I picked up this novel because one of my favourite authors EVER, Elizabeth Wein, gave it an excellent review on Goodreads. I had absolutely no idea what it was, except that there were comparisons to Dodie Smith's "I Capture the Castle" which I vaguely remember reading and enjoying. I found this gem on the fifth page -- the main character, Penelope (who has a brother named Inigo!), talking about another girl she had just met: "She was the sort of person one reads about in novels yet raraely meets in real life, and if this was the beginning of the novel -- well! (5)"

Penelope is the tall, plain daughter of a father killed in the war, and a beautiful young mother just seventeen years older than herself. Her chance encounter and subsequent friendship with the charming and outgoing Charlotte brings excitement to her life that has been absent -- living in the giant old estate called Milton Magna Hall, a crumbling old mansion, is a rather dull existence, broken up only by her mother's alternating moods of guilt and emotion, extravagance and spending. Penelope also becomes acquainted with Charlotte's brother, Harry, who is infatuated with an American woman, Marina; he eventually hatches a plot to win her by convincing Penelope to serve as a foil.

I began this book with great hopes, and went merrily along for about half the book, at which point I started to feel disillusioned with the characters; with Penelope and Charlotte's gushing over the popular singer Johnnie Ray, with her mother's whims and emotions, and even with the seeming smallness of things that bothered Penelope, especially in contrast to the larger problems around her. While I was intrigued by the idea of American popular music taking the fancy of young English girls (as in a counter wave to the "British Invasion"), as the novel wrapped up, everything came together a la Daphne du Maurier, and I was left more than a wee bit disappointed, despite the charm and witty prose of the narrator. I would say this is about 4 stars for the first half, then slides down to around 2.5 towards the end, which makes me sad because I really really wanted to like it. ( )

This was beautifully written and I felt fully immersed in the 1950's era as Eva Rice sweeps the reader from cocktail parties at the Ritz to duck suppers at Milton Magna.

The story is very much about Penelope but there is also the mystery surrounding some history between Penelope's mother and Charlotte's Aunt Clare. Although Penelope met Charlotte by chance and immediately became friends, it's almost like they were drawn to each other by a shared link to the past that they knew nothing about.

I enjoyed the part of the story where Harry hatches a plot to win back his ex-girlfriend, Marina. Penelope agrees to pretend to be in love with Harry in order to make Marina jealous. This was fun reading as Marina's jealousy was described in perfect detail whilst a little spark begins to glow between Harry and Penelope.

A lovely feel good story of tea parties, music and magic.

I received this book from the publisher via Bookbridgr in exchange for an honest review. ( )

mignon, donné

It started with a very intriguing meeting. Penelope is waiting for a ride when she meets Charlotte who convinces her to share a cab and then talks her into meeting her aunt and cousin for tea.

The girls are both in their late teens, but this is during the 1950's in England and they behave much older. Charlotte brings Penelope into her world by introducing her to her eccentric ain't and her spellbinding cousin Harry.
Penelope introduces Charlotte and Harry to her world, a dilapidated mansion, a younger brother and a mostly absent, strikingly beautiful and very young mother.

To further entangle their lives...Harry is still in love with his ex and convinces Penelope to pretend to be his girlfriend at some social events to make her jealous and maybe win her back.

It started off on a great note but just felt slow moving for a lot of the book. ( )

Charlotte pulls up in a taxi at a bus stop and approaches Penelope and asks if she'd like to share the ride. She actually convinces Penelope to go to her Aunt's house for tea.
The story is set in London in the 1950's.
Penelope lives in a castle with her widowed mother and younger brother Inigo.
Charlotte thinks the idea of living in the castle is grand, but truthfully, Penelope's family is poor and the castle is falling apart.
Charlotte is the most lively character of the lot and keeps the story going. There's a mystery between Charlotte's Aunt and Penelope's mother.
I didn't care for the ending, but I won't give anything away. ( )