Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
If there were ever a genre which garners my most immediate interest, it would be *Historical Fiction!* as I have a propensity of disappearing into the historic past more readily than any Contemporary setting! What fuells my desire to continue to traverse the historical passageways is the curiosity of the unknown! Of wanting to know more about the past and the persons who lived to where it never feels I have traversed far enough into History to feel as if I’ve lived enough lives to fully say I’ve gone everywhere I wish to visit!
In this particular instance, my appreciation for fashion and fashion history as well as departments stores are fully immersed into the folds of where Ms Brimble is taking us through the pattern of Women’s History where our liberation, our voice and our rights were on a collision course with the important events within History which started to re-shape how women were treated and accepted both in society and in their private lives. This is one thing which struck a chord of interest in me about her first release of this series ‘The Mistress of Pennington’s’ is how she cast such a long shadow on the rights for women against the back-drop of the department store environment! It felt like a brilliant entry point and one I was jolly excited to see executed!
In the past, I had known about aspects of this story due to my previous viewings of ‘House of Eliott’ which took place in a high fashion house in the 1920s and 1930s (BBC dramatic serial) whilst I briefly watched a few episodes of “The Paradise” but opted out of seeing it in full as I wanted to read the novel. I never had the chance to watch “Mr Selfridge” and realising the author, wanted to expound on those two releases to fill in the ‘gaps’ she perceived they had left open intrigued me evermore as there are times in my own viewings or readings, where I feel another person’s vision might fall short of where it could have gone. In this, I could relate to her desire to tell her own story and take the foundation of the others which are known to new heights of understanding.
Coincidentally, I hadn’t realised Ms Brimble was going to be a guest of #HistFicChat shortly before she would guest on my blog – however, it gave me the chance to talk to her after I had submitted my questions where I happily gained a few more insights into the series as she’s still developing how it will play out in future installments. I’ll be including a few of those tweets at the end of our conversation and I welcome all my readers and visitors to mark *Thursdays* on their calendar for meeting-up with the brilliant hostess Vivian Conroy who hosts this weekly chat @ 3p NYC & 8p UK. Happily this convo is running on a ‘Thursday’ and no, I hadn’t planned on that either! I was quite wicked thrilled noting the happenstance of my tour stop which was selected by Ms Debbie as I literally wanted to ‘jump on’ this tour to celebrate a novel I dearly look forward to reading!
Remember dear hearts, the best way to read my blog is with a cuppa of your favourite brew and a comfy chair! Don’t forget to let me know what your favourite tea, chai or cuppa java is in the comments whilst you leave your notes for Ms Brimble!
The Mistress of Pennington's
by Rachel Brimble
1910 – A compelling tale of female empowerment in Bath's leading department store. Perfect for the fans of the TV series Mr Selfridge and The Paradise.
Elizabeth Pennington should be the rightful heir of Bath's premier department store through her enterprising schemes and dogged hard work. Her father, Edward Pennington, believes his daughter lacks the business acumen to run his empire and is resolute a man will succeed him.
Determined to break from her father's iron-clad hold and prove she is worthy of inheriting the store, Elizabeth forms an unlikely alliance with ambitious and charismatic master glove-maker Joseph Carter. United they forge forward to bring Pennington's into a new decade, embracing woman's equality and progression whilst trying not to mix business and pleasure.
Can this dream team thwart Edward Pennington's plans for the store? Or will Edward prove himself an unshakeable force who will ultimately ruin both Elizabeth and Joseph?
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 978-1788546508
Also by this author: A Stranger in the Cove
Genres: Fashion Industry, Historical Fiction, Women's Studies
on 1st July, 2018
Extract from ‘The Mistress of Pennington’s’ provided by the author Rachel Brimble
and is being used with permission.
Her gentle study drifted to his mouth and back again. ‘Did you love her? The woman you once worked with?’
Joseph stared, as disquiet whispered through him. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘I find it implausible that a man who holds women in such high regard has not known what it means to love one. You have been in love. I see it in your eyes. Unfortunately for you, they’re very revealing.’
He ran his gaze over her face and hair. Every sound muted. The amber glow of the few lit candles danced over her skin, turning it pearlescent. ‘I was married. To a wonderful, caring woman. A woman who worked beside my father and I every day after we were married.’
Her voice softened. ‘What happened to her?’
‘She died.’ He would tell her no more, the shame of his failure burned like acid in his chest and he quickly stood, wanting the intensity to ease, her justified scrutiny to end. ‘Will you try on a pair of gloves?’
