I really liked The Glorious Guiness girls, but I think they were just more fun at parties than in their marriages. I couldn't get into this one.

Every time I picked up "Mummy Darlings", I was whisked back in time, and learned a lot about the Guinness sisters.

I can only imagine the amount of research the author, Emily Hourican, must have done for this novel, as I felt completely immersed in the time period this takes place in. She explores a lot of the historical events and politics at the time, and interweaves these seamlessly with the sisters' live as well.

This book is a sequel to "The Glorious Guinness Girls", and follows the three Guinness sisters, Aileen, Maureen, and Oonagh further into their lives, delving into their marriages and early motherhoods. It also delves more into the story of Kathleen, a companion who travels between the three women, and knows them all well, as well. The multiple point-of-views was really interesting too.

If you enjoy Historical Fiction, I recommend this book! I look forward to reading what Ms. Hourican writes next.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC of this book, and to Grand Central Publishing for the finished copy as well! All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

2 stars because I didn't finish. The story didn't pull me in. I tried to give it a go but ultimately wasn't for me.

Mummy Darlings by Emily Hourican follows the three Guinness girls (Aileen, Maureen, and Oonagh) at the dawn of the 1930s. Each sister is now grown, married, and living in three different places. As the political landscape of Britain begins to change, the girls discover issues with in their own marriages that throw them off-kilter. Alongside the Guinness girls, Kathleen, a housemaid from their childhood home, bounces around between the three sisters wherever she is needed even while her own life is bringing about new things that places her right in the center of the clash between fascism and communism.

For me personally, this book made me realize that reading historical fiction that focuses rich white women is not my cup of tea. Though each of the characters has multiple different sides to them, I found every single character extremely unlikeable. I don't believe this is anything to with the way the author has written them - I think this just my own personal preference.

While this book was not for me, I can attest that it was beautifully researched, well written, and reflects what I imagine to be the attitudes of the time it is set. Hourican is able to weave in a lot of historically accurate events with the invented pieces she created just for this story. The invention of Kathleen and Ned to allow the story to include the volatile nature of the times was a great choice and worked extremely well. Fans of historical fiction will likely love the heck out of this book.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for free and have voluntarily written this review.

I did not realize this was a second book in a series, and that was probably the downfall. Just so long, and very minimal plot in my opinion. But I bet if I had read the first one and was more invested in the characters this would have been better.

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

If you enjoyed reading about the Guinness sisters in the 1920s, you will also enjoy reading about them adapting to this new decade (1930s) and their new grown-up lives. The three sisters-- Aileen, Maureen, and Oonagh-- are close, competitive, antagonizing, and conflicted as they adapt to married life and enter into motherhood. Each of them reacts differently to being a wife, being a mother, and learning that the world is much bigger than their small circle of rich friends. I enjoyed the historical aspects of this sequel as well as the characters that I got to know so well in "The Glorious Guinness Girls."

The Guinness sisters are all grown up now and soon find out their privileged upbringing did little to prepare them for the realities of marriage and motherhood. This sequel focuses on their married life and the challenges faced in becoming new mothers. Set in the 1930's, there is political unrest in Britain as the battle between communism and fascism heats up, providing a turbulent background to their stories. Told in several POV's, including Kathleen, their maid/companion's voice, one which brings focus and clear, solid, clarity to the realities and social stigmas of the times. We get a look at the lives, loves and scandals of the Guinness sister's adult lives.
I felt this book had a very slow start and honestly I almost DNF'd it at the 25% mark, but I pushed ahead and it did get better. I would only recommend if you have read the previous book, The Guinness Girls, I feel without the background story from the first you may be lost starting cold with this one.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

I usually love a historical fiction book but could not get into this one no matter how hard I tried. DNF for me, despite being excited about the premise. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

Now I know these are real people but I just didn’t enjoy their personalities that much. There’s less fun in reading about the troubles of their marriages than reading about them going to parties. I also felt like I would lose track of the various time jumps and they weren’t always consistent. But it was still interesting to read about their lives and the connections the Guinness family had to the English government and the Irish “aristocracy” after the creation of the free state

Mummy Darlings: A glorious Guinness Girls Novel
By: Emily Hourican

I really enjoy the Guinness girl’s novels as they transport me to another time. Yes, they are those Guinness’ from the prominent beer family. I truly recommend the others. The first one is The Glorious Guinness Girls. I also enjoyed The Other Guinness Girl: A Question of Honor.

