One of my favourite general market reads of 2020 is Natalie Jenner’s debut novel, The Jane Austen Society. A delightful ensemble read, made even more enjoyable as I listened to the audiobook read by actor Richard Armitage. You can read my review of the audiobook here.

In 2022, Natalie Jenner’s will release another story that is an ode to the love of books and the treasure and community we can find amongst fellow booklovers. Bloomsbury Girls also features the wonderful Evie Stone readers will remember from The Jane Austen Society, a young intelligent teen forced to leave school to work to help support her family.

I’m delighted to be a part of the cover reveal of Bloomsbury Girls, releasing 17th May, 2022, by St. Martin’s Press.

Take a look at the story…

Bloomsbury Girls

“One bookshop. Fifty-one rules. Three women who break them all.”

The Internationally Bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society returns with a compelling and heartwarming story of post-war London, a century-old bookstore, and three women determined to find their way in a fast-changing world.

Bloomsbury Books is an old-fashioned new and rare bookstore that has persisted and resisted change for a hundred years, run by men and guided by the general manager’s unbreakable fifty-one rules.  But in 1950, the world is changing, especially the world of books and publishing, and at Bloomsbury Books, the girls in the shop have plans:

Vivien Lowry:  Single since her aristocratic fiancé was killed in action during World War II, the brilliant and stylish Vivien has a long list of grievances – most of them well justified and the biggest of which is Alec McDonough, the Head of Fiction.

Grace Perkins: Married with two sons, she’s been working to support the family following her husband’s breakdown in the aftermath of the war. Torn between duty to her family and dreams of her own.

Evie Stone: In the first class of female students from Cambridge permitted to earn a degree, Evie was denied an academic position in favor of her less accomplished male rival. Now she’s working at Bloomsbury Books while she plans to remake her own future.

As they interact with various literary figures of the time – Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Sonia Blair (widow of George Orwell), Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and others – these three women with their complex web of relationships, goals and dreams are all working to plot out a future that is richer and more rewarding than anything society will allow. 

Thoughts from Natalie

“I never intended for Evie Stone to be a major character in my debut novel, let alone inspire my second one, Bloomsbury Girls. But as time went on, I found I could not leave her behind in Chawton with the other society members. And then one day I rewatched a favourite movie, 84 Charing Cross Road, and I remember thinking, there’s a whole other story in here still to be told, of an upstairs-downstairs motley crew of booksellers, and right away the figures came to life.

As with The Jane Austen Society, Bloomsbury Girls features multiple characters and storylines revolving around one very charming location: this time, the quintessential Dickensian-type bookshop.

If The Jane Austen Society was the book I wrote when I was coming out of sadness, Bloomsbury Girls was written when I was very happy, and I hope it provides a little cheer to readers during this difficult time.”

Cover Reveal

This story sounds delightful and I’ll be looking forward to sharing my thoughts on the story with you next year!

Pre-order here:

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Learn more about Bloomsbury Girls at St. Martin’s Press

Natalie Jenner is the author of two books, the instant international bestseller THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY and BLOOMSBURY GIRLS. A Goodreads Choice Award finalist for best debut novel and historical fiction, THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY was a USA Today and #1 national bestseller and has been sold for translation in twenty countries. Born in England and raised in Canada, Natalie has been a corporate lawyer, a career coach and, most recently, an independent bookstore owner in Oakville, Ontario, where she lives with her family and two rescue dogs.

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COVER REVEAL SCHEDULE

Aug 26 The Silver Petticoat Review

Aug 26 Austenprose

Aug 26 Relz Reviewz

Aug 26 The Calico Critic 

Aug 26 Bookfoolery 

Aug 26 Lu Reviews Books

Aug 26 Confessions of a Book Addict 

Aug 26 Savvy Verse and Wit

Aug 27 Chicks, Rogues and Scandals

Aug 27 Life of Literature

Aug 27 Cup of Tea with that Book Please

Aug 27 Gwendalyn’s Books

Aug 27 The Green Mockingbird

Aug 27 History Lizzie

Aug 27 Books, Teacups & Reviews

Aug 28 The Interests of a Jane Austen Girl

Aug 28 Literary Quicksand

Aug 28 Bookish Rantings 

Aug 28 Jane Austen in Vermont

Aug 29 Robin Loves Reading

Aug 29 The Lit Bitch

Aug 30 Margie’s Must Reads

Aug 30 Syrie James

Aug 30 The Reading Frenzy 

Aug 31 Laura’s Reviews

Sept 01 Nurse Bookie

Sept 01 Probably at the Library 

Sept 01 Reading Ladies Book Club