Published 2nd March 2023 by Aria, Head of Zeus.
From the cover of the book:
Violet Hamilton is a woman who knows her own mind. Which, in 1896, can make things a little complicated...At 28, Violet's father is beginning to worry she will never find a husband. But every suitor he presents, Violet finds a new and inventive means of rebuffing.
Because Violet does not want to marry. She wants to work, and make her own way in the world. But more than anything, she wants to find her mother Lily, who disappeared from Hastings Pier 10 years earlier.
Finding the missing is no job for a lady, but when Violet hires a seaside detective to help, she sets off a chain of events that will put more than just her reputation at risk.
Can Violet solve the mystery of Lily Hamilton's vanishing before it's too late?
***********
Hastings, 1898. Twenty-eight-year-old Violet Hamilton is a young woman ahead of her time. Although sheltered and naive, in many respects Violet has been forced to grow-up quickly by having to take on the role as housekeeper to her father after the mysterious disappearance of her mother nearly ten years ago, and it is a job she she ill-suited to. Violet longs to be free to decide her own future, and be rid of the string of increasingly unsuitable suitors her frustrated father keeps presenting her with, but the options available to a respectable young woman are limited and they have little appeal to someone as independent-minded as she is.
However, before she can really get on with the business of deciding how to spend her life, she needs to discover what happened to her mother all those years ago. Not knowing where to start, she decides to secretly hire a private detective, only to find that the dubious Mr Knight has some very unsavoury ideas about the mystery, and is not too concerned about destroying her and her mother's reputations in pursuit of a perverse agenda of his own. This state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue...
Violet decides to try her luck at being a lady detective to see if she can locate her mother before Mr Knight, with the reluctant help of the handsome furniture seller Mr Blackthorn (also a former private detective), and this unexpectedly takes her on a voyage of discovery about love, marriage, and what goes on behind closed bedroom doors between men and women in late Victorian society. Can Violet become mistress of her own fate, and solve the mystery of her missing mother before matters get out of hand?
No Life for a Lady is an absolute joy of a late Victorian caper, set within the quiet streets of Hastings. Violet has all the makings of a heroine right from the start of this story, if only she can acquire the means to escape the determination of her boorish father to get her married off, although the lack of a female confidante for the last ten years has put her at a disadvantage when it comes to many things about what it means to be a woman.
Violet's decision to finally get to the truth about her mother's disappearance sets off an ever more bizarre series of events that lead her into danger, but this also puts her on a path of self-discovery about relationships, sexual attraction and the mysteries of the marital bed. She finds out some uncomfortable things about her mother, and the state of her parents' marriage in the process.
This is a light and easily consumed read, packed with humorous moments that have you laughing out loud, but its hidden genius lies is the clever way it also touches on so many intriguing themes about the lives of women in late Victorian society. The expectation that respectable young ladies should confine their interests to becoming dutiful wives, with all that entails, is central to the story, and there are many laughs to be had at Violet's expense in the delicious scenes Dolby contrives (my favourite one is a hilarious scene that has the outwardly virtuous ladies of Hastings hiding in the bushes and employing binoculars of reasons other than ornithological pursuits). The double standard between the sexual freedoms enjoyed by men and women is explored beautifully, with a foray into the underclass of Hastings' outwardly respectable streets into the realms of the sex trade, and Dolby brings in many aspects of sexuality and desire too.
I thoroughly enjoyed how Dolby uses the historical setting of this story to bust open some of the myths about sex in the Victorian world, and the characters are an absolute delight - particularly the women, who are the focus throughout. The mystery of Violet's mother's disappearance allows Dolby to bring in a few dastardly cads to boo and hiss at, and although the ending is a bit on the melodramatic side, it does have you punching the air with glee. There is a lovely, quirky romantic thread for Violet too, that is both pretty darned heart-warming, and a golden opportunity for a fun sequel should Dolby be so inclined - my fingers are crossed. I loved it!
No Life for a Lady is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to Head of Zeus for sending me a special interactive edition of this book in return for an honest review, and to Tandem Collective for inviting me to be part of this readalong.
About the author:
Hannah Dolby's first job was in the circus and she is keen to keep life as interesting. She trained as a journalist in Hastings and has worked in PR for many years, promoting museums, galleries, palaces, gardens and even Dolly the sheep.
She completed the Curtis Brown selective three-month novel writing course, and she won runner-up in the Comedy Women in Print Awards for this novel with the prize of a place on an MA in Comedy Writing at the University of Falmouth.
She currently lives in London.
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