The Trouble With Mrs Montgomery Hurst

By: Katie Lumsden

Narrated by: Olivia Vinall

Brought to you by Penguin.


A love letter to Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell, The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst is a witty novel of manners and gossip, class and family, scandal and romance.
1841
The trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst is not Mrs Montgomery Hurst – as young Miss Amelia Ashpoint well knows.
The real trouble is the polite society of Wickenshire, with its inescapable gossip about the arrival of the new Mrs Hurst and – whisper it – her three children from a previous marriage.
In Wickenshire, nobody’s business is their own. And in this strange match, the local families sense scandal – and they will do anything to expose it.
Meanwhile, Amelia Ashpoint, though handsome, clever and rich, is avoiding talk of marriage at all costs.

For while society expects Amelia to marry well, her heart is drawing her in a very different direction . . .


'Romance and scandal abound in this compelling period drama . . . Recommended for all lovers of Regency historical fiction' LAURA SHEPPERSON, author of The Heroines

'Warm and witty, with a wonderful cast of quirky characters whose company I found irresistible' JESSICA BULL, author of Miss Austen Investigates

©2024 Katie Lumsden (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

An insightful and compassionate tale of a Victorian county town and the people who live there. Romance and scandal abound in this compelling period drama, and Lumsden is not afraid to explore the issues Jane Austen could only hint at (LAURA SHEPPERSON)

Warm and witty, with a wonderful cast of quirky characters whose company I found irresistible (JESSICA BULL)

A feast of clever wit and lovingly drawn characters, this is an absolute treat for fans of Jane Austen - or anyone looking for top-rate storytelling. I haven't felt such unadulterated pleasure in a book for ages (HESTER MUSSON)

Rich with scandal, romance and social mores, The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst is a total delight! Threaded with a biting humour reminiscent of Austen, it proves both poignant and thought-provoking as it exposes the bitter realities hidden within many nineteenth-century classics. (ANITA FRANK)

An intriguing delight, with scandal, gossip and romance, and a cast of characters Jane Austen would be proud of. (ESSIE FOX)

I loved this exquisitely crafted, sweeping Viennese Waltz of a book by Katie Lumsden. It propels you beautifully into a 19th century world of vivid characters and intricately interwoven storylines, echoing the best of Thomas Hardy, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Anne Brontë and Jane Austen, but singing with modern heart and empathy. By the end of the book, I was deeply enmeshed in the lives of its characters and heartily sorry to see it end. Enter the county of Wickenshire at your peril, because you will never want to leave. (HANNAH DOLBY)

Sheer delight! A glittering comedy of manners told with spiky wit, an eye for social critique, and (of course) a terrific sense of irony. It is impossible not to be swept off one’s feet by the elegance and rich music of Katie Lumsden’s prose (TOM MEAD)

With its witty writing, memorable characters, and meticulous plot, this is definitely a future classic. I absolutely loved it (EMMA MEDRANO)

An absolute dream of a book. The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery Hurst has a compelling storyline that kept me gripped to the last page, and beyond. It’s one of those books that plays on your mind, making you wish there was more left to read. It covers what could be familiar ground for historical fiction – wealth or the lack of it, social class, marriage prospects – but in fresh and surprising ways. The prose is flawless, and the author handles her large, diverse cast of characters with a deftness of touch that is evocative of Jane Austen. I think this book will establish her - deservedly - as one of our best historical fiction writers. (ANNE CORLETT)

Run don’t walk to get your copy... Katie has created a vivid community and deftly surfaced the undercurrents bubbling beneath classic novels. Pitch-perfect Cranford vibes - I read every page with a smile on my face. (Lianne Dillsworth)

Bit repetitive

Too many characters, not enough depth & much repition of phrases. It was close to bring a master class social comedy but author lost the way. The characters were not deep enough: much talk of building up to a conversation & then rather dull