An okay read
Ich hätte mir etwas mehr Plot gewünscht, sehr oft habe ich bei diesen Büchern das Gefühl sie bleiben hinter dem zurück, was sie erzählen könnten

I loved this book - everything about it was very enjoyable!!

The setting for the book is fantastic, I love the scene setting, the outfits and descriptions in the book are great. The characters work so well together and Elizabeth and Joseph are a fantastic pairing. I have read a few books by this author now and she is yet to disappoint me with her writing style, this one was truly excellent in my opinion!

Five stars from me - definitely one I am going to be recommending - an excellent read for any fans of historical fiction - I just loved it!!

Thanks to NetGalley and to Aria for an advance copy of The Mistress of Pennington's by Rachel Brimble.

I quite liked this story. It was like a twist on the Mr Selfridge story. I found that the department store came to life and I enjoyed reading about how they ran things. I also liked the mystery aspect: Who killed Joseph's wife? I liked the two main characters. And I didn't mind the stereotypical Edward Pennington. That's what men were like in 1910, and the character of Robert Carter is a suitable foil.

Unfortunately, that's where it all stopped.

Throughout the book we're wondering will they, won't they? Yet every time they decide they won't, they actually do; and every time they decide they will, they actually don't. Fortunately, that story thread is resolved one way or the other by the end.

I didn't like the constant hinting that Edward Pennington was going to drop a life-changing bombshell. I didn't like the constant allusion to some kind of twist that never came. And I didn't like that we never did find out who killed Joseph's wife, despite this being a major reason for Joseph approaching Pennington's in the first place.

So I was left with quite the anti-climax – a major anti-climax in fact. And this meant the book, though very well written was, overall, disappointing.

All Elizabeth Pennington wants is to prove to her father she’s more than capable to run Bath’s #1 department store. But it’s 1910 and her father thinks all women lack business sense and belong in the home. When Joseph Carter walks into Pennington’s and offers her an offer too irresistible to refuse, she has no idea she’ll fall in love. Will their plan work and will Edward Pennington see his daughter as the business woman who’ll bring Pennington’s far into the future or will he put his foot down for the very last time?



A delightful historical romance set in Edwardian England. The characters, especially Elizabeth and Joseph, are poignantly drawn. The plot, while a tad slow in places, moves at a solid pace. The conflict between Elizabeth and her father, Edward, makes this an emotionally-charged story. Women didn’t have the right to vote yet and the women’s movement was just beginning. Brimble brings the conflict of old versus new ideals to light with compassion, insight and forethought. Well-researched, this is a must-read!



Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in the hopes I’d review it.



My Rating: 4 stars

5☆ A Beautiful Portrayal

The mistress at Penningtons is a beautifully compelling read about change, fighting for equality.
I adore Rachel Brimbles books and this one is such a beautiful read.

Elizabeth Pennington is a strong, independent women who desperately wants her father to accept this and let her have more responsibility and power at their department story. I admired her strength and determination.


But Edward, her father has other ideas. Set in an era where men still held all the power, he was not about to budge and hand over his daughter more power and freedom.

He believes Elizabeth should marry into money and stop with her delusions. He believes the men should be in charge.

So when Elizabeth meets Joseph they both set out to change these opinions. As the closer they become the more their relationship sizzles along.

I adore books like this. It shows us how far women have come. Although we still have a way to go before ever being truly equal, Rachel has really captured the equality issues and how they effected women back then.

Elizabeth was so likeable I was rooting for her to succeed the whole way through.
I didn't like her father, i completely understand in those days men used women to their advantage, but she was his daughter and he should of supported her.

If you enjoy historical fiction with a good dash of romance and standing up for what's right then you need to pick up a copy

Thank you to Brook Cottage Books and Rachel Random Resources for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I’ve been looking forward to reading this one since I first spotted it on social media; I’m very fond of historical stories with women at the heart of the tale!

Elizabeth Pennington is a forward thinking young woman, full of admiration for the rising suffragette movement. She is determined to resist her father’s attempts to marry her off to a rich man who will expect her to knuckle under to all of his demands. Having fought long and hard to take her place in the family business, a stunning new department store in the wonderful city of Bath, she is determined to prove that she is a worthy successor to her father – not easy when he is a stubborn man very much set in his ways.

