A very interesting book about the life of Nancy Mitford. It prompted me to investigate her life further. She was a fascinating person and so was her family. Half of them were supporters of fascism and the other half were against it. They loved each other even though their life views were different. Read the book! You'll enjoy it! ( )

Honestly I've never read Nancy Mitford (which is somewhat surprising as I have read a lot of interwar fiction) but I'm not as much of a literature reader as I am of other genres. (yes Literature I consider a genre) This story splits it's time between a mostly factual retelling of Nancy's World War II life with some set before the war and a bit after. Yes Nancy was a Bright Young Thing and most of it is very name-droppy but that was her circle of people. It also had some bits about the seductive quality of Nazism (which we're seeing again, alas); and then we have Lucy St Clair who is on a curatorial mission to London to buy one of those libraries of books people like to be seen to own but probably will never read anything out of. She's working out of the bookshop Nancy Mitford worked in, trying to solve a mystery for her recently deceased mother.
The blurb somewhat implies that Nancy is working in the Bookshop for a lot of the book but she isn't, there's a lot of love souring and relationships that cause problems in Nancy's life and some of them are on the page, I felt a lot sorry for her but also a little frustrated that she failed a few times to really honour herself. ( )

Lucy St. Clair has recently suffered the loss of her mother and a business trip to London seems to be the ticket to help her heal. As a library curator, Lucy settles into Heywood Hill, a well-known bookshop, to look for books her employer desires. She is also a huge Nancy Mitford fan who has a personal goal - to discover who "Iris" as that Mitford left a book for when she went abroad.
Nancy Mitford was one of Britain's Bright Young Things; a set of young socialites who were known for their partying ways and their lives being photographed for the newspapers. The Mitford family was also a family of infamy - two of the Mitford daughters are known Fascists who willingly back Hitler and his Nazi Regime while the rest of the family understood the evil it represented. As the world watches Hitler's power spread across the region, Nancy steps up to do her part. She volunteers with the local Air Raids Precaution (ARP) unit to ensure the safety of others. As the war wages on, Nancy takes a job at the Mayfair Bookshop where she finds her life changed when she discovers she is wonderful at selling books and meets someone who makes her feel again.

The story of Nancy Mitford appears to be all the rage these days so it was lovely to read something about her life and what could have happened from her point of view. Eliza Knight writes a wonderful story and I would enjoy reading more from her. ( )

Thanks to the Book Club Girl Early Read program & NetGalley for a digital advance reader's copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

I am rating this novel at 3.5 stars as it promised more than it delivered, yet it checked my boxes for a good read: historical fiction about a London bookstore and a writer, with a present day mystery. Author Eliza Knight incorporated the real life bookstore, Heywood Hill Ltd, and acclaimed writer Nancy Mitford – one of 1930s London’s hottest socialites, authors, and a member of the scandalous Mitford sisters – in a dual-narrative story also featuring Lucy St. Clair, a fictional modern day American book curator looking for change in her life.

The oldest of six children of the notorious Mitford family (think Kardashians of the 1930s), Nancy is one of the 1920s’ Bright Young Things, who after 10 years of partying is now ready to marry and settle down. Current day Lucy is in London for two weeks, curating books for her American employer. The connection between the two women is the Heywood Hill bookshop in the heart of Mayfair, London, and a book Lucy owns, written by Nancy and inscribed to “Iris.”

Lucy also has a collection of letters written by Nancy, which she hopes will reveal who Iris is, as Nancy left the book in the bookshop for Iris, who never picked it up. Lucy’s recently deceased mother (and also a Nancy Mitford fan) purchased it years ago, along with the letters. The novel alternates between the two women and their time periods, with the majority of pages focusing on Nancy during the London war years. And I thought Nancy’s was the better story.

The Nancy chapters often begin with an excerpt from the real-life Nancy’s letters to friends like author Evelyn Waugh. What I found confusing is frequently the chapter began with a letter to someone, such as one of her sisters, but was crossed out and the rest of the chapter was her thoughts. Or the letter suddenly ended without conclusion as the rest of the chapter continued with Nancy’s first person narration. I would have liked an explanation from the author after the novel’s conclusion that explained why she chose to write the novel incorporating the letter format when the letters were very brief and Knight soon changed point of view from letter to interior monologue. On a positive note, I appreciated that while Nancy’s chapters were told in the first person, Lucy’s were in third person. Made it much easier to remember who the story was focusing on.

Nancy’s life is sad, as she is unhappily married to Peter Rodd. They are unable to have a child, and Peter is repeatedly unfaithful. On top of this, they are always in debt due to his overspending and under-employment. In addition to her heartache with Peter (who she nicknamed “Prod”) she feels responsible for two of her sisters’ misguided infatuations with Hitler and their support of the fascism that will soon lead to World War II.

One of the highlights of the book, and of Nancy’s life during this time, is her friendship with Sophie, a woman she meets while volunteering during the war. “Ours was a friendship born on the brink of war, and fed by comradery when our country was at its worst….Time again and again, friends have been my saving grace, the people who raise me up and motivate me to go on.”

In addition to the theme of friendship, the novel concludes with both Nancy and Lucy finding personal courage to pursue their own happiness. Lucy considers her efforts to locate the mysterious Iris. “Maybe it was meant to be my quest because I needed it. Without the search for Iris, and all the places it took me, I might never have discovered the things about myself I needed to learn to take my dreams into my own hands.” When the time came, Lucy had been the one to find the courage to pursue her own happiness – her own future – much like Nancy Mitford herself. ( )

Awhile back, I read a nonfiction book about the Mitford sisters and I was especially intrigued by the eldest sister, Nancy, which was part of the reason I picked up this novel, set in two different eras, and featuring the always fascinating Mitfords. Nancy Mitford plays a central role in one of the plotlines, although one gets a good sense of the entire family. In the contemporary storyline, Lucy works in a bookshop and even has the opportunity to visit the library at Chatsworth House as she learns about Nancy Mitford. A fun read and definitely recommended for bibliophiles and historical fiction fans. ( )