A Rebel at Pennington's

by Rachel Brimble

[Heather]

This is the second book in an historical fiction series about a department store in Bath in the early 1900s. The story from the first book continues in the background of this book so while it may not be absolutely necessary to read them in order, it will add to your understanding.

Esther is a young woman who is focusing on her career and her political activism. She feels strongly that she is going to be unable to do this and have a marriage because she can't conceive of a marriage where her activities would be well tolerated, let alone encouraged. She meets a widower with two young children who has his own hang ups about introducing a new woman in his life. How do these two stubborn and emotionally damaged people work out their issues?

I am enjoying this series. It is interesting to see what is considered the height of modernity at this time period. This book especially deals with the fallout of the suffrage movement in England which became much more violent than it did in the United States. How did people choose how to align themselves? How did it affect businesses?

This is a great book for people who love historical fiction because it covers a lot on the suffrage movement as well as the excitement over the coronation of a new King. This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story