He brushed past her and breathed deep as he approached a box of his finished gloves. Lifting a pair of soft kid, perfectly stitched and the exact green of her eyes, the pale cream stitching the colour of her skin.
When he turned and walked back to his bench, she had sat in his seat. She carefully watched his approach, her eyes unreadable.
How did you want Pennington’s to stand out amongst the crowd of department store dramas and also, strong female characters in fashion such as ‘The House of Eliot’? What influenced you the most in telling Elizabeth’s story?
Brimble responds: I am hoping the series theme of ‘Female Empowerment’ will appeal to readers – although I am writing this series over a hundred years later, there are still controversies, debates and disappointments being thrashed out all over the media today. The pioneering women who stepped out ahead of us made amazing differences, their successes should never be forgotten and that’s what I’m doing my best to highlight.
From the very beginning, I wanted a strong woman being denied something that should’ve been rightly hers. The department store setting was influenced by Mr Selfridge but I hope readers enjoy the differences between that series and mine.
You definitely caught my eye with ‘female empowerment’ or what I readily refer to as ‘Feminist Historical Fiction’ as the stories are bent towards highlighting the struggles, the triumphs and the back-history of where women not only fought for their independence and their innate rights which were not being given to them but they were seeking equality in the workplace, in politics and elsewhere in society. It is an intriguing sub-focus of Historical Fiction and one I am keen to seek out; therefore, I appreciate your tenacity in writing this series and being of the mind to bring more illumination on these topics and sub-focuses which are still relevant today.
As previously stated, I never saw ‘Mr Selfridge’ – therefore, for me, I am going in a bit blind to the main inspirations for the series and happily will alight inside your vision without any preconceived ideas therein! I love how you’ve taken the lead towards augmenting your own channel of insight and grounded your series with a lot more of what readers are looking to find!
The Suffragette movement is gaining more traction in recent years, populating a lot of threads in Historical Fiction – which parts of the movement did you want to organically show through your novel without focusing solely on this issue? How did the Edwardian period affect you in regards of having to put distance to the rights we have today vs the ones we were still struggling to gain back then? Were there any hidden surprises you found within the Edwardian era which you can share?
Brimble responds: With the 100 year anniversary of women gaining the vote in the UK recently, there has been many articles, celebrations and so forth. This cheers me so much because the struggles these women went through should never be forgotten and I think it’s our responsibility to ensure the next generation remember it too.
I only lightly touch on the movement in The Mistress of Pennington’s, but the second book, coming early 2019, features the struggle for vote as the central issue. My research led me to learn so much about individual women, the decision some of them made between peaceful and militant action and the horrors the militant campaigners both suffered and carried out.
As a result, the Edwardian period has consumed me and, despite all that I’ve learned already, I know there will be many surprises as I explore different themes. My biggest surprise so far was that Winston Churchill was horsewhipped by a campaigner in my birth city of Bristol.
I dearly agree with your sentiments, Ms Brimble! We fought so hard and for so long – it is time for the stories our fore-sisters to remain in the focus of Historical stories if only for the histories of their belief in our freedoms can still ring into the hearts and minds of the young girls and women who are following after ourselves to understand our fuller history as women and what we had to do in order to gain our equality.
I can’t even tell you how overjoyed I am about this series being expanded – I’m submitting a purchase request at my local library as I’ve noted how much other patrons love reading Historicals inasmuch as myself as they are one of the most regularly purchased genres at the library! Realising the sequel comes in another year is just a sweet extension of the current joy! I also love how your shifting to bridge the key important issues and details of the women in your series – moving us through critical and rather crucial moments in their lives whilst having the history of their rights funnelling the story forward to re-examine how different their lives were then vs today.
I had my eyes opened as soon as I started to first seek out Feminist Historical Fiction stories such as the works by Eva Flynn (Renegade Queen); L. Davis Munro (Emmy Nation: Underground Suffragette); Nicole Evelina (Madame Presidentess) and Jennifer Kincheloe (The Secret Life of Anna Blanc). Therefore, I do realise how dire their work became and how difficult the roads they tried pave for all of us; some of these stories were beyond harrowing to read and were difficult to endure (esp in regards to how women were treated in prison for seeking change in Women’s Rights) such as scenes out of ‘Emmy Nation’. Yet, similar to you each author I’ve come across has had the same mission: to honour the women, to tell their stories and to leave footprints behind for the next generations. Something I celebrate and am thankful to highlight on my blog!
