The Mayfair bookshop : a novel of Nancy Mitford and the pursuit of happiness /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

One of Hasty Booklist's Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Novels!

USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight brings together a brilliant dual-narrative story about Nancy Mitford--one of 1930s London's hottest socialites, authors, and a member of the scandalous Mitford Sisters--and a modern American desperate for change, connected through time by a little London bookshop.

"An absolute must-read!"--Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author The Last Bookshop in London

1938: She was one of the six sparkling Mitford sisters, known for her stinging quips, stylish dress, and bright green eyes. But Nancy Mitford's seemingly dazzling life was really one of turmoil: with a perpetually unfaithful and broke husband, two Nazi sympathizer sisters, and her hopes of motherhood dashed forever. With war imminent, Nancy finds respite by taking a job at the Heywood Hill Bookshop in Mayfair, hoping to make ends meet, and discovers a new life.

Present Day: When book curator Lucy St. Clair lands a gig working at Heywood Hill she can't get on the plane fast enough. Not only can she start the healing process from the loss of her mother, it's a dream come true to set foot in the legendary store. Doubly exciting: she brings with her a first edition of Nancy's work, one with a somewhat mysterious inscription from the author. Soon, she discovers her life and Nancy's are intertwined, and it all comes back to the little London bookshop--a place that changes the lives of two women from different eras in the most surprising ways.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

A young woman investigates an enigmatic book inscription written by British author and socialite Nancy Mitford in this uneven dual-narrative outing from Knight (Taming the Scot). Nancy lives the high life until she marries Peter Rodd, an unmoneyed minor aristocrat with a drinking problem, in 1933. As he begins seeing other women and WWII nears, two of Nancy's sisters embrace fascism, upending Nancy's life. But she finds comfort at Heywood Hill, a bookshop that has long championed her work and hires her when Peter's reckless spending forces her to find a job. In the present day, Lucy St. Clair arrives at Heywood Hill on an assignment to curate rare books for a collector. A fan of Nancy's, Lucy takes the opportunity to look into Iris, a woman to whom Nancy inscribed a copy of one of her books that was eventually bought by Lucy's mother. Knight captures Nancy's quick wit and shines a light on the darker corners of her life, but Lucy's story fails to match up and comes across as a distraction. Readers will enjoy the rich retelling of a complex period in British history, but the rest is pretty forgettable. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marshal Lyon Literary Agency. (Apr.)

Booklist Review

Knight brings to life the fascinating story of Nancy Mitford, one of the famed Mitford sisters and one of England's "bright young things" of the interwar years, as she begins her career as a novelist, and following through the years of WWII. Interspersed with stories from Nancy's point of view is a charming, contemporary, literary mystery, as a young book curator, Lucy, arrives in London to visit the famed Heywood Hill bookshop on assignment and with hopes of finding the intended recipient of a letter from Mitford, found in an old edition of The Pursuit of Love, one of Nancy's novels. While the modern mystery is intriguing, it feels almost like an afterthought to the Mitford sections, which really sing. Readers will love the appearance of literary notables like Evelyn Waugh and enjoy the glimpse into the life of one of England's most fascinating (and scandal-ridden) families. Recommended for fans of Paula McLain's The Paris Wife (2011) and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2008) by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.