Told in alternating timelines, the story revolves author and celebrity Nancy Mitford around the time of World War II. The first timeline – 1938, Nancy Mitford is part of a group called the Bright Young Things who consist of elite, indulged young adults intent on having fun rather than pursue careers, get married, or growing up in general. The second timeline is present day where Lucy St. Clair, who is a book curator is working on some acquisitions for a new client and is headed to Heywood Hill, the bookshop where Nancy Mitford worked.

At first, I was not overly engaged with this book. The Bright Young Things were an annoying bunch and I couldn’t connect with the character/person of Nancy Mitford. It took me several tries to get through the first couple of chapters but ultimately I’m glad I stuck with it. The story, for me, became more interesting once Nancy stopped being a whiny, brat and started to come into her own. Nancy’s story grows as she realizes life is more than just champagne and parties. I enjoyed reading about her war efforts, her experiences of the devastation and horrors of living in London during the WWII bombings, and with her realizing her talents both as an author and a person. The character of Lucy St. Clair was much easier to appreciate and enjoy. The budding friendship and ultimately relationship she has is endearing. Her quest to solve the inscription of a first edition Nancy Mitford definitely adds to her story.

I was unfamiliar with Eliza Knight as an author, but I did enjoy her writing style, She paints a clear picture of the setting and what is going on with the characters. The historic aspects of the book were interesting as well. I had not heard of the Mitford sisters and was intrigued to learn about them. Interesting family and Eliza portrayed the family with well documented events in accurate detail. Overall, I would recommend this book, well written, interesting albeit flawed characters and a good story.

Add this to your TBR for 2022! Thanks to @netgalley and @elizaknightfiction for the advanced copy.

This piece of historical fiction offers a view into the lives of Nancy Mitford and her sisters. Taking place during WWII, we get to know Nancy and many of her friends (the famous Bright Young Things) as their lives move on and change during the war.

At the same time we are following Lucy, living and working now in London at the same bookshop, Haywood Hill, where Nancy spent so much time.

Throughout the book their lives slowly intertwine as Nancy’s life spurs Lucy on to be braver, bolder - and to ultimately reach for her dreams.

I loved the dual timeline, and I also loved learning so much about Nancy Mitford and yet another facet of WWII.

Put this one your TBR for spring 2022!

Four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I had heard of Nancy Mitford, the young London socialite, one of six sisters. This is a dual timeline. This part of the novel is set during the 30's and 40's. Nancy discovers over the course of their marriage, her husband is a serial philanderer and spendthrift so she gets a job at a bookshop. Her story is full of dash, Nazi sympathizers, dysfunctional family set amidst pre-war and wartime London. The current day story focuses on Lucy, a book curator from America. She has been sent to London to find some books for her job. She has a personal mission to find info on a mystery person that Nancy knew. This was an interesting read, well researched. The characters were mostly likeable.
Nancy had a really fascinating life which made for an interesting read. I'd like to read a non-fiction selection about her to get a more in depth view. Thanks to NETGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
4*

I was a big dissatisfied with this one. It just didn't hold my interest. It was not what I thought it was going to be.
Thank you #netgalley,

3 stars
Not at all what I expected. I do feel there is a audience for this book. It is not for me. Thanks for the ARC of this book.

I wasn't familiar wit the Mitford sisters' story so I found that part of this novel interesting. The dual timeline always keeps me interested to see how the stories intersect.
The writing between letters and narration was sometimes hard to distinguish but could have been how the writing appeared on my Kindle.
I enjoyed the writing and story but I did not enjoy the characters in the novel. It did lead me to read more about the sisters and I understood why they had such reputations.

Told in alternating timelines, the story revolves author Nancy Mitford, a published author and celebrity around the time of World War II. The first timeline – 1938, Nancy Mitford is part of a group called the Bright Young Things who consist of elite, indulged young adults intent on having fun rather than pursue careers, get married, or growing up in general. The second timeline is present day where Lucy St. Clair, who is a book curator is working on some acquisitions for a new client and is headed to Heywood Hill, the bookshop where Nancy Mitford worked.