As this is the start of a series featuring Pennington’s, will the back-story on behalf of the department store be fleshed out a bit more in regards to how it began and how it’s sustained itself to being viable where we find it in the series? It would be interesting to know how you developed the store itself, how it functions and who the critical people are behind it – is there a thread to explore this in one of the future novels?
Brimble responds: Great suggestion! To be honest, I was only planning on concentrating on 1910 going forward but if readers would like to know the history of the store, I am more than happy to share that. Pennington’s was inspired by Le Bon Marche in Paris, France. It was the epitome of glamourous shopping in the early 20th century and I wanted to emulate that tone and excitement.
Ooh, most definitely! I would love to know more intimate details about the department store itself as it must have it’s own unique history! I love how you were inspired by a store in Paris and I look forward to seeing if you etch out more about Pennington’s as the series progresses!! Grateful I mentioned this and have it resonate with you as a good idea!
Of all the secondary and minor characters, which two in the series are your favourites to develop and focus on? What did you enjoy most about the development of their characters?
Brimble responds: Book 2 is focusing on Esther Stanbury who appears in The Mistress of Pennington’s as a secondary character. As I was writing this first book, Esther constantly pushed herself with her passion for the store and the women’s movement. I knew very earlier on she had a story to tell.
The second character from book 1 I will be keeping a story thread going through the series is for Joseph Carter, the hero from The Mistress of Pennington’s. He’s still hurting over a past tragedy and I want to bring him peace.
I love how secondary characters can step forward with a meaty story of their own and re-shift the story-line onto their own trajectory! Sometimes it does surprise you how well in-tune those characters become to re-highlighting portions of history and sometimes the stories they need to share are a happy revelation for us all. I can’t wait to see how it all materalises, to tell the truth!
What was it about the Edwardian era in particular which drew your eye to set a historical series there? If you could travel back to the era, what would you imagine would be your favourite thing to either do or observe in Edwardian England?
Brimble responds: I love the Edwardian era for the amount of changes for women. From divorce rights, working rights and the freedom to start venturing out unchaperoned. There is SO much to explore in this era that I’ve only scratched the surface! If I was to go back there, I’d love to have been one of the fortunate women who were lucky enough to afford those wonderful clothes and hats and travel through Europe. What an adventure!
Isn’t this the truth?! It was one incredible time in history where the changes arriving in women’s lives had reached the pivotal point of re-defining how we could live and how men would see us overall – as up until these changes took effect, life was not lived equally nor were women as respected as they could have been if their rights had been acquired sooner. Not completely, of course, as some women throughout history had more rights than others or had a certain level of independence ahead of the rest, but for the most part, it took this era to see a fruition of all their hard work to materialise into the foreground. It would have been awe-inspiring to witness it firsthand but also, humbling… to realise the fight was over and women could simply live their lives.
The fashion of the Edwardian age is absolutely delightful! This is one reason I loved watching ‘Downton Abby’ before of course, the story-line broke my heart and I had to stop watching it.
What is your favourite outfit you described within The Mistress of Pennington’s and is it one you wish you could wear yourself or simply one you loved writing into the story?
Brimble responds: See above! It is the Edwardian costume that I adore the most and I did my best to bring the characters’ clothes to life. I loved dressing Elizabeth and love every one of her outfits.
You’ve left me thirsty to see how you’ve dressed Elizabeth!! I suspect it will some of my favourite scenes to see what she’s wearing!
As your series is pro-positive to showcase the liberation of women, how did you settle on the three main focal points of each of the installments? As we move from women in business to the Suffragette movement to the legalities of divorce – in each installment women are seen as gaining more enroads towards personal liberty and freedom. How did you map the progression of the series and what prompted the gradual evolution of how women could own their own choices whilst making it in the world without a man to dictate their roles?
Brimble responds: I settled on the themes of business, suffrage and divorce because these were three subjects that repeated themselves throughout my early research. There are some truly amazing, real-life heroines who made incredibly strides in these three areas and I used them to inspire my protagonists.
Writing series is my absolute favourite thing to do because I don’t have to leave the characters behind when I write The End. My characters live with me for a long time and after writing twenty-three books, I know not wanting to let them go is inevitable.
So, when I start plotting I usually introduce two or three threads that can continue through the series and give satisfaction to readers who only read one or two of the books or those that stay will me until the very last installment.
