I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Prior to picking up The Diamond of London, I had heard a little about Lady Hester Stanhope in passing in some books I’ve read, and what little I knew about her fascinated me. So, I was eager to read a book with her as the protagonist. But upon finishing this, I feel my time would have been better spent with an actual biography, as opposed to…whatever this was.
I’ll give Penrose some credit: I am aware of her extensive bibliography of Regency romance and mystery fiction across multiple pen names, and her expertise bleeds through here. There’s a good sense of place and the politics are well-drawn, and the family dynamics, with the interconnectedness of the Pitts and Stanhopes. And it’s fun to see the connections between the Regency upper-crust, like Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who endorses William Pitt the Younger’s political rival, and of course, the flashy Beau Brummell.
But Hester herself was a massive disappointment. There are seeds of the woman she’ll become, but given she becomes well-known for her adventures abroad, the story taking place solely in England really emphasized how confined she and all women were at the time. And ending with her just starting her adventures felt like such a tease…we go through 300+ pages of almost nothing happening, and then when she finally does something, the book ends? I can see the optics of this being a coming-of-age narrative for her, but this book was not advertised that way, and it was sold on her reputation alone. Even with the more subtle ways she defies convention, it just feels underwhelming when a quick glance at any overview of her life shows you what she goes on to do.
I don’t think this book did its subject justice, and for the most part, wouldn’t recommend it, preferring people who are interested look up some nonfiction about Lady Hester instead. The only exception is if you’re not super bothered by the structural choices made, with the focus on the “coming-of-age” over the emphasis on the adventures themselves.

Thank you so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I adore Andrea Penrose's other series - Lady Arianna and Wrexford & Sloane - so I know going in that I was likely in for a treat, and I was not wrong.

It did take a bit to get into - not the fast grab that her other series had on me - but I persisted and it paid off. This was clearly a well-researched novel, and Lady Stanhope was a fully human, well-realized character that I felt close to and adored. Knowing that this novel was based on a real person and true historical events made it hard for me to not google the woman in question and discover how her life ultimately turned out before I got to the end, but I'm glad I didn't give in to temptation. A wonderful, interesting, well-researched and deliciously detailed read. Perfect with a cup of tea and a cozy day in.

I wanted to DNF this book at 60%, because it was so boring. But I did finish the book & it was a nice story. Thank you

In “The Diamond of London,” Andrea Penrose takes on the life of Lady Hester Stanhope in a riveting historical fiction biography. One of the things I really love about Penrose’s books is that they are well-researched and provide historical context for her characters. This is an excellent example of historical fiction that makes the reader curious about the real story**.

Lady Hester Stanhope moved at the highest levels of British Society, but her desires and intellect were constrained by rigid rules and expectations for women. “The Diamond of London” focuses on a short period of her life in the early 1800s when she advised her uncle, the Prime Minister, designed gardens, and had relationships that brought her to the brink of disaster. Lady Hester is not always likable as she struggles to find her place in life, but Penrose finds a way to make the reader care about her.

Penrose, as always, includes an extensive afterword to describe her process. She also includes a reading list just in case you want to go down the rabbit hole (you will) to learn more about Lady Hester’s real life.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Kensington Books, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

**Personally, I’ve always found historical fiction to be a fantastic entry point to the study of a particular historical figure or era (e.g. Laura Ingalls Wilder and the American West after reading “Little House in the Big Wood” and “Little House on the Prairie”). As a history teacher, I like having lots of historical fiction in my classroom to entice my students into exploring real history.

This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley

The Diamond of London by Andrea Penrose is a historical fiction about Lady Hester Stanhope in her twenties as she navigates the strict gendered rules of London society (such as port being a man’s drink) and her father’s schemes to fund his scientific research from 1800 to 1810.

The slower pacing lingers on how Hester moves through her world and her familial and romantic relationships. There are three romantic relationships Hester gets involved in and each one reveals something about herself and her needs as well as the ways in which society operates.

Thematically, the work focuses most on being trapped by your gender when you have ambitions on top of how love doesn’t always work out. Andrea Penrose handles each relationship sensitively and respectfully, adding her own personal ideas of what Hester Stanhope might have felt while trying to stay within the bounds of what we know of Stanhope’s life.

I would recommend this to fans of Regency England historical fiction and fans of historical fiction who are looking for fictional biographies.

An entertaining story of a young woman struggling to do what she wants by escaping from her stingy and overbearing father. Her uncle is a great help.

