Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
Started a little slow until the female characters came together. Three women working in a bookstore in post WW2 London, because they cannot work elsewhere, as women. Held back by society as well as the men they work with, they come up with a plan to improve their lot, approved by Lord Baskin, owner of the bookshop
Lately I seem to be reading the second book in a series before I read the first . . . I will read "The Jane Austen Society" next, but this also worked as a stand-alone. The central characters are the workers in a 1950s London bookstore, particularly the three women. Jenner seems to be working on the "opposites attract" theory regarding romance and, related to the times, the emerging role of women (vs. men) in the working world in England at this time. The three women each has a distinctiveness as do the five male characters; five other women are important to the story but less developed. The omniscent narrator seems to take a turn halfway into the book to probe motivations and make deeper commentary on the actions of all the characters. But London, early seeds of acknowledgement of diversity, a "mystery" book, bookshop customs and challenges, along with the beginnings of women's agency beyond previously prescribed roles, add up to an engaging story.
A charming, feel-good story with likeable, unique characters and a satisfying wrap. 5 stars for the audio performance.
As an Austen aficionado, I thoroughly enjoyed Jenner's debut The Jane Austen Society as a welcome escape, a vacation into a world with likeable characters who all love Austen. I was not disappointed by its sequel, Bloomsbury Girls, which focuses on Evie Stone, the character from the first novel. It can be read without having read the first, but the glimpses of familiar beloved characters in the second increased my enjoyment of it.
Jenner's follow-up is not at all focused on Austen, but it casts Evie in a familiar role of an underdog who discovers a literary treasure. Features one thoroughly dislikeable villian but just about everyone else is a character worth rooting for, which is a welcome respite from real life. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed cameos from Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and - my favorite - Sonia Blair, the widow of George Orwell. I especially want a follow up novel featuring Guggenheim and Blair.
I can't quite muster up 5 stars for it, though I thoroughly enjoyed it...pacing was a bit off at times and I found both of the romantic storylines for Evie and Vivien to be repetitive and draggy. The men in the story were far less interesting than the women.
Audiobook narration by Juliet Stevenson was delightful.
Jenner's follow-up is not at all focused on Austen, but it casts Evie in a familiar role of an underdog who discovers a literary treasure. Features one thoroughly dislikeable villian but just about everyone else is a character worth rooting for, which is a welcome respite from real life. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed cameos from Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and - my favorite - Sonia Blair, the widow of George Orwell. I especially want a follow up novel featuring Guggenheim and Blair.
I can't quite muster up 5 stars for it, though I thoroughly enjoyed it...pacing was a bit off at times and I found both of the romantic storylines for Evie and Vivien to be repetitive and draggy. The men in the story were far less interesting than the women.
Audiobook narration by Juliet Stevenson was delightful.
Lovely and comforting. Jenner is like the Becky Chambers of historical fiction. I think I heard about this on What Should I Read Next, but I'm not sure. It's a loose sequel to The Jane Austen Society, which I also enjoyed, but I don't think one has to have read the first book to enjoy this one.
I really enjoyed the bookstore setting, the feminism, the interesting book of early science fiction (which turns out to be a real book - The Mummy!), and the hopeful, comforting tone.
"Ash seemed bemused by Evie's preoccupation with what he called "stories," as if the contents of a book were merely tales to pass the time, rather than the most direct and lasting evidence of what the human species had felt and thought across the ages."
I really enjoyed the bookstore setting, the feminism, the interesting book of early science fiction (which turns out to be a real book - The Mummy!), and the hopeful, comforting tone.
"Ash seemed bemused by Evie's preoccupation with what he called "stories," as if the contents of a book were merely tales to pass the time, rather than the most direct and lasting evidence of what the human species had felt and thought across the ages."
Loved spending time with these characters in Bloomsbury Books and being reminded there are reasons to break rules and push past society's constraints.
4.5 Another winner from Natalie Jenner. She is a master at character development and her stories are full of charm while offering a taste of history.
NOTE: I listened to the very well produced and read audio version of this, so do not have the written word to remind me of names or spellings. Did my best. Enjoy this book with many a smile and some moments of reflection!
