Etiquette for Runaways
A Novel
by Liza Nash Taylor
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Pub Date Aug 18 2020 | Archive Date Sep 29 2020
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Description
*Included in Parade's 30 Best Beach Reads of 2020 roundup*
A sweeping Jazz Age tale of regret, ambition, and redemption inspired by true events, including the Great Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1935 and Josephine Baker’s 1925 Paris debut in La Revue Nègre
1924. May Marshall is determined to spend the dog days of summer in self-imposed exile at her father’s farm in Keswick, Virginia. Following a naive dalliance that led to heartbreak and her expulsion from Mary Baldwin College, May returns home with a shameful secret only to find her father’s orchard is now the site of a lucrative moonshining enterprise. Despite warnings from the one man she trusts—her childhood friend Byrd—she joins her father’s illegal business. When authorities close in and her father, Henry, is arrested, May goes on the run.
May arrives in New York City, determined to reinvent herself as May Valentine and succeed on her own terms, following her mother’s footsteps as a costume designer. The Jazz Age city glitters with both opportunity and the darker temptations of cocaine and nightlife. From a start mending sheets at the famed Biltmore Hotel, May falls into a position designing costumes for a newly formed troupe of African American entertainers bound for Paris. Reveling in her good fortune, May will do anything for the chance to go abroad, and the lines between right and wrong begin to blur. When Byrd shows up in New York, intent upon taking May back home, she pushes him, and her past, away.
In Paris, May’s run of luck comes to a screeching halt, spiraling her into darkness as she unravels a painful secret about her past. May must make a choice: surrender to failure and addiction, or face the truth and make amends to those she has wronged. But first, she must find self-forgiveness before she can try to reclaim what her heart craves most.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
“This is a great coming-of-age novel about life lessons, loyalty, and forgiveness in a fast-spinning, glittering world full of temptation and opportunity. Beautifully done!”
-Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of The Kitchen House and Glory over Everything
“Assured, exotic, heart wrenching, Liza Nash Taylor’s Etiquette for Runaways is that rare debut novel that combines a story that sweeps from continent to continent and age to age without sacrificing the deeply personal story of one tormented woman. Taylor’s May Marshall is the new woman of a previous century, a jazz dolly with a scarred past and a hungry heart who wants forgiveness from the only one who cannot give it—herself.”
-Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean
“After women won the right to vote in 1920, the decade ahead stretched before them as a glittering path to new opportunity. It was the jazz age. But in her debut novel, Etiquette for Runaways, Liza Nash Taylor reveals a darker side of those famously dazzling years as a woman alone fights to carve her niche in the world of fashion design. Ambition. Greed. Betrayal. Redemption. From rural Virginia to New York city to Paris, through beautiful prose and vivid historical details I felt the pain and the joy of one woman’s struggle to succeed against the odds. I did not want this book to end.”
-Pamela Binnings Ewen, author of The Queen of Paris
“Exquisitely written, Liza Nash Taylor’s Etiquette for Runaways is a powerful tale of seeking absolution and pursuing dreams. It’s a magnificent, special novel that I didn’t want to end.”
-Alan Hlad, international bestselling author of The Long Flight Home
“An utterly absorbing tale of the trials of being a young woman of independent spirit during the glamorous but harsh years of post-WWI America, when the yearning for personal freedoms clashed with the heavy hand of prohibition, politics, and social mores. I could almost taste the smoky, moonshine-laced air of the speakeasies, and feel flashes of fringed tassels on my skin as I read. Beautiful and immersive writing!”
-Natasha Boyd, USA Today bestselling author of The Indigo Girl
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Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781982603946 |
| PRICE | $27.99 (USD) |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Reviewer 574867
I really enjoyed this story of a strong young woman trying to find her way through this world via Virginia, New York and Paris. Set in the gilded age of glamour, Jazz age, crime and moonshine. I found this historical fiction a wonderful read as we follow along May Marshall who became May Valentine as she battles her past as she tries to survive the odds set against her.
Taylor navigates the world of post WWI America writing about the other side of glamour, the dark side of addiction, temptation, secrets and passion in this addicting story.
Set in the 1920’s, with great characters and a well researched story, I found myself enthralled and immersed in this exciting historical fiction, coming-of-age read.
Linda Z, Reviewer
Review Liza Nash Taylor, the author of "Etiquette for Runaways" has written an enthralling, intriguing, intense, captivating, and thought-provoking novel. The genres for this novel are Fiction and Historical Fiction. The timeline for this story is approximately 1924. The story goes to the past and future when it pertains to the characters and events. The story takes place in Keswick Virginia and New York City and Paris. The author describes her dramatic cast of characters as complex and complicated. Moonshining and the jazz age are discussed in this story. There are secrets, betrayals.crime, and lies.
May Marshall, the protagonist in this novel, makes wrong choices and mistakes in life. Some of her mistakes are the cause of her insecurity, embarrassment, and shame. May's father has an illegal thriving moonshine business that she becomes involved with. May is also obsessed with finding the mother who abandoned her, leaving her not only with a broken heart but a broken piece of a porcelain doll that she keeps with her. May does have some good friends that look out for her, and some that betray and hurt her.
May wants to find a way to be an independent woman and wants to explore and have adventures. Some of her adventures take her to interesting and dangerous places. I appreciate that the author vividly describes the characters, events, scenery, and plots. Many of the descriptions of foods, hotels, homes, costumes, clothing, and jewelry are intriguing.
