember the character of Evie. While Bloomsbury Girls is not a sequel, Evie continues to grow and impress those around her, as she did in the first book. Members of the Society makes welcome appearances and provide the young woman with support and guidance. Together, the three women in the bookstore show ingenuity and their efforts start to yield positive results including a successful in-store event with Daphne du Maurier. This lovely book captures the post-war era well. It shows the people of London, during the early 50s, recovering from the scars of the war and women starting to play a larger role outside the home. The book weaves in appearances of real-life figures such as du Maurier, Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim and others, which enhances the story. There is a major part of the plot that involves the 1827 novel The Mummy by Jane Webb, which I found especially fascinating. You’ll be rooting for Evie, Vivien and Grace in this enjoyable book.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read Bloomsbury Girls advance of its May 17, 2022 release.
Rated 4.25 stars.
Review posted on MicheleReader.com.
Read this on holiday and maybe that's the place to do it. It did what is said on the package. For that it get's four.
This story revolves around three women, and to a lesser extent four men, who work at a bookshop in 1949 London. Grace works to support her two sons and emotionally abusive husband. Vivienne is an aspiring writer. Evie is a research specialist and classic-lit aficionado. All three have to deal with blatant and subtle sexism from most of the men around them, but they are smart and determined and competent so ha ha.
I didn't read the prequel, and felt this worked well as a stand-alone.
I didn't read the prequel, and felt this worked well as a stand-alone.
I read the entirety of Bloomsbury Girls in under 3 days! What a charming book! What an amazing adventure into the world of books! Book lovers will delight in this journey as they meet three women in 1950s London who are oppressed by the times they are in but refuse to give up their dreams. Vivien, Grace, and Evie all experience struggles in a career dominated by men, but they push to change the way of society in a difficult time.
I loved meeting some of the authors of the time.
I loved that each of the chapter headings begins with one of Mr. Dutton’s rules for the shop.
I loved meeting some of the authors of the time.
I loved that each of the chapter headings begins with one of Mr. Dutton’s rules for the shop.
Having read the first book by this author, I was extremely excited to see that there would be a sequel. And when I learned that the focus of that sequel would be on the character of Evie, I was downright thrilled. This story actually stands on its own as a fantastic read and it is not necessary at all to have read the first one (although you should, it's AMAZING).
I am in love with writing by Natalie Jenner and especially in the way she writes historical women's fiction. She gets it all right! Character development is spot on, and we both know and root for each of the 3 Bloomsbury girls. It is no small feat to have three strong women characters and develop them so well that we understand them and their actions (and sometimes their inactions) so well. The setting is described in such great detail, but not in a way that makes you want to skip ahead to get to the story. You are placed in that little bookshop and the area of London (and the time, don't forget it's the 50's) with such skill that you feel like you could look up from the book and see the shoppers entering the store. The thing I think Ms. Jenner does best is weaving a story that pulls all the disparate characters and storylines together into a rewarding read. The pacing and tension were masterfully spread out to keep you turning pages and the writing was so good.
If I had one thing at all to say that tripped me up a bit, it was the language used in the voice of Evie. It might very well have been on purpose, as someone who comes from a lower class could very well have improved her language and then at times when flustered fallen back into her lower-class speaking. However, it was the one thing that wasn't as seamless as everything else in the book, so it took me out of the reading just a bit. It's such a minor thing, I hesitate to add it, but I do try to give honest feedback, and it was something that struck my attention.
I am delighted to have read this book (and its predecessor) and recommend you read it too. You won't be sorry!!
[I was given an ARC version of the book for my honest and unbiased review]
I am in love with writing by Natalie Jenner and especially in the way she writes historical women's fiction. She gets it all right! Character development is spot on, and we both know and root for each of the 3 Bloomsbury girls. It is no small feat to have three strong women characters and develop them so well that we understand them and their actions (and sometimes their inactions) so well. The setting is described in such great detail, but not in a way that makes you want to skip ahead to get to the story. You are placed in that little bookshop and the area of London (and the time, don't forget it's the 50's) with such skill that you feel like you could look up from the book and see the shoppers entering the store. The thing I think Ms. Jenner does best is weaving a story that pulls all the disparate characters and storylines together into a rewarding read. The pacing and tension were masterfully spread out to keep you turning pages and the writing was so good.
If I had one thing at all to say that tripped me up a bit, it was the language used in the voice of Evie. It might very well have been on purpose, as someone who comes from a lower class could very well have improved her language and then at times when flustered fallen back into her lower-class speaking. However, it was the one thing that wasn't as seamless as everything else in the book, so it took me out of the reading just a bit. It's such a minor thing, I hesitate to add it, but I do try to give honest feedback, and it was something that struck my attention.
I am delighted to have read this book (and its predecessor) and recommend you read it too. You won't be sorry!!
[I was given an ARC version of the book for my honest and unbiased review]