History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

  No Life For a Lady (Victoria Hamilton Mystery #1) Author: Hannah Dolby Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense, Romance  Publisher: Aria Release Date: 2023 Pages: 328 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Violet Hamilton is a woman who knows her own mind. Which, in Victorian Hastings, can make things a little complicated...      At 28, Violet's father is beginning to worry she will never find a husband. But every suitor he presents, Violet finds a new and inventive means of rebuffing.      Because Violet does not want to marry. She wants to work, and make her own way in the world. But more than anything, she wants to find her mother Lily, who disappeared from Hastings Pier 10 years earlier.      Finding the missing is no job for a lady, but when Violet hires a seaside detective to help, she sets off a chain of events that will put more than just her reputati...

Of Manners and Murder (Dear Miss Hermione Mystery #1) Author: Anastasia Hastings Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense Publisher: Minotaur Books Release Date: 2023 Pages: 304 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis : 1885: London, England. When Violet's Aunt Adelia decides to abscond with her newest paramour, she leaves behind her role as the most popular Agony Aunt in London, "Miss Hermione," in Violet's hands.  And of course, the first letter Violet receives is full, not of prissy pondering, but of portent. Ivy Armstrong is in need of help and fears for her life. But when Violet visits the village where the letters were posted, she finds that Ivy is already dead. She'll quickly discover that when you represent the best-loved Agony Aunt in Britain, both marauding husbands and murder are par for the course. My Review: Adelia runs an advice column called Dear Miss Hermione. One day Adelia quits her role as Miss ...

The Lone Fox Author: Evelyn Roland Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery & Suspense Publisher: IndieSummer Press Release Date: July 22, 2023 Pages: 324 Source: This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis : Nothing is ever amiss in the nineteenth-century city of Northampton. That is, until Miss Roberts is mysteriously found dead.      Against the advice of young Officer Bentley, the victim’s closest friend—Miss Lydia Alderidge—takes it upon herself to solve what the police refuse to accept as murder. However, as the unlikely pair of detectives fall deeper into the case, more and more baffling deaths create a perilous mystery, and the answers they need cross paths with a devious family.      But will the murderous fox be rooted out before anyone else suffers?            My Review: When Lydia Alderidge’s best friend mysteriously dies, the police belie...

The Invincible Miss Cust Author: Penny Haw Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark Release Date: 2022 Pages: 320 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Aleen Cust has big dreams. And no one―not her family, society, or the law―will stop her. Born in Ireland in 1868 to an aristocratic English family, Aleen knows she is destined to work with animals, even if her family is appalled by the idea of a woman pursuing a veterinary career. Going against their wishes but with the encouragement of the guardian assigned to her upon her father's death, Aleen attends the New Veterinary College in Edinburgh, enrolling as A. I. Custance to spare her family the humiliation they fear. At last, she is on her way to becoming a veterinary surgeon! Little does she know her biggest obstacles lie ahead.       The Invincible Miss Cust is based on the real life of Aleen Isabel Cust, who defied her family and society to become Britai...

The American Adventuress Author: C. W. Gortner  Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: William Morrow Release Date: 2022 Pages: 384 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: The story of Jennie Jerome Churchill, mother of Winston, a New York born heiress who always lived life on her own terms.      Daughter of New York financier Leonard Jerome, Jennie was born into wealth—and scandal. Upon her parents’ separation, her mother took Jennie and her sisters to Paris, where Mrs. Jerome was determined to marry her daughters into the most elite families. The glamorous city became their tumultuous finishing school until it fell to revolt.       Fleeing to Queen Victoria’s England, Jennie soon caught the eye of aristocrat Randolph Spencer-Churchill, son of the Duke of Marlborough, one of Britain’s loftiest peers. It was love at first sight, their unconventional marriage driven by mutual ambition and the birth ...

A Dress of Violet Taffeta  Author: Tessa Arlen Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Berkley Release Date: 2022 Pages: 348 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: A sumptuous novel based on the fascinating true story of La Belle Époque icon Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon, who shattered the boundaries of fashion with her magnificently sensual and enchantingly unique design from the USA Today bestselling author of In Royal Service to the Queen .      Lucy Duff Gordon knows she is talented. She sees color, light, and texture in ways few people can begin to imagine. But is the male dominated world of haute couture, who would use her art for their own gain, ready for her?       When she is deserted by her wealthy husband, Lucy is left penniless with an aging mother and her five-year-old daughter to support. Desperate to survive, Lucy turns to her one true talent to make a living. As a little girl, the dresses ...

An Indiscreet Princess: A Novel of Queen Victoria’s Defiant Daughter Author: Georgie Blalock Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Release Date: 2022 Pages: 400 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Before Princess Margaret, before Duchess Meghan, there was Princess Louise: royal rebel.      As the fourth daughter of the perpetually in-mourning Queen Victoria, Princess Louise’s life is more a gilded prison than a fairy tale. Expected to sit quietly next to her mother with down-cast eyes, Louise vows to escape the stultifying royal court. Blessed with beauty, artistic talent, and a common touch, she creates a life outside the walled-in existence of the palace grounds by attending the National Art Training School—where she shockingly learns to sculpt nude models while falling passionately in love with famed sculptor Joseph Edgar Boehm.      But even as Louise cultivates a life out...

In the Shadow of a Queen Author: Heather B. Moore Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Shadow Mountain Release Date: 2022 Pages: 384 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Based on the true story of the free-spirited daughter of Queen Victoria.      Princess Louise’s life is upended after her father’s untimely death. Captive to the queen’s overwhelming mourning, Louise is forbidden to leave her mother’s tight circle of control and is eventually relegated to the position of personal secretary to her mother―the same position each of her sisters held until they were married.      Already an accomplished painter, Louise risks the queen’s wrath by exploring the art of sculpting, an activity viewed as unbefitting a woman. When Louise involves herself in the day’s political matters, including championing the career of a female doctor and communicating with suffragettes, the queen lays down the law to stop her a...