The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

By: India Holton

Narrated by: Elizabeth Knowelden

Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2021 India Holton (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of the New York Times' 100 Notable Books of 2021

An Indie best seller

One of Bustle's Best New Books Out June 2021

A PopSugar Best Summer Read of 2021

"Holton is having as much fun as the English language will permit - the prose shifts constantly from silly to sublime and back, sometimes in the course of a single sentence. And somehow in all the melodrama and jokes and hilariously mangled literary references, there are moments of emotion that cut to the quick - the way a profound traumatic experience can overcome you years later." (New York Times Book Review)

"This melds the Victorian wit of Sherlock Holmes with the brash adventuring of Indiana Jones.... A sprightly feminist tale that offers everything from an atmospheric Gothic abbey to secret societies." (Entertainment Weekly)

"The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels is easily the most delightfully bonkers historical fantasy romance of 2021! Featuring lady pirates in flying houses and gentleman assassins with far too many names, I enjoyed every absorbing moment. I will never look at a cup of tea (with tea before milk, under pain of death) the same way again!" (Jen DeLuca, author of Well Played)

Stunning!

I cannot express how much I love this book! The whimsical setting of Victorian pirate ladies who fly houses is nothing short of brilliant. The humor is subtle and intelligent (can you spot the Star Wars reference?). I laughed out loud several times! I knew I’d be hooked as of this line:
“In the old days, the Wisteria Society met to discuss knitting patterns and the latest explosives catalog.”
Absolutely brilliant.

I loved this

It is witty and very enjoyable, the ridiculously proper juxtaposed to their criminal life style is a formula for great fun. I especially loved learning all the places a gentleman doesn’t murder a lady. I hope we see these characters again.

my new favorite book

I'll end up reading this over and over for the rest of my life.

Witty and Fun!

Loved this story! The characters, the world building, the storyline was all wonderful! The narrator brought all of it to life splendidly! Can't ask for more, and yet it made me laugh over and over again. Can't wait until the next listen in the series.

Enjoyable

A fun listen. Always love the narrator. Witty and comical to boot. All three are so far are good.

Whimsical Narration

The story itself is rather whimsical and extremely witty. I very much enjoyed the lightheartedness of the book. However, I feel like if I had read it on my own I would not have been able to appreciate the authors, wet fully the narration was exactly what this story needed. I enjoyed all of the characters as well as their little quirks, and I’m excited to listen to the next two books. The saucy parts were also written with a large amount of wittiness and lightheartedness.
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A fun adventure!

This entire series is light & easy reading that will make you laugh. You will love the adventure and the high jinx.

Pick a lane

Is this romance? Is this fantasy? Is it Sci-fi? Now there's murder? And now there are flying houses? What's next? Sorry, but this was nothing more than someone publishing their fanfiction. And I still don't know what they were fans of exactly.

Fun and cozy!

I loved this one- just a tip, this exact same audio book and it’s sequels are available for free on the Libby app if you have a library card.

Wtf did I just listen to?

This seems to have too much going on to be an audiobook. Maybe if I had read it, I would like it better. I like historical fiction but this was historical fantasy with no prelude… so you have flying houses (hmm… ok) and female pirates that dominate men (YAY- girl power!) but must also abide by some rules of 19th century social propriety (huh?) with an odd case of statutory rape (DAFUQ?!) that is still misplaced to me because it does nothing for the plot. Also Queen Victoria is a bipolar food tossing petulant child…. 🙄I’m pretty sure the Brontës would be pissed with any association to this book. Suggestion: if you buy this book listen to it on 0.8 or 0.7, use it to fall asleep.