Park Lane

Name: Park Lane
Brand: Tantor Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Frances Osborne
ISBN: 9781452678849

Author: Frances Osborne

Narrator: Susan Duerden

Unabridged: 10 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/15/2012

Categories: Fiction, Military Fiction, Historical Fiction

Synopsis

When eighteen-year-old Grace Campbell arrives in London in 1914, she's
unable to fulfill her family's ambitions and find a position as an
office secretary. Lying to her parents and her brother, Michael, she
takes a job as a housemaid at Number 35, Park Lane, where she is quickly
caught up in lives of its inhabitants—in particular, those of its
privileged son, Edward, and daughter, Beatrice, who is recovering from a
failed relationship that would have taken her away from an increasingly
stifling life. Desperate to find a new purpose, Bea joins a group of
radical suffragettes and strikes up an intriguing romance with an
impassioned young lawyer. Unbeknownst to each of the young women, the
choices they make amid the rapidly changing world of World War I will connect
their chances at future happiness in dramatic and inevitable ways.

About Frances Osborne

Frances Osborne was born in London and studied philosophy and modern languages at Oxford University. She is the bestselling author of Lilla's Feast and The Bolter, which was A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year. Her articles have appeared in the Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Independent, the Daily Mail, and Vogue. She lives in London with her husband, George, and their two children.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Caitlin on September 03, 2012

Picked up an Advanced Readers Copy of this book at a used bookstore back in April. At that point it was still several months until its publication. Now, the book has been out for 10 days, and I *just* finished it. That's how dull it was. This book should have been right up my alley -- a period piece......more

Goodreads review by Emily on July 16, 2012

This book should have been right up my alley, but alas, it was not to be. The pace is very, very slow-going. It picks up a bit at the end, but I had to force myself to get to that point. As a person who works daily in the written word, I noticed some editing errors and just felt the novel could have......more

Goodreads review by Beachi on July 24, 2012

I bought this book with high hopes and then was sadly disappointed. It was a typical English book of manners where everything happens in people's heads and no one ever really DOES anything to create suspense or drama. I kept on reading it hoping something momentous would happen--anything at all--but......more

Goodreads review by Laurie on August 21, 2012

This book follows two women who live in a mansion on Park Lane: Bea, the single, recently jilted, daughter who still lives at home, and Grace, working as a housemaid despite her secretarial training because her lower class, northern accent bars her from London office work. Both Grace and Bea have se......more

Goodreads review by Alex on August 29, 2012

Bea and Grace. Grace and Bea. Fiddle de dee. This book as been touted as a wink and an homage to Downton Abbey. Or, I guess, it's been compared to Dowton Abbey. However, this is not a fair comparison because Downton Abby is rife with characterization and detailed, purposeful plot. This is all emotio......more