This is a lovely story capturing post-war London in 1950 and a new era of how women were finding their voices and wings in changing times. Bloomsbury Books is run by men but Jenner largely focuses on the three women who work there. Lord Baskin owns the store, as an ancestor won it in a card game a hundred years ago. It doesn't make much money, but he is aware that several of his employees rely on the income in these uncertain times. Still, he thinks about its future and what to do with this store, where he personally worked for a time.Reading Bloomsbury Girls like watching one of those television shows with a cast that is collaborative and you come to know and understand every character. It includes cameos of well known literary celebrities of the era, mostly women.
Evie Stone finished with a first at Cambridge but was cut out of a research position by a less worthy man. She intentionally seeks a job at Bloomsbury Books in London, to catalog and organize their disheveled rare books section. She has another motive that becomes huge as the book goes on. It is, to me a delicious concept and creates some intrigue and moral dilemmas along the way. Vivian and Alec work in fiction but he got the management job and she is stuck at the cash counter, bursting with ambition and resentment. We know that they both are aspiring writers.. Grace, the "secretary" to the manager is a mother of two in a difficult marriage. Her husband came back from WWII mentally ill and is emotionally abusive.
The manager of Bloomsbury Books has written and expects all to abide by a list of 51 rules. As you can imagine, for anyone to come up with 51 rules for a bookstore with a total of seven employees, many of them are absurd and they add humor as well as drama throughout. One rule opens each chapter as the plot develops, with various relationships that suggest romance is in the air, secrets that only the reader knows and pop up appearances by other characters from The Jane Austen Society (admission: I did not read this but will!). However this is a stand alone book so feel free to read it the two novels out of order.
Throughout, Jenner touches gently but clearly on bias against people from India in London; the danger of being homosexual in 1950s England; how women of means could "get away" with independent behavior that would be far too dangerous for lower class women; the abysmal economy of post-war Great Britain; the losses still painful and more. Some of the romance is improbable and so are several friendships but who cares? The best scene in the book is one we giggle and cheer through and requires major suspension of disbelief. Very enjoyable. Jenner writes so well she makes me smile at all the connections and relationships and she is a satisfying writer, tying up each loose end neatly with a sense of humor throughout but also a sense of justice.
This is a lovely story capturing post-war London in 1950 and a new era of how women were finding their voices and wings in changing times. Bloomsbury Books is run by men but Jenner largely focuses on the three women who work there. Lord Baskin owns the store, as an ancestor won it in a card game a hundred years ago. It doesn't make much money, but he is aware that several of his employees rely on the income in these uncertain times. Still, he thinks about its future and what to do with this store, where he personally worked for a time.Reading Bloomsbury Girls like watching one of those television shows with a cast that is collaborative and you come to know and understand every character. It includes cameos of well known literary celebrities of the era, mostly women.
Evie Stone finished with a first at Cambridge but was cut out of a research position by a less worthy man. She intentionally seeks a job at Bloomsbury Books in London, to catalog and organize their disheveled rare books section. She has another motive that becomes huge as the book goes on. It is, to me a delicious concept and creates some intrigue and moral dilemmas along the way. Vivian and Alec work in fiction but he got the management job and she is stuck at the cash counter, bursting with ambition and resentment. We know that they both are aspiring writers.. Grace, the "secretary" to the manager is a mother of two in a difficult marriage. Her husband came back from WWII mentally ill and is emotionally abusive.
The manager of Bloomsbury Books has written and expects all to abide by a list of 51 rules. As you can imagine, for anyone to come up with 51 rules for a bookstore with a total of seven employees, many of them are absurd and they add humor as well as drama throughout. One rule opens each chapter as the plot develops, with various relationships that suggest romance is in the air, secrets that only the reader knows and pop up appearances by other characters from The Jane Austen Society (admission: I did not read this but will!). However this is a stand alone book so feel free to read it the two novels out of order.
Throughout, Jenner touches gently but clearly on bias against people from India in London; the danger of being homosexual in 1950s England; how women of means could "get away" with independent behavior that would be far too dangerous for lower class women; the abysmal economy of post-war Great Britain; the losses still painful and more. Some of the romance is improbable and so are several friendships but who cares? The best scene in the book is one we giggle and cheer through and requires major suspension of disbelief. Very enjoyable. Jenner writes so well she makes me smile at all the connections and relationships and she is a satisfying writer, tying up each loose end neatly with a sense of humor throughout but also a sense of justice.
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
continuation of the story of Evie Stone who was featured in The Jane Austen Society. The story takes place in a Bloomsbury book store in 1950, and includes some great women literary figures. I enjoyed it.