Joseph Carter is the heir to his father’s small millinery and glove business; he sees that a contract with Pennington’s would put their future on a sound footing and allow his father to enjoy a well earned retirement. With this is mind, he is determined to gain a contract from the mega store, and discovers that Elizabeth Pennington, as head of the Ladies Department, is the person he has to persuade that supplying his goods would be beneficial to them both.

Day to day life in the new concept of a large department store is never dull, and this author brings it to life beautifully. With superbly created characters and an exciting and fast-moving storyline, this is a marvellous book, and one which I thoroughly enjoyed. There were a couple of things, however, which didn’t ring true with the setting of early twentieth century Britain, and which prevented me from awarding a full house of stars. Nevertheless, it’s definitely one I fully recommend and even better, there’s more to come! I shall definitely watch out for the next in series.

My thanks to publisher Aria for providing my copy via NetGalley, and for inviting me to take part in this blog tour. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

I’m a big fan of historical fiction set in the early 1900s, and I really enjoyed this book. The author used such descriptive writing that at times I pictured myself alongside the characters in Pennington’s. I found myself rooting for Joseph and Elizabeth, while Elizabeth’s father’s close-mindedness continually bothered me. Overall, I felt that the pacing of the story was a little slow at times. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

When I saw this book was going to be perfect for fans of Mr Selfridge and The Paradise I knew I had to read it and I wasn't disappointed.

My blood boiled frequently while reading the book and the fate of Miss Pennington at the hands of her draconian father. No matter that the suffragette movement was taking off, Mr Pennington has very firm ideas of how his daughter should behave and being in business is not one of them.

I know these were very different times and this is exactly how it would have been, but it still rankled with me whenever Mr Pennington had something to say to his daughter. He reminded me of Scrooge in a Christmas Carol. Thankfully Miss Pennington is made of strong stuff and does not back down from her Father and her plans for the store.

There is a romance within the pages and the story is maybe a little longer than it needed to be, but I still really liked it. There will be those that will say it is a predictable tale, but actually I thought the ending was anything but predictable. A great read, a little escapism and a wonderful insight into social history and the development of shopping within a Department store.

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for an ARC to review.

I truly wanted to like The Mistress of Pennington's as the advertising copy promised so much. Unfortunately that promise did not come to fruition. Why? The plot was too obvious and the characters were too stereotyped. Perhaps I was expecting too much as I was spoiled after reading the Romanov Empress.

I'm sorry to rate this book so poorly but the writing just drove crazy.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley.

An inspirational story of a woman working on making something of her life, and the men who influenced her.

Great read! Young women finds that she must work harder than the men to get ahead in the retail business. You keep cheering her on. Also good romance story. You will like this book.

I loved THE MISTRESS OF PENNINGTON, a beautifully written story about a young Edwardian woman ahead of her time. Elizabeth Pennington, daughter of a department store owner, is highly intelligent and talented, but her father will not permit her to serve as his business heir. She challenges him with the help of glove maker Joseph Carter, who supports her wish for more equal societal standing. An elegant read! 5/5

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Aria through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#TheMistressOfPennington's #NetGalley

I like historical fiction and the description of the novel sounded interesting. I liked the characters very much, even though some of them were a bit stereotypical (for example the father at the beginning of the story). The two main characters, Elisabeth and Joseph, are not very stereotypical, but sometimes their actions and through that the plot were quite too obvious. On the other hand I sometimes wished their actions to be more straightforward, but that is not unsual when I read romance (I must confess I am not a great fan of this kind of literature).
But the main problem of the book for me was that I expected more of a historical novel than a romance or emancipation novel. The story could have taken place in any period, the beginning of the 20th century was only a background, in the literary sense. Some parts offered more of the atmosphere (e.g. suffrage movement) than others, but overall it was interchangeable with nearly any other historical or present period. And that is too less for me.
So if you look for a bit of romav´ce set in historical times, but are not expecting too much of the historical part, you can surely enjoy this book.

~Reviewed by AnnMarie~~

The Mistress of Pennington’s is the first book in the Pennington’s Department series by Rachel Brimble.

Set in 1910 a time when huge change is happening with regards to women’s rights, Elizabeth Pennington can see changes are needed in the department store her father owns, ‘Pennington’s’ in order to move with the times and to cater to every person, not just the rich. Changes that will help the store to flourish and more importantly help bridge the class divide. One day Elizabeth will inherit the store and all decisions will be hers. In the meantime, her father is in charge and he is fighting every change with all his might. She finds it difficult to stand up to her father but she knows she has to if there is any chance of the store flourishing.

