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A review by beate251
No Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Violet Hamilton is 28 and unmarried. She lives in Hastings, does not ever want to marry but wants to be a detective. In 1896, that is a big deal. Employment for women barely exists and always gets the prefix "lady". Lady detective, lady typist etc. Her mother disappeared ten years ago off Hastings Pier, and her father, whom she naturally still lives with, wants to marry her off as fast as possible. Violet has so far managed to alienate all suitors and now she has another goal - to find her mother. To that end, she engages a detective but doesn't like his working methods. She tries to fire him but he resists. She tries to hire another but he is more into chairs these days. As endearing as Violet is, she is also very naive about men and the world but that's not really her fault. If you're a lady in 1896 you're protected about the realities of it, so the fact that Violet wants to learn and break free is great but make no mistakes - all the things she is allowed to do is because men allow her to do them. Enter lovely Benjamin Blackthorn who isn't sure whether he isn't happier selling furniture than being a private detective so after a while he hands over small cases to Violet, who has blown into his life and already begun to infiltrate his shop and his typewriter.
I love Violet. She is extremely endearing and tries her best against the misogyny of the time. Some of the stuff she had to deal with made my blood boil! I found the mix of Violet's mother's fate with the smaller cases very endearing, like the spinster who has finally found a man who is interested in her but wants a detective to find out if he's kosher. Violet senses that she doesn't really want to marry him but needs to find a proper moral reason not to have to do so, because, come on, every woman wants to be married, right?
Life in Victorian England was no picnic for a woman - the casual misogyny and sexual harassment was everywhere. Men thought they were entitled to a woman's body and mind, just like the incels of today still do. Disparaging remarks about what women and their little brains couldn't do were commonplace. So the swift solution to the Frank Knight problem was as welcome as it was jaw-droppingly unexpected.
This is a fantastic debut novel and I can't wait for the second book in the series! It will be lovely to see how the romance between Violet and Ben develops in their "long engagement"!
I love Violet. She is extremely endearing and tries her best against the misogyny of the time. Some of the stuff she had to deal with made my blood boil! I found the mix of Violet's mother's fate with the smaller cases very endearing, like the spinster who has finally found a man who is interested in her but wants a detective to find out if he's kosher. Violet senses that she doesn't really want to marry him but needs to find a proper moral reason not to have to do so, because, come on, every woman wants to be married, right?
Life in Victorian England was no picnic for a woman - the casual misogyny and sexual harassment was everywhere. Men thought they were entitled to a woman's body and mind, just like the incels of today still do. Disparaging remarks about what women and their little brains couldn't do were commonplace. So the swift solution to the Frank Knight problem was as welcome as it was jaw-droppingly unexpected.
This is a fantastic debut novel and I can't wait for the second book in the series! It will be lovely to see how the romance between Violet and Ben develops in their "long engagement"!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Classism