Publisher: 17th August 2021 by HQ Fiction - Harlequin Australia
Pages: 366 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: women’s fiction, historical fiction, WWII
My Rating: 4 cups
Synopsis:
ARISTOCRAT, AUTHOR, BOOKSELLER, WWII SPY—A THRILLING NOVEL ABOUT REAL-LIFE LITERARY ICON NANCY MITFORD FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF A PARIS APARTMENT
In 1942, London, Nancy Mitford is worried about more than air raids and German spies. Still recovering from a devastating loss, the once sparkling Bright Young Thing is estranged from her husband, her allowance has been cut, and she’s given up her writing career. On top of this, her five beautiful but infamous sisters continue making headlines with their controversial politics.
Eager for distraction and desperate for income, Nancy jumps at the chance to manage the Heywood Hill bookshop while the owner is away at war. Between the shop’s brisk business and the literary salons she hosts for her eccentric friends, Nancy’s life seems on the upswing. But when a mysterious French officer insists that she has a story to tell, Nancy must decide if picking up the pen again and revealing all is worth the price she might be forced to pay.
Eighty years later, Heywood Hill is abuzz with the hunt for a lost wartime manuscript written by Nancy Mitford. For one woman desperately in need of a change, the search will reveal not only a new side to Nancy, but an even more surprising link between the past and present…
My Thoughts
Michelle Gable has written a book that fictionalises the real life story of Nancy Mitford, socialite turned novelist, who during World War II ran a London bookshop whilst becoming involved with a French resistance fighter. I was attracted to this book for many reasons: great cover, awesome synopsis (books about books!), dual time narrative, historical fiction/WWII - so it ticks a lot of boxes for me.
Firstly there is Nancy Mitford in war torn London who manages a bookshop whilst the owner is away at war and also spends the time writing a manuscript. She meets a French Colonel and together they not only fall in love but also help war refugees. In the present day a fan of Nancy’s visits this bookshop in the hope of finding this manuscript.
“Personally, I think Nancy Mitford is one of the most underrated novelists of the twentieth century. In fact, she was the subject of my senior thesis in college."
“Now, that is something,” the man says. “What was the topic?”
“Broadly speaking, how she ‘normalized’ relationships that were at the time considered ‘other’ - extramarital, same-sex, age differences, et cetera.” Katie’s cheeks flame again. “It’s cringeworthy and dated now, but I stand by Nancy Mitford being bold for her time, especially for a female writer.”
Michelle, in her author’s note, acknowledges that there is no missing manuscript and that this is not a biography of Nancy. Rather, her object (as a fan of Nancy’s) was to capture her bold personality and wit, drawing attention to an author she feels is highly underrated. I do love fictionalised stories that send you racing to Google to look up and learn fact from fiction. It was interesting to learn about historical people and events I was not familiar with. However, the problem with this book is that it is slow at times, very dialogue heavy and hard to connect with some of the characters.
Nancy stepped into her frock and adjusted her hair. All night long, she made steady
work of being bright, while Lord Berners fretted and gaped. It was all an act, of course, the last desperate gasps of her three-month halcyon. Nancy understood she’d have to return to the real world eventually. She just didn’t expect her reentry to be so sudden, or so cruel.
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
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