Why a Booktrail?
1925, 1935: What secrets will be revealed in The Glittering Hour?
The Glittering Hour
What you need to know before your trail
1925. The war is over and a new generation is coming of age, keen to put the trauma of the previous one behind them.
Selina Lennox is a Bright Young Thing whose life is dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure; to parties and drinking and staying just the right side of scandal. Lawrence Weston is a struggling artist, desperate to escape the poverty of his upbringing and make something of himself. When their worlds collide one summer night, neither can resist the thrill of the forbidden, the lure of a love affair that they know cannot possibly last.
But there is a dark side to pleasure and a price to be paid for breaking the rules. By the end of that summer everything has changed.
A decade later, nine year old Alice is staying at Blackwood Hall with her distant grandparents, piecing together clues from her mother’s letters to discover the secrets of the past, the truth about the present, and hope for the future.
Travel Guide
Travel to Wiltshire BookTrail style
Blackwood House in the novel is somewhere in Wiltshire – letters posted from here go to Salisbury – as do visitors for shopping and city visits. Sadly, the house isn’t real, but the stunning countryside, descriptions of the garden, the Chinese tea house and the house itself are very vividly portrayed. So much so, that you will be tempted to wander the fields here in search for the magical house which will haunt your dreams after reading about it.
This is where much of the magic of the novel takes place, one week of events in particular, which will break your heart…
London
The city where society girls must go to be seen. Selina and her family live here as do her friends. They go to parties, clubs, art galleries all to be seen. In a car ride one evening, there’s an incident at the corner of Marchmont Street and Tavistock Square which will change her life forever.
The city is also the anonymity that Selina so desperately craves. There are illicit outings, dreams and meetings. A lovely meal in a restaurant off Old Compton Street.
And this is where a treasure hunt is arranged. People meet up in their cars at Admiralty Arch and head off in search of clues. To say more of this and the city itself would be to give some of the plot away.
Discover this book of Wiltshire and London for yourself.
Booktrailer Review
What a stunning, magical, heartwarming, heartbreaking, utterly emotional read.
Read The BookTrail’s bookreview of The Glittering Hour here
Highly recommended!
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Glittering Hour
Destination: London, Wiltshire Author/guide: Iona Grey Departure: 1925, 1935
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