I have to admit, at first, I was not overly engaged with this book. The Bright Young Things were an annoying bunch and I couldn’t connect with the character/person of Nancy Mitford. It took me several tries to get through the first couple of chapters but ultimately I’m glad I stuck with it. The story, for me, became more interesting once Nancy stop being a whiny, brat and started to come into her own. Nancy’s story grows as she realizes life is more than just champagne and parties. I enjoyed reading about her war efforts, her experiences of the devastation and horrors of living in London during the WWII bombings, and with her realizing her talents both as an author and a person. The character of Lucy St. Clair was much easier to appreciate and enjoy. The budding friendship and ultimately relationship she has is endearing. Her quest to solve the inscription of a first edition Nancy Mitford definitely adds to her story.

I was unfamiliar with Eliza Knight as an author as I normally don’t read romance novels. However, I did enjoy the writing style of the author, Eliza paints a clear picture of the setting and what is going on with the characters. The historic aspects of the book were interesting as well. I had not heard of the Mitford sisters and was intrigued to learn about them. Interesting family and Eliza portrayed the family with well documented events in accurate detail. Overall, I would recommend this book, well written, interesting albeit flawed characters and a good story.

What an enjoyable book that keeps you staying up late to read “just one more page”. The intertwined stories of Nancy and Lucy are all well written and make you cheer on each character. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end.

I was both excited and wary at starting a book that fictionalizes the life of one of the more fascinating women that I have read about for decades- Nancy Mitford. When I saw that the book would feature dual timelines, and one of those would be Nancy, I jumped at it. But then I immediately worried that Nancy was too big and her family history too complex to put on the page in fiction form. I was quite pleased once I got into the book.

In the other timeline, we meet a modern-day woman named Lucy who is a librarian from the US, curating a private collection for a very wealthy person. She is working in collaboration and out of the famous bookshop Heywood Hill, in London, for the assignment. She is our stand-in, giving the Mitford fan access to that shop that Nancy worked in as she was starting her writing career. Lucy voices all the joy I felt when I visited the shop.

While Lucy is there, she also wants to see if she can solve a puzzle that she and her recently deceased mother wondered about with regards to an inscription they found from Nancy to someone that wasn't part of the Bright Young Things set. This allows her to poke through records, to visit Chatsworth (her sister Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire's) estate and look at old letters in the famous library, and the like.

I was quite pleased that the majority of the story is given over to Nancy and dedicated to the most interesting, challenging, and morally confrontational portion of her life- the years leading up and during the war. I have read Nancy's letters, and a few of her books, so I was familiar with her specific "Mitford way" of speaking that included nicknames and made-up words (wondair) that she used in talking and writing with her sisters, as well as her feelings on the most outrageous members of her family. I enjoyed the process of observing how the author would weave in some of the details to put us in the mind and heart of Nancy. I think she did a very good job!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and hope fans of Nancy Mitford feel the same.
***

I would like to thank William Morrow and Custom House, William Morrow Paperbacks for access to the digital advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely marvelous and intriguing novel centering around a historic author Nancy Mitford and her family.
Amazing history and so thought provoking. Could not put it down. Compelling account of WWII, UK and the agonies of writing a book.

A must read!

Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of #TheMayfairBookshop. I enjoyed getting to learn about Nancy Mitford, #themitfordsisters, and London’s #brightyoungthings. Like many recent #historicalfictionbooks, this one goes back and forth from Nancy’s early 20th century to a present-day #bibliophile in London. The present-day story does nothing to add to the novel but only distracts with its fairy tale plot and unconvincing romance. I was also confused by the use of letters from Nancy in the historical chapters. It was unclear if these notes were inspired by letters/memoirs left by Nancy or the creation of the author. The book would benefit from a notes section to explain how research for the writing was conducted and how much is fictional versus based in fact. This ⭐️⭐️⭐️ book will be good for fans of #nancymitford or #ww2 historical fiction when it’s published in #spring2022. 📚📚📚 #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreview #bookstagram #londonhistory

The Mayfair Bookshop set in London, both past and present, delights the reader with the tales of the famous novelist and socialite Nancy Mitford, and the woman who is determined to solve a mystery in her past.