I really like Andrea Penrose's books but this one I couldn't get into. The beginning with the diamond seemed very promising but the story made no sense, and didn't have any purpose in my opinion. It follows Lady Hester's life, but the story just didn't flow in my opinion, and I couldn't finish it. I have never given a negative review and I feel bad, but this book just didn't hold my interest. I give it a 2 stars and got half way through and didn't finish it. So my honest opinion is that it was not to my liking. There just didn't seem to be a purpose to get story. I tried, but can't recommend it. I am not sure that I want to share this review as it is not positive so I'm not going to put my review on all my normal sites. But wanted to give my feedback here. Thank you for the free copy but not a good story...

memoir, historical-figures, historical-jewelry, historical-novel, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, wealthy, feminist, attempted-suicide, despair, family-dynamics, family-expectations, family-history, famous-persons, relatives, relationships, relationship-issues, grieving, grief, England*****

Lady Hester Stanhope was a British adventurer, writer, antiquarian, one of the most famous travellers of her age, and closely related to the Pitt family. She is also The Diamond of London, just like the legendary jewel that was the basis of the Pitt family fortune.
This well researched presentation is as if a memoir of the first thirty-odd years of her life. The writing is seamless and really does seem as if it is the woman herself who is relating it all. The author is very clear about where she has taken poetic license and when it is simply the kind of rewording used from Ms Stanhope's own writings. I loved it as I have only read bits and pieces she has whitten about her own life after she left England.
I requested and received an EARC from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

"Born into an illustrious family of swashbuckling war heroes and brilliant political leaders, Lady Hester Stanhope was a Regency-era adventuress who lived on her own terms and refused to conform.

Fans of Shana Abé, Theresa Ann Fowler, and Fiona Davis will be captivated by the unforgettable spirit at the heart of USA Today bestselling author Andrea Penrose's dazzling new historical novel based on the real life of Lady Hester Stanhope (1776-1839), a British aristocrat, antiquarian, and adventurer who defied all conventional strictures of what a woman could and couldn't do during the Regency era.

Even with her privileged life, Lady Hester Stanhope knows that claiming the adventurous life she truly wants will not be easy, thanks to her eccentric father's stifling grip. With the help of her renowned statesman uncle William Pitt the Younger, she takes on the glittering, treacherous heights of London Society. Her formidable intelligence, outspoken opinions, and headstrong determination gain the favor of the beau monde's leading taste-maker Beau Brummell - and she quickly learns to bend the rules of the ton to her own advantage. And as her uncle's hostess, she astutely uses her skills to preside over - and give advice to - the most influential figures of her day, rising to a position unequaled in society...

But when it comes to holy matrimony, Hester will settle for no less than a passionate match of equals - a search marked by challenges and heartbreak. Her affair with a charismatic naval officer tempts her with forbidden pleasures - even as it threatens her reputation. Her love for a sophisticated, brilliant diplomat offers the marriage of her dreams...and unsuspected betrayal. And as England is plunged into war, Hester's world changes forever, causing her to find courage and strength amid loss, chart a completely unexpected future - and make a glorious legacy forever hers..."

I know, I know, it's not a new Wrexford and Sloane or Lady Arianna book, but it's the same time period and so so fascinating.

I found this book slow going, despite its intriguing premise. I found myself bogged down in the stilted language that sometimes plagues Penrose's prose and ultimately did not finish the novel.

This historical fiction novel is based on the life of Lady Hester Stanhope .set in Regency England. Lady She has an independent personality at a time that goes against the conventions of that era. She was part of a very noteworthy family, which at times hampered her, but not necessarily keeping her from her independent ways. She not only rode horses, but dressed in pants, took lovers and was quite involved in politics. To say for her time, 1804, she was larger than life and a most interesting character. Though this is historical fiction, her life's story was fascinating. My thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

This was an interesting book. Lady Hester was full of fire and deeply devoted to those she loved. It seemed well researched. It would be cool if the author were to continue Lady Hester’s adventures. it would be interesting to read about some of Lady Hester's later adventures.

The Diamond of London is a historical fiction novel based on the early life of Lady Hester Stanhope. It is written as her biography/diary and explores her life in England before she found her ‘claim to fame’ in the Mediterranean.

My first reaction when I started this book (which I wrote down) was “Oh my goodness this is like HISTORICAL historical fiction?! Oh I am so excited. And written in epistolary? It couldn’t be better.” Because when I started reading I had not refreshed my memory on the fact that this was based on an actual historical figure. I am a sucker for strong females in history, and discovering someone else to fawn over and admire has been a pleasure!

The book was intriguing, enlightening, and entertaining. I felt transported to Victorian England with my blood boiling because of the injustice of how women were treated. Lady Hester was a force of nature defending her morals and fighting against the grain of society expectations. I really liked how the author chose to focus on her earlier years in England rather than her later years in the Levant that she is much more known for. It felt like a window into what drove Lady Hester to truly become the woman that historians remember her as today.

My only draw back with the book was that the spelling was American, despite the book being written like a diary of an English woman. I feel that British spelling should have been used to reflect the fact that the ‘author’ of the diary was English.

Overall, the effort that Andrea Penrose put in to research and understand the person that Lady Hester Stanhope was is reflected in the book. And not only the research of Lady Hester, but also the historical figures that migrated in and out of her life in England.

