Publisher: 24th November 2020 by Hachette Australia
Pages: 383 pages
How I Read It: ARC book
Genre: historical fiction
My Rating: 4.5 cups
Synopsis:
If you devoured THE CROWN you will love this exuberant story of a young Australian actress caught up in the excesses, royal intrigues and class divide of Jazz Age London, losing her way but reclaiming her heart in the process
London, 1920s: Kit Scott, a privileged young Australian aiming to become a star, arrives in the city to find the Jazz Age in full swing. Cast in a West End play opposite another young hopeful, Canadian Zeke Gardiner, she dances blithely into the heady lifestyle of English high society and the London theatre set, from Noel Coward to Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele.
When Kit is photographed dancing the Charleston alongside the Prince of Wales, she finds herself at the centre of a major scandal, sending the Palace into damage control and Kit to her aristocratic English relatives - and into the arms of the hedonistic Lord Henry Carleton. Amid the excesses of the Roaring Twenties, both Zeke and Kit are faced with temptations - and make choices that will alter the course of their lives forever.
Readers of Natasha Lester's A KISS FROM MR FITZGERALD will love THE CHARLESTON SCANDAL. Bestselling author Pamela Hart's energetic, masterful storytelling will have you glued right until the end.
My Thoughts
‘She’d yearned for a world where people could be themselves, even if it was only here, behind closed doors, among friends. But if she were herself would they like her? Or would she be too dull and respectable for them?’
One is always guaranteed a great read with a Pamela Hart story and her latest release lived up to expectation. Listening to a podcast, Pamela explained how it was time to move on from the war years and into the 1920s - it was time to celebrate! Pamela brilliantly captures all the glitz and glamour of the era along with the push to break with long held traditions.
I enjoyed reading Kit’s story as she tries to break free from her upper class upbringing in Sydney to the stage and lights of London. Pamela introduces real time events and people such as Noel Coward and the Astaire’s from the entertainment side, to royalty with the Prince of Wales and his circle of friends, adding a real depth to the story. Kit finds herself torn between two lifestyles and two men representative of each way of living. Pamela perfectly portrays the hedonistic partying lifestyle of dancing and drinking but balances it with a more reflective aspect of cutting ties of past lives and ways of living. The ‘scandal’ itself is not simply the one off capture on film but rather, how women especially struggled to forge a new path from the ashes of war.
Within this seemingly lighthearted tale, I appreciated the spotlight Pamela shone on issues such as the role of women, LGBT clubs, alcoholism and domestic abuse and the fictional likelihood of living the life of royalty and landed gentry. Testament to Pam’s writing is how seamlessly she interweaves all of the above to produce a complete and engaging tale.
I congratulate Pamela for stepping away her war year novels and producing this compelling read of life after the war in London. It captures the emotions and perfectly portrays everything from the growth of fashion and music, to politics and social conventions. This is a wonderful tale of historical fiction that I thoroughly enjoyed.
‘Zeke was right, and yet ... there was still a place for formality and etiquette in the world, wasn’t there? To make things run smoothly, the way they should. ‘All these rules,’ he said, leaning comfortably against the wall and watching the crowd with shrewd eyes. ‘They’re just to make sure you can exclude people who aren’t your class. That’s all etiquette is.’ There was truth to that. But surely there was more to it?
This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.
No comments:
Post a Comment