Above the Bay of Angels : a novel

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Title:

Above the Bay of Angels : a novel

Alternate title:

Bay of Angels : a novel

Author:

Bowen, Rhys, author.

Summary:

"A single twist of fate puts a servant girl to work in Queen Victoria's royal kitchen, setting off a suspenseful, historical mystery... Isabella Waverly only means to comfort the woman felled on a London street. In her final dying moments, she thrusts a letter into Bella's hand. It's an offer of employment in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace, and everything the budding young chef desperately wants: an escape from the constrictions of her life as a lowly servant. In the stranger's stead, Bella can spread her wings. Arriving as Helen Barton from Yorkshire, she pursues her passion for creating culinary delights, served to the delighted Queen Victoria herself. Best of all, she's been chosen to accompany the queen to Nice. What fortune! Until the threat of blackmail shadows Bella to the Riviera, and a member of the queen's retinue falls ill and dies. Having prepared the royal guest's last meal, Bella is suspected of the poisonous crime. An investigation is sure to follow. Her charade will be over. And her new life will come crashing down -- if it doesn't send her to the gallows."-- Provided by publisher.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

332 pages ; 22 cm

Genre:

Large type books.

Historical fiction.

Detective and mystery fiction.

Subject Term:

Women cooks -- Fiction.

Impostors and imposture -- Fiction.

Household employees -- Fiction.

Poisoning -- Fiction.

Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

London (England) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction.

Nice (France) -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Lake Union Publishing,

Publication Date:

2020

ISBN:

9781542008266

9781542008259

Publication Information:

Seattle [Washington] : Lake Union Publishing, [2020]

Call Number:

LP BOWEN

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003384396	Large Print Fiction	BOWEN Rhys	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

"...Sweeping and intimate, warm and gripping. I loved it!" --Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Chief Inspector Gamache novels

A single twist of fate puts a servant girl to work in Queen Victoria's royal kitchen, setting off a suspenseful, historical mystery by the New York Times bestselling author of The Tuscan Child and The Victory Garden .

Isabella Waverly only means to comfort the woman felled on a London street. In her final dying moments, she thrusts a letter into Bella's hand. It's an offer of employment in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace, and everything the budding young chef desperately wants: an escape from the constrictions of her life as a lowly servant. In the stranger's stead, Bella can spread her wings.

Arriving as Helen Barton from Yorkshire, she pursues her passion for creating culinary delights, served to the delighted Queen Victoria herself. Best of all, she's been chosen to accompany the queen to Nice. What fortune! Until the threat of blackmail shadows Bella to the Riviera, and a member of the queen's retinue falls ill and dies.

Having prepared the royal guest's last meal, Bella is suspected of the poisonous crime. An investigation is sure to follow. Her charade will be over. And her new life will come crashing down--if it doesn't send her to the gallows.

Author Notes

Rhys Bowen was born Janet Quin-Harkin in 1941 in Bath, England. She earned her bachelors degree from the University of London. Soon after graduation she worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation as a studio manager and writer. She then took a job working for a textbook company developing reading texts before writing her own books. Her first picture book - Peter Penny's Dance - was published in 1976 and changed her career to children's book author. The book earned praise and won numerous awards. In 1981 she wrote a teen novel entitled California Girl which became the first installment in Bantam's Sweet Dreams series. This series grew to include novels such as Love Match, Daydreamer, and Ten-Boy Summer. These Sweet Dreams books started a major trend in young adult publishing. they were praised as an encouragement to reading. Janet Quin-Harkin also authored non-series fiction for adolescents such as award winning novel Wanted: Date for Saturday Night and Summer Heat. She also wrote the young adult historical novels Madam Sarah and Fool's Gold. She then moved on to writng mystery novels whcih included her Constable Evans series. Her book Royal Blood made the New York Times Bestseller list.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (1)

Library Journal Review

Prepare to savor this engaging new novel from the Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award-winning Bowen (The Tuscan Child). In 1896 London, Isabella Waverly, trapped in servitude despite her aristocratic background, witnesses Helen Barton's accidental death and acquires a letter promising a job interview at Buckingham Palace. Assuming Helen's identity and securing the position of undercook in Queen Victoria's kitchens, Bella unwittingly exposes herself to a life of subterfuge and blackmail. As her cooking skills improve, bringing her to the notice of the queen herself, Bella loves her newfound independence. Asked to join the royal household in Nice, Bella grabs her chance for betterment, unaware blackmail and death will dog her steps. When a royal sickens and dies after eating her cooking, Bella becomes a suspect in a murder investigation. Will she find the killer or die on the gallows? VERDICT This delightful mystery neatly blends historical details of late Victorian life, from rich foods to royalty, into a story spiced with humor and romance. Bowen's depiction of Bella as a modern Victorian woman, skillfully navigating class differences while struggling with the choice between a safe life and her ambitions, rings true.--Barbara Clark-Greene, Westerly, RI