The Guinness girls are now mothers and dealing with marriage and children, during the 30’s communism as fascism is on the rise. They all live in different places. Aileen is living in Luttrellstown Castle outside Dublin, Maureen in Northern Ireland and Ooanah in London. These sisters are spoiled, not very likeable and self-centered. In those days woman were expected to marry and have children.

Oonagh’s husband is not honest, which of course causes tensions. She longs for something more. Maureen and her husband are very intense with everything, which can bring out the best and worst int hem. Aileen, is not happen. Growing up they realize the romantic married life they envisioned is not reality. Secret, affairs and scandals with be introduced which changes things for the sisters. How will they each deal with life?

The other main character is Kathleen, a housemaid that they grew up with. She is a companion now to all of the sisters and travels between them. Kathleen is struggling with her own life.

Thank you NetGalley and author Emily Hourican for this advanced copy.

London - 1930

The Guinness girls are all settling into their lives now. Oonagh is now Mrs. Philip Kindorsley and a mother. Aileen is married and living in Ireland with Neelia. Maureen is going to marry Duff. The maid whom they share, Kathleen, 26, is going to attend teacher training school.

In 2021, I read “The Glorious Guinness Girls”. While I admitted in my review it was a bit difficult to follow at times, I persevered. However, when I reached the 25 percent mark in “Mummy Darlings,” I still hadn’t a clue what the story was about. We read that in the aftermath of stock market crash, millions of men are out of work and cannot support their families. Yet these privileged women party and spend money all the time. The book may have gotten better, but I don’t have the time to invest in a book that is leaving me cold. Therefore, it is with great regret that I have to say that I did not finish this book. I am very sorry.

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

This historical fiction novel follows Guinness heiresses Aileen, Maureen, and Oonagh, as well as their companion-of-sorts Kathleen, through the 1930s - from the stock market crash to the precipice of the Spanish civil war and World War II. Their marriages, affairs, divorces, and decadent lifestyle and parties are set against a backdrop of political unrest and social change in Europe - brought partially into focus by Kathleen, who straddles both worlds. It was very interesting especially with the multi-POV. This is technically a sequel to The Glorious Guinness Girls but I read it standalone and you totally could too!

Mummy Darlings: A Glorious Guinness Girls Novel by Emily Hourican is a decadent study of life during the 1930s. Based on the real-life history of the Guinness sisters, Oonagh, Maureen, and Aileen, we travel between the rugged countryside of Clandeboye in Northern Ireland and London in England at a time of increasing political unrest. These aristocratic females take us on a journey through the early years of their marriage. Hourican brilliantly balances fact and fiction in this novel about women's societal expectations, their needs, and their lifestyles. Hourican's descriptive writing takes you right to the center of every household event.
#thankyouNETGALLEYforthisARC!

An intriguing novel that can be read on two levels- an imagining of the lives of the Guiness sisters in the 1930s, as they become mothers or (in fact and) a novel about upper class British women in the period. I liked this most for the viewpoint of Kathleen, their housemaid.Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Don't worry if you didn't read the first book- this is fine as a standalone- and those looking for more information will find reams of it. That said, it's a a good read.