Joseph Carter and his father own a small store that makes and sells hats and gloves. Joseph knows that the shop is going to end up closing as the bigger stores like Pennington’s make the smaller shops obsolete. He can see that is the future and he wants part of it. He wants Pennington’s to take him on as a supplier. He wants them to sell his gloves. He wants to make a name for himself and he wants to use his profits to help the poor.

When Joseph approaches Elizabeth not only is her business sense excited, but also personally she is intrigued by him. He has so much in common with her with regards to the progression of the store. He is talented at what he does, and he can see all the ways like Elizabeth can that Pennington’s is stale and needs fresh ideas brought forward and implemented. Maybe with Joseph’s support, she can convince her father that progression in the store is very much needed.

Elizabeth and Joseph find working together delightful, and it doesn’t take long for them to realise that they have a mutual attraction. Unfortunately, Edward Pennington isn’t at all pleased when he finds out that Joseph is working for the store. He is even less pleased when he thinks that Elizabeth and Joseph are attracted to each other. The Pennington’s and the Carter’s have history, bad history, and there can be no way that a Carter will work for him, or have a relationship with his daughter.

Will he throw Joseph out on his ear, or will his business mind see some sense in keeping him on at the store because since he arrived profits and customers have increased? Maybe he can keep Joseph on but make sure that Elizabeth knows she isn’t to have a personal relationship with him or risk being cut off and not inheriting the store. What happened between the families to cause so much animosity? Will it come between Joseph and Elizabeth?

This book has me very much in two minds. On the one hand, I enjoyed the story involving Pennington’s, reading all about the staff, how the store worked, how changes were implemented and how the public embraced them. Elizabeth’s character is commendable, pushing forward with what she knows is right and trying to prove to her father that just because she wasn’t born a boy doesn’t mean she can’t be a huge asset to Pennington’s. Joseph’s character is great too, he has ambition and to make a name for himself, but he also wants to help the poor, so it’s not selfish ambition. On the other hand, I got a bit annoyed at all the times they couple said they couldn’t/shouldn’t be together only to seem to forget all those reasons just as easily. At one point Joseph insists he can’t have a relationship until he finds out who murdered his wife, and Elizabeth promises to use her resources to help him find out. Then it’s never mentioned again!! Who did it? How could Joseph just forget how important it was for him to find out. So yes, a little bit of inconsistency there that put me off somewhat, but on the whole, I still very much enjoyed the story. I would definitely read the next book in the series, so that says something!

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction, historical sagas and basically anything to do with history. As well as being a book geek, I am also a history geek/ nerd and I love anything to do with the early twentieth century. I think that I must have been born in the wrong era. Also I didn’t know my grandparents or great grandparents so reading about the social history of when they were born somehow helps me feel closer to them. Anyway I digress so back to ‘The Mistress Of Pennington’s’ I do go. Bearing in mind what I have just written (or burbled about if you found it boring), you can imagine that I was sold on this book as soon as I saw that the book was set in 1910!! Then when I read a bit more of the synopsis and realised that this book is the first in a new saga series, I just knew that this was one book that I had to read as soon as I could and I also knew that it was one book that I was going to seriously enjoy. I was not to be disappointed on both counts and I absolutely loved the book but more about that in a bit.
I really did feel for the character of Elizabeth Pennington. She really is a woman trying to make her mark in a man’s world. She lost her mother a while ago and it is only her and her father. Her father is the owner of the Pennington’s department store. He is a typical Victorian/ Edwardian father in that he considers that females are second class citizens, they don’t know anything about business, that they don’t have what it takes to succeed in business and they should be seen and not heard. He is also very strict where Elizabeth is concerned. Elizabeth is the manager of the ladies department in the store. She clearly knows what she is talking about and she is often left feeling frustrated by her father’s attitudes and actions. Elizabeth meets the ambitious, charismatic and handsome sounding Joseph Carter, who approaches Elizabeth to see if he can convince her to stock the gloves that he and his father makes. Elizabeth and Joseph form a friendship and there is a definite spark there. Will Elizabeth and Joseph manage to bring Pennington’s into a new decade? Will their business arrangement be successful? Will Elizabeth and Joseph get together in the romantic sense? Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.
Oh my days this was certainly a read and a half. The author’s writing style is such that you can’t fail to be drawn into the story from the first word on the first page. The author uses such powerful descriptions about the era the book is set in, that I really did feel as though I had been transported back to 1910. I just loved the way she described the store, the attitudes, the clothing fashions of the day and the people. I did feel as though I was becoming involved in the story and if I could have jumped into the pages of the book to go back to 1910 to slap Elizabeth’s father with a wet fish then I would have done. The man belonged in the dark ages. Although I have to remember that I am looking at 1910 through 2018 eyes and what is considered to be acceptable now wasn’t back then. I was hooked on this book from the moment I picked the book up and began to read. The pages and the time just seemed to fly past in a blur and before I realised what was happening I had finished the book, which I was so disappointed about. Finishing the book meant that I had to come back to the real world!!!
In conclusion, I absolutely loved reading ‘The Mistress Of Pennington’s’ and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers and especially to those readers, who are fans of historical fiction. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series and here’s hoping that I don’t have to wait too long. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a well deserved 5* out of 5*.

