No 23 Burlington Square

By Jenni Keer

What it’s about?

London, 1927: One house. Three lives. A decision that will change everything. A powerful, unique timeslip story, perfect for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The Miniaturist, and Lucinda Riley.

On the morning of Friday 5th February, 1927, Miss Agnes Humphries – the landlady of the attractive, if-slightly shabby, white-fronted townhouse at Number 23 Burlington Square – has a decision to make.

The rooms of the second floor lie empty, since poor Mr Blandford’s unfortunate demise, God rest his soul. And Agnes must make up her mind as to who will be her new lodger… Will it be her spirited, young niece Clara, who drifts through the glamorous world of London’s Bright Young Things? Or Stephen, the sensible, church-going, respectable banker who seems just be too good to be true? Or the timid war widow named Mercy, who is clearly running from something – or someone…?

Agnes must choose between them. But what will her decision lead to? One of the choices could result in scandal, one in devastation, and one could even lead to happiness. If only she gets it right…

As all three lodgers enter Number 23, in alternate timelines, relationships are formed and destroyed, feathers are ruffled, and secrets are exposed. Three different choices. Three very different paths. And Agnes is to discover that nobody – including herself – is quite who they seem…

What I think:

I really like the premises for this novel. Landlady Agnes, has to choose between three possible tennants for her available rooms.

What happens next is determined by the decision she makes.

Each of the lodgers has their own secrets and their own relationships with the other tenants of the house.

Most of the book seemed to focus in Clara’s story as an overindulged ‘Bright Young Thing’ running around society and lacking corpsPurpose. Staying at Agnes’ gives her independence, but also the space to think about what she really wants in life. She’s quite selfish and I didn’t always like her. Stephen clearly isn’t who he is claiming to be and Mercy is running from something.

All of the characters change and grow because of their time at Agnes’ house. She also learns from them too.

This is an interesting and well written story. There’s lots of atmospheric details and some surprises along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley for my gifted copy of No.  23 Burlington Square.