– I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. –
To be published by Thomas Dunne Books on 10 Dec 2019
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Selina Lennox is a Bright Young Thing. Her life is a whirl of parties and drinking, pursued by the press and staying on just the right side of scandal, all while running from the life her parents would choose for her.
Lawrence Weston is a penniless painter who stumbles into Selina’s orbit one night and can never let her go even while knowing someone of her stature could never end up with someone of his. Except Selina falls hard for Lawrence, envisioning a life of true happiness. But when tragedy strikes, Selina finds herself choosing what’s safe over what’s right.
From the blurb, I envisioned a great Gatsby-esque story, but this turned out to be a much quieter story than expected. If anything, it reminded me of the second half of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, insofar as both are historical romances (Guernsey really took a turn for the romantic in its second half, reading much more like its later Netflix adaptation).
Additionally, both involve writing letters. The Glittering Hour isn’t in epistolary format like Guernsey is, but it progresses through letters written between Selina and her daughter Alice. Selina and Lawrence’s love story introduced in the official blurb is only part of the story. The synopsis I would give is:
Alice is left at her grandparents’ country estate while her parents are away on business. To help her pass the time, her mother Selina writes letters to her and sends her on a treasure hunt. With each clue and discovery, Alice learns more about Selina’s glittering youth in London’s high society.
The book falls into a comfortable, predictable rhythm, transitioning between Alice’s youth in 1936 and Selina’s youth in 1925 via the letters they exchange. I felt like I was alongside Alice on her treasure hunt, as I was also curious to hear more stories about Selina’s youth. What a clever and wholesome format!
Besides their perspectives, we also get Lawrence’s perspective (as you could surmise from the official blurb) as well as the perspective of several other minor characters (yet another similarity with Guernsey!). In fact, my favourite characters in the whole book were two minor characters: Polly–Selina’s maid–and Edith–Lawrence’s friend and employer. I loved how they were confident, practical/realistic, loyal, and loving (the kind of loving that comes from a place of deep understanding rather than a superficial infatuation), which is a breath of fresh air when you’re dealing with a story of two hopeless romantics who can sometimes be melodramatic and too in their own heads.
Selina and Lawrence’s romance happened very quickly, so I wasn’t totally sold on it, but somehow, what happened between them at the end still got to me, so maybe I cared for them more than I realised. I had hesitations throughout the book on various aspects such as this, but by the time I finished the book, most everything had fallen into place. It was a bit tidier than I would have preferred, but it certainly made for a whimsical, sweet, and cosy historical romance!