Queen of Lombard Street by Lisa Kleypas

 

Summary (from the publisher): From New York Times bestselling author Lisa Kleypas—a sweeping, richly layered Victorian novel about a trailblazing female economist who’s determined to build Britain’s first women’s bank, but she must fight both financial corruption and a system intent on destroying the newly found family she’s created.

In Victorian England, no woman—not even a brilliant economist like Reina Martin—is allowed to open her own bank account. Men will take care of everything, women are told. But Reina knows better. As the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish immigrant mother, she’s haunted by the memory of living with unpaid grocer’s bills and no coal for the hearth.

So together with her mentor, the powerful banker William Farlow, Reina will build the first all-women’s bank, where women can manage their own financial security.

At home, Reina’s domestic staff of recently paroled prisoners are building new lives and becoming a found family. But soon Reina is shocked to discover that her enigmatic butler, John Pembroke, is an undercover police detective. He’s been assigned to investigate Farlow, who’s suspected of financial crime on a scale so massive, it could destabilize the British economy. Pembroke needs Reina’s expertise for a high-stakes nighttime heist to obtain incriminating evidence.

Now Reina faces the agonizing choice of betraying her mentor or turning her back on thousands of working-class families who stand to lose everything. Either way, her dream of the women’s bank may be over.

But courage and sacrifice aren’t limited to the battlefield—they also occur at the kitchen table, where women who believe in compassion and community are working to remake the future. And when the stakes are highest, Reina knows to trust her heart as well as her intellect.

Based on real-life trailblazers such as Mary Paley Marshall, Britain’s first female economist, and financial titan Hetty Green, Queen of Lombard Street brings to light the hidden history of extraordinary women whose achievements should be celebrated. How can we know who we are, if we don’t know who we were?

Review: Thank you to Goodreads giveaways and Avon Books for the ARC of this book, out on October 20th!

Reina is the illegitimate daughter of a Spanish immigrant mother and a well-to-do English gentleman. After a childhood watching how dependent her mother is on the whim of her father, she seeks a different path for herself. Despite studying to be an economist, Reina is restricted by Victorian society. Nevertheless, she partners with powerful banker William Farlow to realize her dreams of opening the first women's bank. Meanwhile at home, Reina operates a grand household of her own, all staffed by recently paroled prisoners and who form an unlikely found family. 

I guess I have been under a rock because this is the first Lisa Kleypas novel I have read but will not be the last. This was so delightful. I was surprised how much humor was laced through this book. So many of the scenes and interactions were just too funny! I absolutely adored the team of ragtag household servants and all of their interactions: "An economist, a foul-mouthed cook, a group of paroled prisoners, and a rat-catching dog." This was beautifully done found family and these characters truly made the book for me in many ways. So many scenes read like a more humorous Downton Abbey. 

In some ways, I'm surprised to see this book categorized as historical romance. There is absolutely romance in this, but in other ways those felt like subplots to the suspense around the bank and the dynamics of the household. But I did love the romance in this! It felt tender and a lovely slow burn. If anything though, I enjoyed a second romance in this more than Reina's!

I was also delighted to get to the end of the book and see the list of real historical figures that helped inspire this story! Just when I found myself saying, no way could that happen in Victorian England, the author showed me that in fact women were challenging the status quo and going where no one else dared to go all along. Apparently, some of the characters in this book (like Dr. Garrett Gibson, the first female physician in England) appear in other books by the author and it has me eager to seek out their stories as well. 

My only real criticism is I did feel like the progressive morals and attitude that Reina has and by which she runs her household and business did not feel historically accurate. Reina is a trailblazer, but she was still a member and product of Victorian society. I also thought some of the dialogue around the limited rights for women etc. were (while absolutely correct!) felt heavy-handed to make a point rather than to push the story forward.  

Favorite quotes: 

"Memory is a hoarder's closet, in which we can never find the item we want, while the things we'd rather avoid insist on tumbling out."

"She seemed like the warmest thing in the world, and he's spent years of his life out in the cold."

"Here's an idea: why don't all you men stop being so fuckin' dangerous? If you want to leave the house, all you have to do is put on your coat and hat and walk outside. If a woman wants to leave, she has to make arrangements and ask permission and wait for someone to go with her. How would you like that?"

"My day never starts 'til I go into the kitchen and see you. You're sunrise to me."

"As children, we view the world with simplicity: people are either good or bad, brave or cowardly. As adults, however, we can't escape the uncomfortable truth that everyone we admire has done something awful, and everyone we despise has done something kind."

Stars: 4.5