As 2018 is the year we celebrate 100 years of (some) women getting the vote this book shows the battles and strength that women go to find a place in a man's world.

We are taken to Bath in this tale, think Royal Crescent and Jane Austen bonnets - but it is 1910 and times are moving forward.

Elizabeth Pennington is the sole heir to her father's department store. However she is immediately at a disadvantage - she is a women and unmarried.

Her ideas are seen as fanciful and have no place in a store that is for the upper echelons of society. You could not possible have working middle class folk selecting items to wear breathing the same air as those who have nothing to do all day apart from shop and take tea.

But of course times were changing and Elizabeth has a vision.

So does Joseph Carter. He wants to get his gloves into the most famous shop in Bath and get them bought by everyone. Joseph is trying to do good for everyone after the loss of his wife. He can see his future could well lie at Pennington's but Elizabeth's father has other ideas.

As two families come together, secrets that were once hidden are exposed.

This saga takes you right through the doors of the department stores of history and how such places began and made their name in the world. Think Harrods, Fortnum and Mason and John Lewis. But it also gives you the more personal side of the work that they did to keep their place within an ever-changing market.

I enjoyed the glimpse of life but I got somewhat bored of the tedium of Elizabeth and Joseph's potential relationship as it ambled along much to slowly for my liking. It was if the author couldn't decide what was the more important part of the storyline - the development of the store or their relationship which meant neither got the proper attention.

It was an enjoyable book and if you are looking for a historical saga with a strong determined female lead then this book will suffice, but I think you might be left disappointed at the end.

Bath England - 1910

Miss Elizabeth Pennington, age 24, is the only child of Edward and Helena Pennington. Even with her good education and wealthy background, her interest lies in retail and her father’s mammoth department store, Pennington’s. Elizabeth started work there as a shop girl and has moved up to become the head of the ladies’ department. Now, her father will not let her advance further which frustrates Elizabeth. He feels that women have no true place in business. The large majority of the store’s profits come from sales to women. Elizabeth’s mother took her own life several years ago because she could no longer take the constant disdainful treatment from her husband. Today, Elizabeth has approached her father with her ideas for improving the store and their profits. Once again, he has refused to allow her to advance and only wants her to marry a wealthy man he has chosen for her.

Joseph Carter is hoping to get Pennington’s to sell the line of Carter and Son gloves he and his father make. Joseph’s wife, Lillian, had been murdered two years ago when she was trying to help the poor and her killer has never been found.

When Joseph shows Elizabeth his ideas and gloves, she is impressed with the quality of his gloves and also with his determination to succeed which matches her own. After some meetings at the store to discuss the production of the gloves, Elizabeth finds herself drawn to him. They begin to work closely together to improve the store to continue to serve their clientele of the elite, but also offer merchandise that is affordable to everyone.

As Elizabeth strives to help the store, she also must battle her father who seeks to belittle her and her efforts. Will she be successful in her goals? Is it possible for Elizabeth and Joseph to have a future together?

