Recommended Reading
Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke — a Book Review
From the desk of Syrie James I just read an advance copy of the most wonderful novel, “Ladies of the Lake” by Cathy Gohlke, and I wanted to share. I was hooked from the first chapter. There are so many suspenseful threads and need-to-know questions between the story in the 1930s and the earlier…
Read MoreBloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner — Book Review
From the desk of Syrie James I enjoyed Natalie Jenner’s debut novel The Jane Austen Society and was excited to dive into Bloomsbury Girls, the tale of three shop girls working at a male-run century-old bookstore in 1950 London. Evie Stone (one of my favorite characters from The Jane Austen Society) is a studious…
Read More8 Reasons Why I Love SANDITON, BRIDGERTON, and Other Stories Set in Jane Austen’s Regency Era
I have a soft spot for historical fiction—be it a novel, film, or TV series—set in England during Jane Austen’s Regency era. I’m a huge Pride and Prejudice fan and my heart jumped for joy to learn that PBS’s SANDITON, inspired by Austen’s unfinished novel, and BRIDGERTON, Netflix’s megahit based on the novels of…
Read MoreThe Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews – Book Review
From the desk of Syrie James Can a daring, independent-minded equestrian and a brilliant, half-Indian dressmaker overcome the pressures of fashionable society to find love and happiness in Victorian London? That’s the premise of Mimi Matthew’s new novel The Siren of Sussex, and I have to admit, I was so intrigued that I could…
Read MoreDown a Dark River by Karen Odden — Book Review
From the desk of Syrie James I’m always up for a good Victorian murder mystery, and I was excited to dive into Karen Odden’s Down a Dark River, the first book in her new Inspector Corravan Mystery series. It’s 1878 in London, when a small boat bearing a young woman’s corpse drifts down the Thames.…
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