Lucy St Clair finds a note in a Nancy Mitford novel addressed to her dear friend Iris. A curator of books, Lucy admires Nancy and the Bright Young Things, the circle of illustrious friends she ran in. She is determined to find out just who Iris was to Nancy. Her curating job takes her to London and to the very bookstore that Nancy worked in during World War II. A delightful dual narrative begins. One, Lucy’s search of Nancy’s past, while finding her own future and the other, Nancy Mitford, eldest sister of the scandalous Mitford sisters. Hers, a story of loves, loss, tragedies, and resilience during and after World War II in Europe.

Eliza Knight takes us through London’s past and present, inside the famed Heywood Hill bookstore, into the scandalous life of the Mitford sisters and in depth to what is lost and gained during times of world conflict.

The Mayfair Bookshop by Eliza Knight was such a delight! It had just about everything I love to read- a famous socialite, romance, history, tragedy, emotion, beautiful prose, dual timelines, and so much more. I absolutely could not put this book down!!!

A captivating story connecting the past and present. The past captures the history of the Mitford sisters with a focus on the author Nancy Mitford in the WWII era. The present is narrated by Lucy, a bibliophile and book curator. Knight weaves a masterful historical mystery with well-developed characters and a complex plot with a bookshop as the central location. Highly recommended fans of historical fiction add this to their 2022 reading list.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and Custom House, and Eliza Knight for the advanced reader copy of The Mayfair Bookshop. #NetGalley #TheMayfairBookshop #WmMorrowBooks #customhousebks

I was eager to read this, I love books about books and bookstores, and I love that part of London, however I found this novel a little slow. The story jumps between the 1930s and present day, but while I was interested in the modern-day plot, I had a harder time with Nancy Mitford and her vapid social set. That being said, I did really enjoy the modern-day protagonist, Lucy, and the life she stepped into in the bookshop.

I was not at all sure what I expected from The Mayfair Bookshop, but whatever it was, this novel more than delivered. I read all of Nancy Milford's novels many years ago, and so I was familiar with her novels, and even wrote a graduate research paper about her work, but after reading this novel, I found that I actual knew far too little about Mitford's life. Eliza Knight's novel perfectly blends Mitford's life before and during WWII with the life of an American researcher, who seeks to solve a family puzzle in the 21st century. This novel does so much more than promised. It is an important biography, an engaging history, and a wonderful mystery, all wrapped into one book. I do not want to give away any plots details, and so I will limit my review to mentioning the many complex characters, even the unsavory ones, who hold the reader's attention, which is then paired with a nicely developed and complex plot. I love bookstores, libraries, and books. This novel was perfect for me. Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me to read this ARC, and to NetGalley for making it available.

Excellent read! I knew of Nancy Mitford but now will be reading her books after learning so much about her in this story. Told in 2 voices; Nancy and Lucy, it is a book about books and the authors who write them and the readers. The bookshop in the title is the central location for both women. Good writing and interesting subject makes for a contented reader.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for providing me with a free ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I requested this one a few months ago when I was looking to get into ARC Reviewing, but unfortunately I am not doing ARC reading anymore (for now at least) so I don't plan to read this one yet. I fully plan to pick this up when it comes out, but just am not as interested in reading ARCs as I was 2 months ago when I requested it!

THE MAYFAIR BOOKSHOP is recommended for fans of The Last Bookshop in London, The Paris Bookseller, and The Bookseller's Secret, Knight does a good job at setting the scene for her readers and I found myself swept up in the story. The narrative is well-paced and the conclusion should satisfy fans of the genre.

A wonderful story with a dual timeline ! Mayfair Bookshop explores the life of Nancy Mitford starting from the mid 1930's through World War II in England and also follows Lucy St. Clair; an American who is in London curating books for a library back in the states and is also on a personal mission to try to solve a mystery surrounding Nancy Mitford. It was a slow start for me at the beginning but in the end I couldn't put it down. I had the privilege of reading an Advanced copy in exchange of an Honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own