I really enjoyed this clean story and found both Elizabeth and Joseph to be strong characters who truly love their jobs and want the best for everyone. There are twists and turns that the reader will find very interesting and I hope many will read it.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Bath, England 1910- Elizabeth Pennington is heir to Pennington's, a department store in the city of Bath. Times are hard with the Suffragette movement happening and also, more personally, her father's control being an ever- present part of her life. Elizabeth's dream has always been to work in the Women's Department of Pennington's. She has finally achieved that and loves her job. But her father, a traditional man, has other desires for his daughter's future. He wants her to marry and have children.

Joseph is the owner of a small hat and glove shop which he's fighting to keep going. He sees the shop's future as doomed because of the dominance of the department store. Can he and Elizabeth work together to ensure the best outcome for their businesses, or will tension, and maybe other feelings, get in the way and jeopardise things too much?

The Mistress of Pennington's is a wonderful debut by author Rachel Brimble. It's an incredibly welcome one. I've reviewed a few great historical fiction titles by Aria lately, and this does not disappoint. I was captivated by the plight of the realistic characters, shocked and angered by Elizabeth's father's attitude and concerned for Elizabeth and Joseph. I wanted things to work out for them.

I'm so glad I requested this book, it's a good mix of romance and struggles and shows what life was like in 1910. Bath is a city I have visited and I have family in the area. That was another reason I requested this, it was my curiosity to delve deeper into Elizabeth 's reality. I love shopping too, and so any story about a shop is bound to grab my interest. This had me hooked!

Thanks to Rachel Brimble and Aria for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. Honored to take part in the blog tour for this title.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Edwardian tale, it is the start of a great relationship between two wonderful characters, and also the start of the suffragette movement and building up to the First World War. The shop setting is brilliant to bring together the range of characters and situations - and there are deeper threads around the role of women, the role of money and the need for legacy which simmer throughout.

I’m a huge fan of Rachel Brimble. Whether she is writing contemporary romantic suspense or enchanting historical romance, she always manages to write enthralling, compelling and irresistible stories that are absolutely impossible to put down. In her first saga, The Mistress of Pennington’s, she has penned an engrossing, captivating and spellbinding tale with a wonderfully independent, resourceful and resilient heroine readers will take to their hearts: Elizabeth Pennington!

In 1910, Pennington’s is Bath’s premier department stores whose enchanting floors are filled with beautiful items and breath-taking confections that take their many customers’ breaths away. While Edward Pennington owns this establishment, it is his daughter Elizabeth who is driving force in this business. A young woman of great vision and business acumen who has the astounding ability of knowing what the customers want, Elizabeth is not like most of her contemporaries. She lives and breathes the business and wants nothing more than to be running the show and prove to her detractors that she is the equal of any man. Elizabeth knows that she has what it takes to be the mistress of Pennington’s, but convincing her father is no easy feat. Edward Pennington will not be dissuaded from his belief that a man must be in charge of his department store and he is resolute in his opinion that women do not belong in the board room but in the home. However, he was wrong if he thought that his daughter was going to give up on her dream without a fight.

Adamant to prove that she is a worthy successor to her father’s empire, Elizabeth finds herself forming a close bond with charismatic glove-maker Joseph Carter. A man of great ambition and determination, Joseph shares Elizabeth’s dreams for the future and despite their differences they form an unlikely bond that sees them set on breaking away from the stifling shackles of the past and bringing Pennington’s into the twentieth century by embracing new ideas and forging forward with their bold, innovative and daring ideas. However, what initially started out as a business proposition looks set to give way to something more. But Joseph and Elizabeth both know what a bad idea it is to mix business with pleasure. Yet, resisting temptation proves to be easier said than done…

Will Elizabeth and Joseph manage to secure Pennington’s? Or will Edward’s greed and avarice prove to be their undoing?

The Mistress of Pennington’s is a first class saga that is absolutely perfect to curl up with and lose oneself in! Full of wonderful characters – including the fabulous Elizabeth Pennington who would give Barbara Taylor Bradford’s Emma Harte a run for her money – poignant romance, powerful drama and nail-biting emotional suspense, The Mistress of Pennington’s is a richly textured, wonderfully layered and densely plotted historical tale full of terrific period detail that will plunge the reader back into the past with effortless ease and flair.

Period drama fans are going to love The Mistress of Pennington’s and I cannot wait to return to Bath’s premier department store and to see what else Rachel Brimble has in store for us!