BOOK REVIEW: High Wages by Dorothy Whipple

Somehow, I started following Persephone Books on Instagram. This is a UK “publisher of neglected fiction and non-fiction, mostly by women writers and mostly mid-20^th century, in elegant grey editions. A bookshop, too.” Now I want to go to the UK just to go to this bookshop.

The reviews they post of books they’ve chosen to republish are always so compelling I add the novels to my TBR list, but some are hard to find in the U.S.

Fortunately, my library had an old copy of Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield, which was superb.

More recently, I was drawn in by the blurb for High Wages by Dorothy Whipple, and bought the kindle edition from Persephone Books:

Persephone Books edition

 "High Wages (1930) was Dorothy Whipple's second novel. It is about a girl called Jane who gets a badly-paid job in a draper’s shop in the early years of the last century. Yet the title of the book is based on a Carlyle quotation – ‘Experience doth take dreadfully high wages, but she teacheth like none other’ – and Jane, having saved some money and been lent some by a friend, opens her own dress-shop.
As Jane Brocket writes in her Persephone Preface: the novel ‘is a celebration of the Lancastrian values of hard work and stubbornness, and there could be no finer setting for a shop-girl-made-good story than the county in which cotton was king.’"

 

This sweet old-fashioned novel is the story of Jane Carter, a young girl who arrives in the small England town of Tidsley, looking for work. She is clever, pretty, well-spoken, and has a bit of experience working in a shop, so when she sees an ad in the window of Mr. Chadwick’s draper’s shop, she applies. And thus, her life story begins.

Jane navigates the world through a career in retail. First, she is the exploited shopgirl working for

An old edition with 
a funner cover

Mr. Chadwick. She is cleverer and braver than he is, and eventually strikes out on her own. Not only is her dress shop a great success, but she is a success. Never succumbing to greed and meanness, she treats her own employees (and investor) well.

WWI is seen through the lens of its effects on Tidsley and on small-town commerce. Men go away. Some come back unscathed (like the well-to-do, handsome, but vapid Noel Yarde) while others are changed (the bookish, sensitive librarian Wilfrid). But Jane’s star continues to rise throughout.

In fact, Jane has her life, and her narrow world, well under control, until she falls in love with the wrong man.

The novel contrasts the industry and generosity of the working class compared to the cheapness, greed, and exploitative natures of the employers. The upper class (wealthy professionals and their monied offspring) are shown as lazy, boring, and bored. The story has an almost allegorical feel to it, but isn’t quite a “lesson” novel. It’s a quick, fascinating read. A period piece. And delightful.

BOOK REVIEW: Akmaral by Judith Lindbergh

 The captivating novel Akmaral by Judith Lindbergh is a superb blend of history and imagination.

The heroine, Akmaral, is a warrior and leader of her people, the Sauromatae, nomads who roamed the Central Asian steppes thousands of years ago. In her aul (her clan), women and men are equally ferocious and skilled at warfare. They fight side by side. They have a rich, complex culture and religious life, but the challenges of a harsh landscape, famine, and clashes with other auls mean raids and skirmishes are a constant. Their most revered god is the god of war.

A larger threat looms than the frequent bloody raids. The fierce Scythians are approaching. This  is a huge tribe of warriors whose migrations push aside, enslave, or destroy all peoples in their paths. As the two cultures collide, Akmaral’s people capture an intriguing man named Timor, a Scythian slave. Timor is a proud warrior whose skill eventually impresses even the Sauromatae war chief Erzhan. But Timor’s loyalties are divided and grow more so after he and Akmaral become lovers. 

This immersive, beautifully written novel succeeds in transporting readers to a time and place that is utterly foreign, and yet so exquisitely detailed that you will feel you are there. Highly recommended.

BOOK REVIEW: Maurice by E.M. Forster

I read Howards End by E. M. Forster many years ago, and always planned to read more of his work. Finally, finally, I took out Maurice from the library. This is a quietly moving, beautiful, psychological novel that completely drew me in.

Maurice Hall is, in all outward respects, a “normal” character, almost too simple a protagonist for fiction. He goes to a local boys’ school, graduates to Cambridge University, and finally, as a young man, takes over his deceased father’s place in business. To others, he seems a regular fellow, a middle class snob, self-absorbed and disinterested in the things that consume most of his peers: work, politics, religion, gossip. But it is what is going on internally that makes him a richly portrayed, unforgettable protagonist.

Maurice is gay. In his young life, he is simply confused. At Cambridge, he’s even more confused, often angry, and sometimes has bright flashes of joy. He meets a fellow Cambridge student, Clive Durham, who is a step above him on the social scale. They have some deep conversations of the college-kid type. And they fall in love. It is a romantic but platonic love, although Maurice yearns for more.

They experience a few years of joyful, extreme friendship, until abruptly, Clive falls out of love. Maurice has to work through grief and come to grips with the fact that he is a lover of men and can’t change that about himself. In Edwardian England, this is regarded as perverse and criminal, and makes navigating the social world a sometimes dangerous challenge.

I don’t want to give away any more of the plot, because while the beauty of this novel is in Forster’s exquisite prose, Maurice’s journey is what makes it so compelling. Highly recommended.

