The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman

 

Title: The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies

Author:  Alison Goodman

Narrated by:  Kristin Atherton

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Length: Approximately 15 hours and 33 minutes

Source: Audiobook Purchased from Audible

What was your favorite audiobook of 2024?  One of my favorites was The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman.

Lady Augusta Colebrook is a spinster at 42 and the eldest child of an Earl.  Her father has passed away and her brother has taken over.  Jealous of Augusta, he has decided he will put her in her place.  Augusta, along with her twin sister, Julia, use their wits and place in society to help other women in peril.  When they meet a handsome highwayman on their way to rescue a lady, Lady August cannot stop thinking about him.  Has she finally met her match?

My thoughts on this book:

·       This was the JASNA Northwoods Book club selection for April, but I sadly missed the meeting and I’m also very behind on posting my review.

·       I LOVED this book.  I listened to it mostly on audiobook and it was very entertaining.  It kept me riveted during long drives for work.  The narrator, Kristin Atherton, was great and she brought the characters to life.

·       I liked how the plot does not have one moment of climax and adventure.  There are three distinct adventures in this book. 

·       There was a bit of romance, with just enough to make me want to see where this relationship could end up.

·       There were great characters in this story.  I adored Lady Augusta.

·       The story had a feminist spin.  They rescued women who had no one else to help them as they had no rights in Regency England.  They could be locked away at home or in an insane asylum by their husbands for any reason.  The novel was graphic on the fates of mistreated women and girls.

·       I wanted to know at the end who falsely framed Lord Evans.  Luckily this will be a series with a new book out in 2025.

·       In the author’s note, it stated that this was submitted for Alison Goodman’s PhD.  Wow!

The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman was an engaging novel with great characters and a feminist spin on Regency tales.  I highly recommend it.