I agree with you whole-heartedly! This is why I have a penchant for writing series myself – I never truly want to ‘leave’ my characters and technically there is always so much more to say or share or even explore, as you’ve noted yourself! I think this happens to us all – we spend so much time with our characters, how can they ever truly ‘leave’ us once their stories are told in full?
I am wicked excited to see where you take this series and I am very thankful I could host you as ‘The Mistress of Pennington’s’ first takes it’s flight into the world!
Published By: Aria Fiction (@Aria_Fiction)
The Pennington’s Department Store series
The Mistress of Pennington’s | Book One
There are two more installments projected to be released in this series. Although through my convos with the author this July, what was encouraging to me is she might be making more if inspiration directs her to continue writing stories for this series. Something we can all celebrate!
Formats Available: Ebook and Paperback
Converse via: #HistFic, #HistoricalFiction, #Feminist HistFic
It was a pure delight re-hosting Ms Brimble this year, as previously you might have remembered I hosted her for the Harlequin series ‘Templeton Cove’? This time round, it was wicked brilliant I could focus on her Historical series as previously stated, it’s one of my favourite genres to wick away hours reading – I never tire of traversing the historical past and I LOVE finding new niches of insight to gain from the stories writers are inspired to tell! I hope this one will appeal to most of you, as between the fashion and the changing tides for Women’s Rights – there is a lot of fodder to chew on and appreciate! I look forward to knowing if this is a story you’ve earmarked to read yourself! Don’t forget to let me know and if you do, kindly let me know about other stories set either in the world of fashion or in a department store you think I might love reading!? After all, this is why I love reading the series by Jennifer Lamont Leo!
About Ms Rachel Brimble
Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. Since 2007, she has had several novels published by small US presses, eight books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and four Victorian romances with eKensington/Lyrical.
In January 2018, she signed a four-book deal with Aria Fiction for a brand new Edwardian series set in Bath’s finest department store. The first book, The Mistress of Pennington’s releases in July 2018.
Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, and was selected to mentor the Superromance finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014 contest. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England.
As promised a few highlights from Ms Brimble’s visit to #HistFicChat:
A2: HUGELY important – I don’t think I’ve written a single novel without a strong female lead. I write contemporary romantic suspense & historical & always start with a strong heroine. Elizabeth in the MOP is strong but good-hearted & only wants what she has earned #histficchat
— Rachel Brimble (@RachelBrimble) July 19, 2018
I couldn’t agree more! During my early research for the Pennington’s series, I came around so many amazing, pioneering real-life women that I was spoiled for choice for inspiration. I am now writing book 3 in the series and still want to keep going, lol! #histficchat
— Rachel Brimble (@RachelBrimble) July 19, 2018
I’m not sure what I’ll do next at the moment – I’ve signed a 4 book contract with @ariafiction but have only discussed the first three books so far. I’m pretty confident there will be at least 4 books in the Pennington’s Department Store series 🙂🙂 #histficchat
— Rachel Brimble (@RachelBrimble) July 19, 2018
Definitely! I don’t think I’ll ever run out of women and their struggles through the ages – I’d like to think I’ll cover all the periods from the Tudor to WWII eventually, lol! #histficchat
— Rachel Brimble (@RachelBrimble) July 19, 2018
This author interview is courtesy of: Brook Cottage Book Tours
Similar to blog tours where I feature book reviews, as I choose to highlight an author via a Guest Post, Q&A, Interview, etc., I do not receive compensation for featuring supplemental content on my blog. I provide the questions for interviews and topics for the guest posts; wherein I receive the responses back from publicists and authors directly. I am naturally curious about the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of stories and the writers who pen them; I have a heap of joy bringing this content to my readers.
{SOURCES: Cover art of “The Mistress of Pennington’s”, book synopsis, author biography, author photograph of Rachel Brimble and the tour badge were all provided by Brook Cottage Book Tours and used with permission. The extract from “The Mistress of Pennington’s” was provided by the author Linn B. Halton and is being used with permission. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Conversations with the Bookish and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2018.
Comments via Twitter:
.@Aria_Fiction#Interview feat. @RachelBrimble on behalf of her #Edwardian #HistFic release: The Mistress of Penningon's where the centre of action is a department store set against the backdrop of #WomensRights
👒https://t.co/mNCIIG8jrI@VivWrites @BrookCottageBks #HistFicChat pic.twitter.com/e8c8cuk0M2
— Jorie, the Joyful Tweeter 💜🦝 (@joriestory) July 26, 2018
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