The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

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Pub Date 15 Jun 2021 | Archive Date 15 Jul 2021

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Description

A New York Times Notable Book of 2021

“The kind of book for which the word “rollicking” was invented.”—New York Times Book Review

A prim and proper lady thief must save her aunt from a crazed pirate and his dangerously charming henchman in this fantastical historical romance.


Cecilia Bassingwaite is the ideal Victorian lady. She's also a thief. Like the other members of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Sure, she has a dark and traumatic past and an overbearing aunt, but all things considered, it's a pleasant existence. Until the men show up.

Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia from the moment they meet. Unfortunately, that happens to be while he's under direct orders to kill her. His employer, Captain Morvath, who possesses a gothic abbey bristling with cannons and an unbridled hate for the world, intends to rid England of all its presumptuous women, starting with the Wisteria Society. Ned has plans of his own. But both men have made one grave mistake. Never underestimate a woman.

When Morvath imperils the Wisteria Society, Cecilia is forced to team up with her handsome would-be assassin to save the women who raised her--hopefully proving, once and for all, that she's as much of a scoundrel as the rest of them.
A New York Times Notable Book of 2021

“The kind of book for which the word “rollicking” was invented.”—New York Times Book Review

A prim and proper lady thief must save her aunt from a crazed pirate...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780593200162
PRICE $18.00 (USD)
PAGES 336

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Average rating from 283 members


Featured Reviews

I genuinely don't think I've had this much fun reading a book in years! Attempting to describe the plot doesn't even scratch the surface of India Holton's deliciously batty historical adventure romance. Suffice to say that there are pirates, flying houses, fake ghosts, secret identities, parasols as deadly weapons, assassins-to-lovers, godawful poetry, and some of the funniest literary allusions I've ever read.

The short version is that Cecilia is part of a long line of lady pirates who cheerfully run around pirate-ing and attempting to take each other down (or working together, depending on their moods). At first, she's the target of an assassination attempt by a rival pirate, but then a villainous would-be poet and pirate puts his own hit out on her. Ned, the first assassin, winds up having to help her go on the run and rescue the rest of her fellow pirates, and that's when things *really* go off the rails!

The tone is the key to this book, and it would have been so easy to either pull back too much or go too far, but instead, it's just right: genuine emotions alongside the completely wild, matter-of-fact ride that comes with the territory of warring pirates and Bronte obsessions. It's romantic, of course, but in a way that's totally different from most historical romance, and yet manages to be wonderfully familiar at the same time. Just read it - it's worth every minute.

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