A Shop Girl in Bath – Rachel Brimble

Penningtons
1

1910 – A compelling tale of one woman's fight for recognition in Bath's leading department store. Hardworking and whip smart, Elizabeth Pennington is the rightful heir of Bath's premier department store – but her father, Edward Pennington, believes his daughter lacks the business acumen to run his empire. He is resolute a man will succeed him. Determined to break from her father's hold and prove she is worthy of inheriting Pennington's, Elizabeth forms an unlikely alliance with ambitious and charismatic master glove-maker Joseph Carter. They have the same goal: bring Pennington's into a new decade while embracing woman's equality and progression. But, despite their best intentions, it is almost impossible not to mix business and pleasure... Can the two thwart Edward Pennington's plans for the store? Or will Edward prove himself an unshakeable force who will ultimately ruin both Elizabeth and Joseph?

This book contains:

Death of loved ones, including murder and suicide
Talking about and treating women as property
Issues around women inheriting property
Discussions and depictions of the suffragette movement.

Elizabeth is the only child, and daughter, of the owner of a large, successful retail store in Bath during the suffragette movement. She’s a strong woman who’s determined to prove her father wrong about women working and inherit the store when he’s ready to retire. Despite everything he’s thrown at her so far, she’s continued to work hard and prove her worth.

Joseph is the ambitious son and heir to Carter and Son, a hat and glove making small business based in Bath. Knowing that times are changing, Joseph is set on improving his position to allow his father to retire in comfort, while also doing his best to contribute more to societies poor through charity work.

Joseph approaches Elizabeth to sell gloves of his design in Penningtons in order to build his wealth to achieve his dreams. After earning his place, Joseph continues to find ways to help and support Elizabeth to achieve both their dreams.

This is a very slow and clean romance set in historical Bath. While it’s definitely a story I enjoyed, it’s not one you’re likely to rush through and get hooked on immediately.

While for a romance that’s probably seen as a downside, I really enjoyed the pace of this. It was consistent, for those who have a busy schedule, you can easily pop it down and come back to it in a day or so and not feel like you’ve lost momentum. But at the same time, if you do want to read it in a shorter time frame, it moves along at a fast enough pace that you can roll through it.

Another reason I like the steady pace for this book is that it works for the time, the characters and the political atmosphere of the time. So it makes sense which means it doesn’t feel weird, or awkward or anything.

Continue to read further down to find out about the author.

Author Bio

Rachel lives in a small town near Bath, England. She is the author of 29 novels including the Ladies of Carson Street trilogy, the Shop Girl series (Aria Fiction) and the Templeton Cove Stories (Harlequin). Her latest novel, Victoria & Violet was released 17^th October 2022.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association as well as the Society of Authors and has thousands of social media followers all over the world.

To sign up for her newsletter (a guaranteed giveaway every month!), click here.