LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
Violet is an independent and ambitious 28-year-old in the 1890s, constantly having to say she is ‘not inclined to marry’. Treated with both pity and alarm, she’s fed up of being constantly compared to her beautiful absent mother, yet keenly feels her absence – especially when it comes to advice on finding a career available to women, and to courting an appropriate man.
The mystery of Violet’s mother’s disappearance propels the reader onwards between flashbacks to her past – it was particularly intriguing when we start to discover the more, ahem, indecorous and unbecoming side of her mother’s hidden past.
It’s all told with an inviting and warm humour that revels in Victorian language and sensibilities, particularly with Violet’s enforced naivety around sex: when her mother first told her about the male ‘Matterhorn mushroom’, for example, Violet ‘made a vow never to marry, so I would never, ever have to put myself through it. It seemed like a perfectly nasty way to spend time.’
I enjoyed the moments where Violet deliberately puts men off their attempts to court her, in acts which are both self-protective and self-destructive: ‘My father was [...] urging me to behave. He did not need to. These days, I did not push men into bodies of water.’
(And there’s a little treat subplot storyline involving gay characters, which, while trying not to give spoilers, reminded me of a jollier Tipping the Velvet!)
The reader’s rooting for Violet when she starts taking control of her own fate, overturning more of the patriarchal and social rules, and finally realising she is already the very lady detective she thought would be impossible to become.
Lily Lindon
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No Life for a Lady Synopsis
The most joyful book of 2023! Violet Hamilton is a woman who knows her own mind. Which, in 1896, 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 reputation at risk.
Can Violet solve the mystery of Lily Hamilton's vanishing before it's too late?
A delightfully quirky and clever book club read, perfect for fans of Dear Mrs Bird, The Maid and Lessons in Chemistry.
About This Edition
ISBN: |
9781804544389 |
Publication date: |
14th March 2024 |
Author: |
Hannah Dolby |
Publisher: |
Aria an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
Format: |
Paperback |
Pagination: |
368 pages |
Primary Genre |
Romance / Relationship Stories
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Other Genres: |
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Recommendations: |
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Press Reviews
Hannah Dolby Press Reviews
'If you loved Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, you'll love to snuggle up with this novel!' - Chat
So original and well written, I couldn't put it down... I can't remember rooting for a heroine as hard as I did for Violet. -- Lucy Vine
'Impeccably researched, with a slowly unfurling mystery at its heart, this witty and uplifting story belongs entirely to Violet - a lady determined to tackle life (and love!) on her own terms' -- Julietta Henderson
Charming, exhilarating, fabulously funny and so full of heart - Violet is the heroine I've been waiting for. -- Daisy Buchanan
'Violet's story is moving, inspiring and very, very funny; a complete triumph' -- Celia Anderson -
Author
About Hannah Dolby
Hannah Dolby's first job was in the circus and she has aimed to keep life as interesting since. She trained as a journalist in Hastings and has worked in PR for many years, promoting museums, galleries, palaces, gardens and even Dolly the sheep. She completed the Curtis Brown selective three-month novel writing course, and she won runner-up in the Comedy Women in Print Awards for this novel with the prize of a place on an MA in Comedy Writing at the University of Falmouth. She currently lives in London. Her first book, No Life for a Lady, also starring the irrepressible Violet Hamilton, was published in 2022.
Author Photo Credit: credit Tricia Keracher-Summerfield COL
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