.jpg)
A Shop Girl in Bath (Pennington's #1) by Rachel Brimble
Genre: Historical fiction, Saga
Read: 29th June 2023
Published: 1st July 2018
(Fifth birthday celebration blitz)
★★★★ 4.5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
1910 – A compelling tale of one woman's fight for recognition in Bath's leading department store.
Hardworking and whip smart, Elizabeth Pennington is the rightful heir of Bath's premier department store – but her father, Edward Pennington, believes his daughter lacks the business acumen to run his empire. He is resolute a man will succeed him.
Determined to break from her father's hold and prove she is worthy of inheriting Pennington's, Elizabeth forms an unlikely alliance with ambitious and charismatic master glove-maker Joseph Carter. They have the same goal: bring Pennington's into a new decade while embracing woman's equality and progression. But, despite their best intentions, it is almost impossible not to mix business and pleasure...
Can the two thwart Edward Pennington's plans for the store? Or will Edward prove himself an unshakeable force who will ultimately ruin both Elizabeth and Joseph?
MY THOUGHTS:
Welcome to Pennington's...Bath's finest department store...
What a delightful read A SHOP GIRL IN BATH (previously published as "Mistress of Pennington's") is! A felt like I'd stepped into Harpers' Emporium with a whole new set of characters and completely different staff. Of course, Elizabeth Pennington's father Edward Pennington, the owner of the empire, is nothing like Ben and Sally Harper who nurture their staff and treat them like family. Elizabeth's father ruled his empire with an iron fist and sees no room for change despite the times changing. But oh, the opulence of the store I could just see through Rachel Brimble's vivid description.
Set during the late Edwardian era at a time that had only just gotten used to the change of the old Queen having passed nine years previous, this tale brings forth yet even more change. And it is change that not every one wants nor are they comfortable with. But the world is moving forward. A new century, a new monarch, times are definitely changing. Women are finding their voice and the suffragette movement is ensuring that they will be heard. Elizabeth Pennington wants to bring Pennington's into the 20th century yet her father is set in his ways and had she been born a boy then maybe he might listen to her ideas. But as it stands, she is female, she has no voice and in his opinion is good only for marriage and breeding. He has a suitor lined up for her but Elizabeth fights him every step of the way, knowing who he has chosen will quickly fall into line with what her father wants and thus gain control of the Pennington empire when he passes. Elizabeth refuses to allow that to happen. She has fought too long and too hard to prove herself and still she is overlooked. But she is determined that one day Pennington's will be hers because she is its rightful heir, despite her gender.
It is 1910 and as the world is changing, Pennington's remains a Victorian treasure with the likes of Selfridges leaving them behind. And Elizabeth doesn't want this to happen. She wants to take Pennington's into the future with so many ideas flowing but her old fashioned father refuses to listen.
Joseph Carter is small businessman - a milliner who makes gloves and hats. But as times are changing around them, so too are the days of small shop keepers with department stores bringing all the business. His father, also a milliner in their family run store Carter and Son, is not happy with the change. He wants to continue to make and sell his product and yet they are being squeezed out by the bigger department stores that are essentially a one-stop-shop for customers. Joseph can see the value in taking his business to Pennington's in the hope that they will sell his designs. He has ideas that will ensure guaranteed success should Pennington's agree.
When he steps into the opulent store for the first time it is with awe he looks around him. He approaches the ladies department and meets Elizabeth Pennington. Will she listen to his ideas and agree to sell his designs, securing a prosperous future for both Pennington's and Carter and Son? What will Edward do when Elizabeth approaches him with the idea? Will he block the collaboration that will surely be a guaranteed success? And what will he think when Elizabeth and Joseph connect on a personal level? They are not of the same class and, snob that he is, will surely block their association in any way that he can. After all, he doesn't want Pennington's to end up in the hands of a working class grafter?
What a truly delightful tale that I enjoyed from start to finish. I shall have to hunt out the others in the series to continue to follow the Pennington's journey. An engaging tale, A SHOP GIRL IN BATH is brought to life through Brimble's deft storytelling and opulent descriptions.
I would like to thank #RachelBrimble, #Netgalley, #AriaFiction and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #AShopGirlInBath in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
A member of the Romantic Novelists Association and the Historical Novel Society, when Rachel isn’t writing, she is reading, walking, or knitting while watching an endless reel of period dramas.
Her latest novel, "Victoria & Violet" is the first book in her new Royal Maids series with the Wild Rose Press.
Social Media links:
