My thoughts on this wonderful book
As an impassioned devourer of historical fiction, I was intrigued and delighted to receive an invitation to read The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey and join in the blog tour.
What I thought, was that it might be a sweet, glitzy romance, an enjoyable read. I wasn’t even that positive about the era it's set in – the roaring twenties is perhaps not my period of history, of choice (or maybe that should read wasn’t)
What I didn’t realise is the HUGE impact this book would have on me. Probably the MOST romantic love story I’ve ever read and the most utterly heartbreaking too. The authors' wonderful skill is so great that I actually became the main character, Selina for the duration of the book.
It begins with a lonely 9-year-old, Alice, missing her Mum who has gone away on a business trip with Papa. Left in the dauntingly huge stately home of her austere and remote grandparents, with a stern governess to care for her, her unaffectionate grandparents and the occasional tenderness of her mother’s loyal maid Polly.
Miserable and lost, Alice seizes on the chance to occupy her time until her beloved mother Selina returns, by throwing herself wholeheartedly into a mysterious treasure hunt, left by her mother with clues provided by Polly which lead Alice to discover, in glimpses, the story of Selina’s earlier years. As she discovers hints and clues, we the reader, are treated to a little more depth of detail about this engaging young woman’s youth.
In the 1920s Selina was one of the bright young things, whiling away her time in a flurry of parties, and high spirited japes, often fuelled by alcohol and occasional brushes with drugs, sex and drunken car chases. Always in the news and not always for the right reasons, she is a flibbertigibbet, shallow and spoilt.
With her close friend Flick by her side the two young women dance, laugh and party like there’s no tomorrow, mixing with the well to do and wealthy in whose circle they move.
Circumstances suddenly throw Selina in the path of a handsome and pretty darned gorgeous painter Lawrence. But being from a different class entirely, the two can never be friends or even seen speaking in public. It’s one thing for a young woman of class to be seen falling about drunk at a party (as long as the RIGHT kind of people are at the party) It would be quite another for 2 people of obviously different ends of the social scale to be at the same party and actually socialise – now that WOULD be frowned on!
But as is the way of the world the 2 are drawn to each other like moths to a destructive flame.
What follows is an utterly delightful love story, revealed in spoonfuls that I guzzled down. It honestly made my heart ache.
The stories of then and now begin to intertwine, mysteries unfold and little pieces of my heart began to break off as it becomes apparent that a happy ending is unlikely and not quite everything is exactly as it seemed.
There are some very poignant scenes in the latter portion of the book, which I defy even the most hard-hearted reader not to shed a tear at. But if you’re that unemotional, perhaps this isn’t the book for you, it is unashamedly romantic and a real tearjerker.
This IS a book for anyone who has ever loved, lost or dreamt of something they can’t have.
It’s a book to read at night, tucked under the duvet with a big box of tissues. (Oh yes I ugly-cried myself to sleep over this book - Waaahhh)
It’s about enduring love, abiding friendship secrets and loss. With a nod to the changing roles of women and society and a reminder of how times have changed, a few lovely little twists along the journey, adorable Alice and Selina whom I wanted to despise for her apparent brittle shallowness and instead loved for her rich depth and tenacity.
It is delightful, it is beautifully written, it is immaculately atmospheric and it is perfectly charming. Can you tell I loved it? Go ahead read it, if you’ve got this far I know you’ll love the Glittering hour too.
Thank you to @Annecater of Randomthingstours for including me on this tour and introducing me to a book which is a strong contender for my book of the year.
Oh and the cover is divine too dahhling!
The Blurb
The epic and long-awaited new romance from the author of Letters to the Lost, winner of the RNA Award.
1925. The war is over and a new generation is coming of age, keen to put the trauma of the previous one behind them.Selina Lennox is a Bright Young Thing whose life is dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure; to parties and drinking and staying just the right side of scandal. Lawrence Weston is a struggling artist, desperate to escape the poverty of his upbringing and make something of himself. When their worlds collide one summer night, neither can resist the thrill of the forbidden, the lure of a love affair that they know cannot possibly last.
But there is a dark side to pleasure and a price to be paid for breaking the rules. By the end of that summer everything has changed.
A decade later, nine year old Alice is staying at Blackwood Hall with her distant grandparents, piecing together clues from her mother’s letters to discover the secrets of the past, the truth about the present, and hope for the future.
The Author and links
Iona Grey has a degree in English Literature and Language from Manchester University, an obsession with history and an enduring fascination with the lives of women in the twentieth century. She lives in rural Cheshire with her husband and three daughters.
She tweets @iona_grey.
The book on Amazon
The Publisher Simon and Schuster
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