The Trouble With Mrs Montgomery Hurst

**PRE-ORDER THE NEW NOVEL FROM KATIE LUMSDEN NOW** 
 
&lsquo;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&rsquo;s feet by the elegance and rich music of Katie Lumsden&rsquo;s prose&rsquo; 
TOM MEAD, author of Death and the Conjuror and The Murder Wheel 
 
'Rich with scandal, romance and social mores...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, author of The Lost Ones and The Good Liars 
 
 
A single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife... 
But why would he choose her? 
 
Summer 1841. It is marriage season in the county of Wickenshire, and Miss Amelia Ashpoint isn&rsquo;t sure she can face yet another ball. But now that she has reached the grand age of three-and-twenty, time is (apparently) running out. Her father is anxious to secure her a husband and has set his sights on Mr Montgomery Hurst of Radcliffe Park. 
 
Only, Mr Hurst has just announced his engagement to somebody else. 
 
To the great consternation of Wickenshire, a community that thrives on gossip, the county&rsquo;s most eligible bachelor is about to marry not only an unknown stranger &ndash; but a widow with three children, odd manners and no ancestry to speak of. Society is appalled and intrigued. 
 
Meanwhile, Amelia Ashpoint has no interest in marriage at all. But in this town, it is clear that nobody&rsquo;s business is their own. And while society has high expectations for Amelia, her heart is drawing her in a very different direction . . . 
 
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. 
 
'An absolute dream of a book. A compelling storyline that kept me gripped to the last page, and beyond. It covers what could be familiar ground for historical fiction &ndash; wealth or the lack of it, social class, marriage prospects &ndash; 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 
 
 
PRAISE FOR KATIE LUMSDEN 
 
'Vivid, haunting, surprising' STACEY HALLS 
 
'A full-blooded gothic mystery with bite, great characterisation and heaps of atmosphere' EMMA STONEX 
 
'With echoes of Jane Eyre but with a heart of its own . . . Suspenseful and beautifully crafted' SUSAN STOKES-CHAPMAN 
 
'This book delivers HUGE Jane Eyre vibes, gothic and mysterious Victoriana. I LOVED it' SOPHIE IRWIN

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&rsquo;s feet by the elegance and rich music of Katie Lumsden&rsquo;s prose

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&rsquo;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 &ndash; wealth or the lack of it, social class, marriage prospects &ndash; 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.

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.

Summer 1841. It is marriage season in the county of Wickenshire, and Miss Amelia Ashpoint isn’t sure she can face yet another ball. But now that she has reached the grand age of three-and-twenty, time is (apparently) running out. Her father is anxious to secure her a husband and has set his sights on Mr Montgomery Hurst of Radcliffe Park. 
 
 
Only, Mr Hurst has just announced his engagement to somebody else. 
 
 
To the great consternation of Wickenshire, a community that thrives on gossip, the county’s most eligible bachelor is about to marry not only an unknown stranger – but a widow with three children, odd manners and no ancestry to speak of. Society is appalled and intrigued. 
 
 
Meanwhile, Amelia Ashpoint has no interest in marriage at all. But in this town, it is clear that nobody’s business is their own. And while society has high expectations for Amelia, her heart is drawing her in a very different direction . . . 
 
 
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.

Katie Lumsden read Jane Eyre at the age of thirteen and never looked back. She spent her teenage years devouring nineteenth century literature, reading every Dickens, Brontë, Gaskell, Austen and Hardy novel she could find. She has a degree in English literature and history from the University of Durham and an MA in creative writing from Bath Spa University. Her short stories have been shortlisted for the London Short Story Prize and the Bridport Prize, and have been published in various literary magazines. 
Katie's YouTube channel, Books and Things, has more than 28,000 subscribers. She lives in London and works as an editor. 
 
Katie's debut novel, The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, was shortlisted for the HWA Debut Crown Award.

1841. Mr Montgomery Hurst is getting married. To the great consternation of Wickenshire, he is not marrying the daughter of an earl, but an impoverished widow with three children, whom nobody has ever heard of. Society is both appalled and intrigued. 
Nobody is more curious than Mr Ashpoint, a wealthy local brewer, who had thought Mr Hurst might choose his daughter, Amelia, as his bride. Only, Amelia has no interest in marrying Mr Hurst - or indeed marrying at all. 
Mr Hurst's marriage kicks off a series of events, as it becomes clear his business is everyone's but his own...

Katie Lumsden

The mysterious and atmospheric gothic novel for fans of Stacey Halls

I loved this fresh take on the gothic genre. Vivid, haunting, surprising' STACEY HALLS 
'A full-blooded gothic mystery with bite, great characterisation and heaps of atmosphere' EMMA STONEX 
 
1852. Margaret Lennox, a young widow, is offered a position as governess at Hartwood Hall. She quickly accepts, hoping this isolated country house will allow her to leave the past behind. 
 
Margaret soon feels there's something odd about Hartwood: strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants and an abandoned east wing. 
 
Margaret is certain that everyone here has something to hide, and as her own past threatens to catch up with her, she must learn to trust her instincts before it's too late...

Katie Lumsden

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall

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