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It's 1896. Violet, 28, lives with her father and is busy resisting his attempts to marry her off. Violet is underwhelmed by any of the candidates and has determined she will not marry. As the novel progresses, she realises that there are far more interesting things she could be doing. Like becoming a Lady Detective. I don't know if this is going to be a series, but I hope so because there's a lot more for Violet to achieve! This is her just starting to learn about the world and herself for that matter and I would love to see more of her adventures.
I’m tempted to say that every so often a pearl can be found amongst the dross of the over-crowded HR genre - but I can’t mention “pearl” without wanting to laugh uproariously about one component of No Life for a Lady - the comedic theme throughout the book - the twists and turns as Violet tries to discover the how, why and what of sex. Together, will they discover the truth of what happened to Violet's mother? Or will there be far more at stake than Violet ever imagined? A brilliantly funny historical with a unique heroine, I adored every word of this book. Violet Hamilton's mother disappeared a decade ago when Violet was 18, leaving her naive, young for her daughter with her emotionally repressed father. When a private detective's leaflet falls onto her mat, Violet decides it's time to find out what happened to her mother and by doing so takes her first step into independence. The further she gets on her quest, the more she realises her ignorance and how unworldly she is, the more determined she is to learn not just what happened to her mother, but about the world, a world that prefers its women ignorant and dependent on men. Violet is a paradox, a product of her time and upbringing. In some regards, she is rigid by even the day's standards, valuing propriety and primness. In other ways, our protagonist steamrolls over societal norms. It's captivating to watch her character growth as she finds her voice. The narrative is so well done, as well. There's plenty of misdirection, but like any well-written mystery, it allows the reader to play detective, giving clues along the way. While I have many thoughts on this book (and all of them good), in an effort not to give away the plot, all I will say is I highly recommend this book.Violet is an amazing and lovable character - full of curiosity, humor, resilience, aspirations, and determination. Would love to read a series about Violet thriving as the best detective in town! In the summer of 1886, Violet Hamilton’s beautiful mother kisses her goodbye, heads for a party and disappears, the last sighting being on Hastings pier. Ten years on, Violet decides to hire private detective Frank Knight to search for her mother though sadly he inspires little confidence. Can Violet solve the mystery herself but keep her reputation intact? Internal monologue: For much of the first half of the book all we are witness to are Violet's repeated thoughts and internal monologues about her mother, her life and her wish to remain unmarried. The same thoughts, over and over again. Several chapters are pretty much nothing more than just Violet thinking variations of the same things again and again. It was a drag and it slowed the plot down considerably. Set in 1896, Violet lives in Hastings on the English south coast with her father, a repressed and authoritative bank manager. Violet may be a Lady but she has no intention of marrying and living the life expected of her, for a few reasons. When Violet was 18 her mother, Lily, disappeared and ten years later, when No Life for a Lady is set, it is still something that aches on Violet’s heart and mind. Pointless facts were repeated to a distracting degree, a good edit and removal of unnecessary filler would have improved the book greatly.
If you loved Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, you'll love to snuggle up with this novel!' – Chat
Reviews
In her search, she encounters various eccentric characters who expand her sheltered worldview, including a nice furniture salesman who also dabbles in detective work. Many of these scenarios are very funny and I really enjoyed my experience reading this book. I think there were instances where the prose dragged a bit, but overall I think the writing style was good. In 1886, ten years before the story opens, naïve eighteen-year-old Violet’s glamorous mother disappears one evening after an event at the theatre on Hastings Pier. Her body has never been found, not washed up along the coast, no messages received, no sightings.
We meet Jean Price MP in her early days in office having earned her place in the Commons courtesy of winning a bi-election by a majority of 507. Little seems to have prepared her for the challenges of balancing the life of an opposition MP with a home life while at the same time battling the sneering of the government’s MPs and the sexism of operations within the House, despite this still being the time of Margaret Thatcher’s reign. I would say it renders the mystery sort of low key. I liked that though, as this book is actually more about Violet wanting to become a lady detective. This is how we get introduced to Benjamin, the love interest, who I really enjoyed. It was very sweet but also sarcastic, and we love that.The mystery is well thought out and I loved the ending. The mixture of Violet’s character, the mystery and humour combine to make this a fantastic read. It was unclear to me why Violet has waited ten years to make a serious attempt to investigate her mother’s disappearance but once she embarks upon it she has no intention of stopping. Except that her chosen detective turns out to be no ‘knight in shining armour’. (Violet, you should have trusted your instincts). Suddenly, Violet wonders if she’s really ready to find out her mother’s secrets and to have them become the talk of the ladies of Hastings, not to mention the men. She’d wanted discretion, wishing to keep the investigation from her father.
This is a wonderful, wonderfully-written novel. It's lighthearted but clever. Set in 1896 but with a sassy heroine with a modern style. It feels neither old-fashioned nor anachronistic. There's something of the Zuleika Dobson about Violet, but the real charm of this novel is in the story, plot, pacing and dialogue. It's funny and deceptively light. We follow her as she finds out information about her mother she really doesn't want to know as well as her avoidance of suitors.The mystery of Violet’s mother’s disappearance added to the story and I was fully invested in finding out what happened to her. The pacing in the middle bogged down a bit, but overall, I found the book to be very entertaining.
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