I love how Liza Nash Taylor discusses problems such as alcoholism, drug use, illegal liquor, discrimination of races, and classes. The author also mentions the importance of self-worth, communication, honesty, love, and hope. I would highly recommend this memorable and thought-provoking novel to other readers. Happy Reading!!! (less)
Amy G, Reviewer
This story of May, trying to distance and separate herself from her father and their life on their farm. She leaves for NY, a path her mother had also journeyed down as well. She gets an opportunity to relocate again to Paris, but when she hits a string of bad luck everything she seems to be burning to the ground. See how she maneuvers and aims to take control of her own life.
kATHLEEN G, Reviewer
A carefully wrought and beautifully imagined coming of age story set in 1920s Virginia, New York, and Paris. May has had much sorrow in her life- her brother died, her mother was an addict who abandoned the family, she's sent away from college, her father is now moonshining. She opts to head for New York where she makes a life (and some bad choices) and falls in move with jazz, among other things. She flees to Paris rather than return to Virginia but she can't leave herself behind. She's always searching for her mother and for peace- and she owns her decisions. It's atmospheric and the period details elevate the story. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. An excellent read.
Alyssa G, Reviewer
Thank you to @getredpr, Blackstone Publishing, and Liza Nash Taylor for my gifted copy of Etiquette for Runaways! Historical Fiction fans, this one is for you!
May Marshall is a young woman who has been expelled from college following a scandal, and is in exile at her father’s farm. After he gets busted for making moonshine, May goes on the run to New York City, where she reinvents herself as May Valentine, a seamstress. May finds work at a hotel, and then at a costume shop, where the opportunities really start to come her way. She learns a lot about the world and herself very quickly.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a Historical Fiction book that I loved, but this one did it! The characters were well developed and thoughtful, the action moved at a timely pace, and the novel seemed very historically accurate. I loved May’s growth throughout the book as she learns more about the world beyond Virginia, which includes topics such as alcoholism, drug addiction, and discrimination. Taylor does a wonderful job of going into depth within the plot about these issues and showing how her various characters handle them.
Etiquette for Runaways is out now! It would be a fabulous book club or buddy read pick for historical fiction fans. I can’t wait to see what Liza Nash Taylor writes next.
Heidi S, Reviewer
I rarely read this genre but this one pulled me right in and I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline.
This debut novel is set in the 1920's. It flows so smoothly and deeply that you feel as if you're a part of the story. May is on a mission to put her past behind her. Set in Virginia, New York and Paris. The characters are lovely and relatable. Glamour, jazz, moonshine. I don't want to give anything away, but if you're looking for an amazing read, you'll find it right here!
Aida A, Reviewer
Absolutely amazing. From the seamless writing to the vivid characters you just want to crawl into this book and stay there for a while. Pick up this winner of a book and prepare to be dazzled. Not to be missed. Happy reading!
SARAH S, Reviewer
Special thanks to Suzy Approved Book Tours for providing our copy of Etiquette For Runaways by Liza Nash Taylor in exchange for an honest & fair review.
Disclaimer: I don’t read for reality okay? I love romance and HEA and this is not that. Yet, I really enjoyed this book!
Historical Fiction in Paris, Virginia & NYC
Nash Taylor gives us a good chunk of May’s backstory in Virginia. This is a historical fiction novel. I love the different places & times this book takes me.
May tries to keep her heart compartmentalized. Throughout the book, May plays it close to the vest. readers see May carries a great burden of shame because of what other people think about her. We see how that shame causes her issues. May’s lack of vulnerability really changes her life path.
Vulnerability & Escaping the Past
May only tells people what they need to know. There are a lot of ways I can relate to her. Small town expectations & people thinking they know you but they really don’t. She grapples with this as she tries to move on & start fresh.
The Verdict
I really like this one! It’s got some twists and turns as May is finding her way. Read Etiquette For Runaways by Liza Nash Taylor if you’re a fan of literary and/or historical fiction & enjoy stories about women finding their way.
Molly J, Reviewer
Holy wow, y’all! I did not expect to love this one as much as I did! I mean, I knew I would like it, but it’s a debut novel. Sometimes, I only JUST like a debut novel. But, this one…….this one I fell in love with. From the start, Liza Nash Taylor hooked me, and kept me on a whirlwind ride throughout. I fell hard for her characters and the setting was beautifully depicted and came to life for me.
This historical story is set in the 1920’s, one of my favorites to read about. I mean, I love the jazz & flapper girl era. Something about that time period that just calls to me(I always tell folks I was born in the wrong era!). May’s character was beautifully, flawfully chiseled. She was real. She made huge mistakes in life, but following her story was a wonderful vacation. I loved following her on her runaway journey to New York & Paris, seeing the sites through her eyes.
This historical novel will leave you full of emotions. From sadness & heartache to anger & a few smiles, this book is wonderfully written, and captivating. Nash Taylor is an author who shows true talent and I look forward to reading more of her novels just like this one. If you want a story that will envelope you, take you on a twisting journey, and make you feel a true part of the story, grab this one up now!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, Publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
Tammy U, Reviewer
Etiquette for Runaways is a beautifully written debut novel! This is my favorite book of the year so far. I can't wait for the Liza Nash Taylor's next book!
Jackie S, Reviewer
In this debut novel set in the 1920's during prohibition. May is a strong Wilkes character who has not had an easy life. Also one with flaws including getting expelled from college which in these times is a scandal. Looking to escape she runs off to New York with hopes of a new life and second chance. She finds more than she was bargaining for and more trouble she finds herself looking for her purpose and happiness. A very enjoyable read I look forward to reading more books by This author thank you NetGalley for my ARC copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
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