The Mayfair Bookshop

A Novel of Nancy Mitford and the Pursuit of Happiness

By: Eliza Knight

Narrated by: Ann Marie Gideon

One of Hasty Booklist's Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Novels!

USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight brings together a brilliant dual-narrative story about Nancy Mitford—one of 1930s London’s hottest socialites, authors, and a member of the scandalous Mitford Sisters—and a modern American desperate for change, connected through time by a little London bookshop.

“An absolute must-read!”—Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author The Last Bookshop in London

1938: She was one of the six sparkling Mitford sisters, known for her stinging quips, stylish dress, and bright green eyes. But Nancy Mitford’s seemingly dazzling life was really one of turmoil: with a perpetually unfaithful and broke husband, two Nazi sympathizer sisters, and her hopes of motherhood dashed forever. With war imminent, Nancy finds respite by taking a job at the Heywood Hill Bookshop in Mayfair, hoping to make ends meet, and discovers a new life.

Present Day: When book curator Lucy St. Clair lands a gig working at Heywood Hill she can’t get on the plane fast enough. Not only can she start the healing process from the loss of her mother, it’s a dream come true to set foot in the legendary store. Doubly exciting: she brings with her a first edition of Nancy’s work, one with a somewhat mysterious inscription from the author. Soon, she discovers her life and Nancy’s are intertwined, and it all comes back to the little London bookshop—a place that changes the lives of two women from different eras in the most surprising ways.

Lovely

A lovely story about a lovely woman
along with her friends and family going through their lives during wartime London. History nicely tucked into each chapter gave a flavor of a “true story” experience.

Brilliantly done

I love this book as a portrait of and tribute to Nancy Mitford. She has quite a story and this was a clever way to tell it. The frankness of jr is refreshing and it left me wanting to know more of her. I do wish that more time had been spent on her later years, which also had significant events for her. I’ll be learning more in my own!

Capturing an era through a life

It was a compelling “read.” The story sheds light on the fascinating Mitford sisters and through a deep-dive into Nancy Mitford’s life. If you enjoy reading about Europe in the 30’s and 40’s and hanging out with interesting, strong characters, you’ll like this piece of historical fiction.
The narrator for Nancy Mitford was especially good.

So engrossing, I couldn't stop listening!

In "The Mayfair Bookshop", Eliza Knight weaves a delightful story based on the life of British aristocrat, socialite and writer, Nancy Mitford and a fictional book curator, Lucy Saint Clair, a devout Mitford fan who is distantly related to Nancy's ex fiance. Lucy accepts a temporary position at Heywood Hill, the bookshop in London where Nancy worked as a staff member for several years. Lucy brings a stack of Nancy's letters with her to London, determined to uncover the secret behind a mysterious inscription in one of her favorite Mitford novels from her own home library, but she'll only be at Heywood Hill for three weeks - Is it to much to believe that she can solve the mystery in such a short time?

All the places and most of the people in the story were, in fact, real individuals, which greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the audiobook. Knight's thorough research into the lives of Nancy and her family members and friends, and the places where they lived, worked, and played is evident in the structure and depth of the book. I can honestly say that it's been one of my favorite reads of the year so far - encouraging me to learn about the Mitford family for myself.

Excellent story!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a lot. I’m looking for another book on the Mitfords. What an interesting family!

Perfectly Voices, Upliftingly Fun

Despite knowing that Nancy Mitford was a charming wit, I didn’t expect this book to be so refreshingly uplifting. Kudos to the author for achieving this, especially while writing during our darkest of times.

This book is such a worthy exploration of searching for happiness despite everything—I want to give it to ALL my friends. And the narrator’s voice perfectly captured Nancy’s tongue-in-cheek ways. Definitely worthwhile.

Awesome read.

Great book with a little bit of WWII London, a little bit of sleuthing and a bit of romance.
The narration was great and easy to understand.
I love that it centers around a book shop.
Somthing for everyone and not deep and depressing.

Loved this!

Absolutely a delightful read! Well read and extremely interesting! I can’t wait to read more of her books!

Very enjoyable

I always love books about books. This one was a good one. I definitely recommend it.

Very slow start

It was a slow start and only got interesting toward the end. I kept coming back to this because it would bore me and in the end I have unanswered questions