The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey #Review #Giveaway

Today we offer a great welcome to Iona Grey and her wonderful novel, The Glittering Hour which was published by Simon and Schuster on 17th October. I am delighted to be able to offer a great giveaway with the chance to win a print  copy of her book. Details on how to enter are at the foot of this post. 
 

1925. The war is over and a new generation is coming of age, keen to put the trauma of the previous one behind them. 

Selina Lennox is a Bright Young Thing whose life is dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure; to parties and drinking and staying just the right side of scandal. Lawrence Weston is a struggling artist, desperate to escape the poverty of his upbringing and make something of himself.  When their worlds collide one summer night, neither can resist the thrill of the forbidden, the lure of a love affair that they know cannot possibly last.

But there is a dark side to pleasure and a price to be paid for breaking the rules.  By the end of that summer everything has changed.

A decade later, nine year old Alice is staying at Blackwood Hall with her distant grandparents, piecing together clues from her mother’s letters to discover the secrets of the past, the truth about the present, and hope for the future. 

My Thoughts

This is such an emotional read.  It covers one of my favourite periods of twentieth century historical fiction, the 1920's and 30's. Set between the two World Wars, this is a fascinating period to look at as society adjusted and changed.  Iona Grey highlights the changing role of women as differing attitudes hold sway. Marriage is still held to be a pathway for women to establish their status and they are still seen by some, relative to the men in their lives.

    This is evocative and emotional writing. At times, you have to read between the lines but when the situation becomes clear, you wonder how you missed some of the clues up to that point. At times, you are given the story through the eyes of a child.I particularly loved the imagery around Selina's gilded life in the 20's. She certainly does appear as if in a gilded cage, with the light glittering around her. There is an ephemeral aspect to her life. You always know that time is moving on and friendships are transitory. At this time, society was changing under flux. The narrative reflects this.

    Underlying the story, is the effect of the huge losses suffered in the Great War. There is a fragility to life as people try to carry on despite the grief and emptiness which they feel. The structure of the book is effective with some parts told through letter writing. I can wholeheartedly recommend this book. There is real emotion at the end and it leaves you with the feeling that you have glimpsed a snapshot in history, 'through a glass darkly'. 

In short: evocative writing full of emotion and genuine feeling.

 

About the Author

Iona Grey has a degree in English Literature and Language from Manchester University, an obsession with history and an enduring fascination with the lives of women in the twentieth century. She lives in rural Cheshire with her husband and three daughters. She tweets @Iona_Grey.

Book links: Amazon UK 

Thanks to Iona Grey, Simon and Schuster and Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

Follow the rest of the tour!

Giveaway (UK/Ireland only)

To win a print copy of The Glittering Hour, just Follow and Retweet the pinned Tweet at @bookslifethings.

 Closing Date October 24th 2019 and there is one winner.

*Terms and Conditions –UK/Ireland entries only.  The winner will be selected at random via Tweetdraw from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize. I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.