Bloomsbury Girls

Jenner’s heartwarming follow-up to The Jane Austen Society traces the lives of three women who are transformed while working at an old-fashioned London bookshop. Evie, a trailblazing graduate of Cambridge University, has been unfairly passed over for a fellowship and now seeks to uncover a mystery while working at the shop. Stylish Vivien, a writer in her own right, is tired of being dismissed and is desperate to put her creativity to work. Grace struggles to balance a precarious home life with her work at the shop and wishes to be recognized for her business acumen. When illness shakes up the shop’s personnel, all three women know that the time has come for them to step into new roles and exercise their talents and intelligence. Juliet Stevenson’s luminous narration is a delight for the ears and makes for an entertaining and moving listening experience. With small changes in tone and cadence, she captures every nuance of expression. Her accent work is exquisite and conveys the broadest county accents to the poshest upper-crust tones.