Bloomsbury Girls is by far one of the best books I've read all year. An absolute delight in all ways, Bloomsbury Girls is one of those books I can't wait to reread in the future. A perfect novel for book lovers of all kinds, Natalie Jenner has penned a story about friendship and ambition all centered around the world of books.
Natalie Jenner is the author of the international bestseller The Jane Austen Society, which is being translated into twenty languages worldwide. A former lawyer, career coach, and independent bookstore owner, she lives in Oakville, Ontario, with her family and two rescue dogs. You can find her online at www.nataliejenner.com. You can find more of my reviews of her work here.
Bloomsbury Books is a quiet, dusty, tradition-bound London bookstore that has persisted and resisted change for a hundred years, run by men and guided by the general manager's unbreakable fifty-one rules. But in 1950, it's a new world, and at Bloomsbury Books, the girls in the shop have plans: Evie Stone: In the first class of female students from Cambridge permitted to earn a degree, Evie was denied an academic position in favor of her less accomplished male rival. Now she's working at Bloomsbury Books while she plans to remake her own future. Vivien Lowry: Single since her aristocratic fiancé was killed in action during World War II, the brilliant and stylist Vivien has a long list of grievances—most of them well justified and the biggest of which is Alec McDonough, the head of fiction. Grace Perkins: Married with two sons, she's been working to support the family following her husband's breakdown in the aftermath of the war. Torn between duty to her family and dreams of her own. In a world filled with dazzling characters, from Daphne de Maurier to Peggy Guggenheim to Samuel Beckett, these three women with their complex web of relationships, goals, and dreams are all working to plot out a future that is richer and more rewarding than anything society will allow.
I really loved Jenner's The Jane Austen Society because of the characters and the writing, so when I saw that Jenner had a new release and it had one of the previous novel's characters in it, I just knew I'd have to have it! I'm so glad I read Bloomsbury Girls because it's one of the few books that I just couldn't wait to read at the end of a long way, and that I hated putting down when I needed to leave home. Jenner's writing is empathetic and like a warm hug—both precise in its ability to convey meaning, while also conveying a great wealth of feeling, it's really unlike any historical fiction writing I've ever read.
The historical stories were utterly compelling. While there are romances between the characters, I never felt like the romances were the central focus, which is something I always appreciate in a story about women. Evie's, Vivien's, and Grace's plights were all intimately tied to the men they have relationships with, of course, but only because their own ambitions and desires conflicted so tensely with those relationships. The way these two things are pitted against one another created that "unputdownable" feeling for me. I felt for Evie and Ash, so often overlooked and underestimated, to the point where they would have ruined their own lives rather than fight for what they wanted. I laughed and rooted for Vivien and Alec, wondering just how exactly their dynamic would evolve. And I wanted the world for Grace and Lord Baskins, because it was such a subtle romance that I really wanted them to work out even if we would never know all of the details.
And the details is truly where this story succeeds. I always felt like the narrator/author knew exactly where the story was going, even if I couldn't see to the ending. Of course, this is true for authors, but to have that feeling come through with the narrator truly reminded me of Jane Austen's writing style. There was a lot of suspense and tension, and yet I knew that we would reach an ending that satisfied. I was especially gratified in this in relation to Alec's and Vivien's relationship. I was entirely uncertain what they would mean to one another by the novel's end—I highly doubt that I will forget their tumultuous relationship (the watch!)—and the ending was so perfect in such a strange way. I really need my friends to read this book so I can talk about it with others!
The ending overall was just wonderful. I read Jenner's article about the unhappy happy ending, in which the ending itself is satisfying even if it it's that "wedding bells and no more problems for the characters" happily-ever-after we've all grown accustomed to. I love that feeling where the characters are right where they need to be, ready to face up against more problems in the future—like, leaving them in a good spot to face what comes next, now that they survived their tribulations of the book itself. That's the ending that Bloomsbury Girls has, and that's just a wonderful place to be. Especially for a work of historical fiction where we know for a fact that there are going to be future problems for those characters, leaving them knowing they have the skills and experience to face them head-on is the best kind of happy ending any reader can wish for.
I can honestly keep gushing about this book, which also means that I just can't wait to see what Natalie Jenner writes in the future—hopefully she keeps up with these novels, for they add greatly to my happiness! You can find Jenner online at www.nataliejenner.com. You can find more of my reviews of her work here.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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