Mummy Darlings is the second story of Aileen, Maureen, and Oonagh Guinness - yes, those Guinness’ of beer fame. I have been waiting for this follow-up since reading The Glorious Guinness Girls a little over a year ago., which was one of my top 5 books of 2022. A huge thank you to the author for reaching out and sending me an advanced copy of the book as well as to the publisher for providing me with an ecopy via Netgalley.

Setting: Britain, in the 1930s, is a time when “Communism and Fascism battled for the hearts and minds of millions of unemployed and badly paid men and women.” Spain is on the brink of Civil War. The world is on the brink of WWII. The Guinness girls are beginning their lives as married women and mothers.

Kathleen, though fictional, plays an important role in this story. She is neither “upstairs nor downstairs” but, like Felicity in the book before, she is able to show the reader the gaps between the two classes - the working class that is fighting for survival - working wages, livable conditions, food on their tables, while the upper class sits casually by in a world of opulence and overindulgence.

Honestly, as adults, the Guinness girls are not all that likable. They’re spoiled. They’re self-centered. They’re often cruel. But, I think this stems largely from the times itself - when the belief was that the best thing a woman could do was marry and produce children, whether they wanted to or not. Infidelity was rampant, they weren’t supposed to show their children attention or affection, and they weren’t supposed to want something more because, supposedly, they already had it all. I think this paragraph sums it up well:

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝑲𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚, 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏. 𝑬𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒖𝒑, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈.

If you enjoyed reading about the Guinness sisters in the 1920s, you will also enjoy reading about them adapting to this new decade (1930s) and their new grown-up lives. The three sisters-- Aileen, Maureen, and Oonagh-- are close, competitive, antagonizing, and conflicted as they adapt to married life and enter into motherhood. Each of them reacts differently to being a wife, being a mother, and learning that the world is much bigger than their small circle of rich friends. I enjoyed the historical aspects of this sequel as well as the characters that I got to know so well in "The Glorious Guinness Girls."

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this title.

"This stunning novel the from author of The Glorious Guinness Girls follows the three enigmatic Guinness sisters as they take on married life and motherhood at the beginning of the 1930s.

It's the dawn of the 1930s and the three privileged Guinness sisters, Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh, settle into becoming wives and mothers: Aileen in Luttrellstown Castle outside Dublin, Maureen in Clandeboye in Northern Ireland, and Oonagh in Rutland Place in London.

But while Britain becomes increasingly politically polarized, Aileen, Maureen and Oonagh discover conflict within their own marriages.

Oonagh's dream of romantic love is countered by her husband's lies; the intense nature of Maureen's marriage means passion, but also rows; while Aileen begins to discover that, for her, being married offers far less than she had expected.

Meanwhile, Kathleen, a housemaid from their childhood home in Glenmaroon, travels between the three sisters, helping, listening, watching - even as her own life brings her into conflict with the clash between fascism and communism.

As affairs are uncovered and secrets exposed, the three women begin to realize that their gilded upbringing could not have prepared them for the realities of married life, nor for the scandals that seem to follow them around."

If you've read all there is about the Mitfords, might I suggest the Guinnesses?

A Glorious Guinness Girls Novel

We have been with the Guinness girls for a bit now and I can’t seem to get enough of them. Or maybe it’s the author’s writing style. Either way, it’s keeping me engaged.

The girls are grown up now and we are imagining what their lives are like now. It’s a turbulent time and the classes are at war. The girls are carving out a place for themselves and their new families.

In some ways not so different from every other newly married woman with new babies and rather overbearing parents.

And much like the rest of us, the girls are figuring out they have been sheltered all of their lives. Now, they are unprepared to deal with the harsh realities of married life.

Always a pleasure to catch up with the girls.

NetGalley/ Grand Central Publishing, April 18, 2023

The Glorious Guinness Girls are married now and have become mothers. How they cope with the realities of marriage and mothering are the basis of this story. They have different styles and different methods for getting through their days. Times are changing; it is the 1930s. The working class is unhappy and the ruling class is uneasy. What does this mean for the bright young things of the 1920s?
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this title.