BOOK REVIEW: Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti

 I received this book for free from Netgalley. That did not influence this review.

Alexandra Vasti, author of Ne’er Duke Well, has a new book out today in the Belvoir series, Earl Crush. This is an entertaining romp of a Regency Romance, a fine follow-up to the first.

Lydia Hope-Wallace is intelligent, beautiful, and passionate about social justice. Unfortunately, she suffers from an almost crippling social anxiety. This leaves her unable to attract a husband in the usual way. So she focuses her attention on the cause of equality for all. Men and women. She writes inflammatory pamphlets that are published and distributed by her friend Selena (who readers will have met in book 1, the owner of Belvoir library and publishers.) She signs the pamphlets only as “H.”

One of her readers has written back to her, repeatedly, through her publisher. They discovered a true meeting of the minds. This reader signed his letters as Lord Strathrannoch, an impoverished Scottish earl. Lydia, the possessor of a substantial dowry, decides to go to Scotland and propose. Unfortunately, when she arrives, the earl has no idea who she is. He didn’t write the letters. That was his brother, assuming his identity.

Arthur Baird, the Fifth Earl of Strathrannoch, is a gentle giant of a man. He’s very conscientious, caring for his tenants, but a recluse. He hasn’t been looking for a wife. Arthur is also an inventor. And one of his inventions was recently stolen by the same brother who has been writing to Lydia and using his name.

The two join forces to track down this brother. During their adventures, they find themselves lusting after one another increasingly. However, Lydia can’t forget that Arthur rejected her when she first proposed marriage. And Arthur can’t forget that Lydia proposed to him thinking that he was his brother. The steaminess of the novel soon ratchets up to high, especially after they have to pretend to be man and wife.

Readers know they’ll end up together, but there are plenty of surprises along the way. The novel stands alone, but book one will introduce you to Belvoir and to Lydia’s female friends, and they are not to be missed!

BOOK REVIEW: Ana Maria and The Fox by Liana de la Rosa

Ana Maria and The Fox by Liana de la Rosa is an adventurous Victorian Romance, the first in the series, A Luna Sisters Novel. It’s a slow-burn, but ends high-steam.

Set in 1863, Ana Maria and her two sisters are Mexican heiresses, sent to London for safety when France occupies Mexico, forcing her parents into hiding. Ana Maria’s father is a high official in the resisting Mexican government. Because of her father’s status, Ana Maria has spent her life being a perfect daughter, and suffers because of the impossibility of pleasing him. 

The novel turns the trope of the American “dollar princess” on its head.

In London, under the protection of their uncle, the three wealthy sisters are encouraged to disobey their father’s instruction to keep a low profile. Their uncle is an ambassador, and he sees the beautiful, vibrant sisters as perfect representatives for their country. Hoping they will win British sympathy for the Mexican cause, he gives them license to burst onto the scene and captivate the ton. Which they do.

One of the first people captivated by Ana Maria is Gideon Fox, an MP. Gideon is the grandson of an enslaved woman. His all-consuming goal is to win Britain over to complete abolition of slavery throughout their empire, throughout the world. He devotes all his time and passion to this cause. 

At first, Ana Maria and Gideon resist their strong attraction, each thinking that a romance will hurt the other’s cause and their own. (Plus, Ana is engaged to wed a man of her father’s choice back home.) However, their paths keep crossing and their interest in each other grows. At a house party in the countryside, a villainous nobleman with completely opposing political goals enters the scene—and Ana Maria and Gideon have to join forces for the protection of the Luna sisters. This is where things get steamy.

This is an interesting romance that incorporates diversity and more than the usual amount of history into more typical romance tropes. Readers will root not only for Ana Maria but for all three of the sisters. We can already see where Isabel and Gabriela’s romantic interests are likely to lie in books two and three, with heroes as interesting as Gideon.

ANNOUNCEMENT: MY NEW READER/WRITER NEWSLETTER

 

I'm launching a newsletter to share reviews of my favorite books, talk about my writing progress (or lack thereof), host some giveaways, and hopefully interview other authors. The sign-up button is at the top of my sidebar. I'd love for you to sign up -- and share the link!

HISTORICAL FICTION READING CHALLENGE 2025

It's a new year! Which means it's time for a new historical fiction challenge, hosted by The Intrepid Reader and Baker. The sign-up is here for anyone who wants to join in!

I didn't make my goal last year.  I aimed for 50+ and read 42. I haven't looked at my own stats, but my gut feeling is that I was reading more nonfiction, mostly for research for my own historical novels. And I was writing, writing, writing...

So, this year, I'm shooting for the Ancient History level of 25+ books and hoping to exceed it. Links will be posted below.

1. Ana Maria and the Fox by Liana de la Rosa

2. Remember When by Mary Balogh

3. To Carve Identity by Susan Steggall

4. Mrs. Lowe-Porter by Jo Salas

5. Earl Crush by Alexandra Vasti

6. Maurice by E. M. Forster

7. Akmaral by Judith Lindbergh

8. High Wages by Dorothy Whipple