*thank you Kensington Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I can see the appeal in this book based on Lady Hester Stanhope’s life. A woman ahead of her time in terms of independence and a zest for life, the reader will instantly be rooting for this heroine who does not conform to society’s norms in the late 1700s, early 1800s. Sadly, I found this book to be difficult to finish, as the storyline slowed down and the character’s voice seemed more childish than like an adult was speaking. I know fans of historical fiction will still be interested in this title, and I wouldn’t avoid recommending it, but it is not high on my list to talk about with my patrons.

This was an interesting book about an extraordinary woman. Lady Hester was full of fire and deeply devoted to those she loved. The tone of the book was rather melancholy as it focused on the first part of her adult life, which had a good number of disappointments, including betrayal and heartbreak. It did show how she ended up leading such a fascinating life later on, though, and that let the book end on a more positive note. It seemed well researched. I enjoyed the author's notes at the end.

I hope the author will consider doing a second book about Lady Hester. This one was well done, and it would be interesting to read about some of Lady Hester's later adventures.

Thank you to Kensington and to NetGalley for the early read.

Some parts I was slightly bored on but others I was staying awake late to read it. I am not someone who normally likes to read biographies but I really liked how this was a fictional biography. I thought the character was completely fictional but at the end you find out she was a real person who was mentioned when in reality most women were not mentioned since the men were the ones who were 'better' than us. I really enjoyed this book and if there were any more about her out there I would read them. Its all fictional but the character was loveable.

Not one of Ann Patchett's best. It was tediously long and even her lyrical prose could not save it. After a while I did not care how the women in the Amazon were able to have children well into their 70s. What a punishing thought.

Andrea Penrose is a successful author of mysteries set in the Regency period—most notably, her ongoing series starring the Earl of Wrexford and Lady Charlotte Sloane. Here she takes a break from dead bodies and the complicated plots associated with them to tackle a real-life question: how did a supposedly sheltered nineteenth-century aristocrat defy all of society’s expectations that she marry to suit her family and instead craft a life that suited herself?

The titular Diamond of this fictional biography is Lady Hester Stanhope, tagged even today with adjectives such as “notorious” and “eccentric.” Raised according to the tenets of Jean-Jacques Rousseau by her politically radical and mentally unstable father, Lady Hester takes matters into her own hands after he threatens her with a knife and makes her escape to London. There—with the help of Beau Brummell, during a previous visit—she has already acquired a reputation as outspoken, passionate, and “different.” At twenty-four, she is also regarded as almost too old to wed, but her ties to the politically powerful Pitt family, which boasts two prime ministers among its ranks, mean that she is still a “catch” for men of ambition.

Lady Hester wants none of it. She’d rather dress in men’s clothes and sneak out to prize fights with her cousin Camelford, known to society as the “Half-Mad Lord,” or ride hell-for-leather across the moors. And so the stage is set for what will become, over the course of the book, a spectacular and wholly unconventional life.

Penrose’s decision to focus on Lady Hester’s time in England, rather than her later and better-known sojourn abroad, makes sense in dramatic terms because that’s where the character change happens. And the author does a wonderful job of balancing the demands of history against the requirements for a good novel. Lady Hester is herself a diamond: brilliant and multifaceted but also cutting and razor-sharp. Although not always likable, she is unforgettable—just as she must have been in real life. I rooted for her all the way, even when I wanted to shake her and say, “Can’t you see what will happen if you do that?!”

I will be interviewing this author for the New Books Network (link below) around the time of the book release in January 2024.

This historical fiction novel is based on the life of Lady Hester Stanhope. The author focuses on her life as a young woman in Regency England. Lady Stanhope has a complicated family and her innate drive to lead an independent life leads to society’s disapproval. Her life, loves, heart-breaks and adventures are brought to life in this book. She rode horses, wore pants, took lovers, got involved in politics and didn’t want a husband to cage her. In all of ways, she was a woman out of place in 1804.

Content warnings: abusive parent, attempted suicide, betrayal, loss of family, loss of a significant other

Lady Hester "Hetty" Stanhope has an adventurous spirit and chafes under the expectations of a Regency-era woman. Her family comprises famous politicians, including both prime ministers Willaim Pitt (the Elder and the Younger), and war heroes. Her great-great-grandfather Thomas "Diamond" Pitt discovered the world's largest diamond, which contributed to her family's wealth and renown.

She gains her male relatives' ambition, which combined with the friendship of the sophisticated and influential Beau Brummel makes her the talk of the ton. Hetty's had a hard life, with a mother long dead and an unstable father who imprisons his children. While free from her father's clutches, she must rely on the graciousness of her family members to retain her lifestyle.

Lady Stanhope lives life as no other unmarried woman of society does, having liaisons and being included in political conversations as her prime minister uncle's assistant. Her story is incredible compared to other historical females of the time.

Unfortunately, what could arguably be the most exciting time in her life is left out of the novel. Lady Stanhope is known for being a world traveler and the book takes place entirely in England.

This biographical fiction covers much of Hetty's adult life and reads more like nonfiction in some areas. Anglophiles and those who enjoy British history may relish having a new style of woman to discover.

Representation: side character with dwarfism