Queen of Lombard Street by Lisa Kleypas was not what I was expecting! It was better! It is set in Victorian England so the prejudices you might expect were apparent in the story (ie Women’s subjugation and mistrust of anyone who isn’t English). Riena Martin is trying to live her life. She is considered a lesser person for three reasons: she is a woman, she is half Spanish, and her mother was not married to her father. To top it all off, she is making a living on her own and yet she can not open a bank account.
Through all this Riena is maintaining her desire to have the life she wants, including a fancy house and servants. The house was easy, the servants, not so much. Finally, Riena comes up with a plan and hires prisoners from a rehabilitation program. I have to admit, I found myself chuckling at this point. You can imagine the various escapades that showed up. Then John Pembroke showed up and began to act like a butler, but things are much more convoluted than that.
Riena is trying to open a women’s bank with a bank owner, William Farrow, a man she trusts, but that is why John Pembroke showed up. Was everything up and up? Then there were the feelings for John, the baby and even more
The novel was a hoot in some places, poignant in others and eye opening in others. Lisa Kleypas based Riena on real life trailblazers for women’s economic rights! Queen of Lombard Street by Lisa Kleypas is a good read.
This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
