Home
/
Fiction
/
The Blessing
The Blessing
Dec 27, 2025 9:42 PM

Author:Nancy Mitford,Kristin Atherton

The Blessing

Brought to you by Penguin.

It isn't just Nanny who finds it difficult in France when Grace and her young son Sigi are finally able to join her dashing aristocratic husband Charles-Edouard after the war. For Grace is out of her depth among the fashionably dressed and immaculately coiffured French women, and shocked by their relentless gossiping and bedhopping. When she discovers her husband's tendency to lust after every pretty girl he sees, it looks like trouble. And things get even more complicated when little Sigi steps in . . .

The Blessing is a hilarious tale of love, fidelity, and the English abroad, tailored as brilliantly as a New Look Dior suit.

'Entirely original, inimitable and irresistible' Spectator

'Deliciously funny' Evelyn Waugh

'Utter, utter bliss' Daily Mail

© Nancy Mitford 1951 (P) Penguin Audio 2021

Reviews

A liberating and lacerating critique of American racial madness, capitalism, and white superiority . . . Black No More resists the push toward preaching and the urge toward looking backward into history. Afrofuturist before such a term existed, it insists, instead, on peering forward into what could come to be.

—— The New York Review of Books

Life-affirming and funny

—— Good Housekeeping

A tender story of friendship amidst the challenges and glory of canal-boat life

—— Woman's Weekly

A joy to read

—— CultureFly

Gentle and charming. A chance to think about what really matters

—— Reader's Digest

A voyage of discover at @3 mph

—— Strong Words Magazine

A tender story of female friendship

—— Woman Magazine

Anne Youngson's witty and elegant novel is a celebration of friendship and a timely reminder that it is never too late to take on a daunting (but life-changing) new challenge

—— DAILY MAIL

'Beautifully written and captures the world so well. A delight to read.'

—— Renee Knight

A gothic, feminist book ...so cinematic it is already being turned into a film...it evokes the Brontës, with its dormitories, its phials and its ghosts. But thematically, it is bang up to date.

—— BIG ISSUE

The Mad Women's Ball is as lush on the inside as it is on the outside! It's richly immersive, taking us right into the heart of nineteenth-century Paris. From Genevieve, Eugenie and the women of Salpêtrière we learn what it is that keeps women locked up - and the extraordinary ways in which they might escape.

—— Shelley Harris, author of Jubilee

'Enter the dance of this little masterpiece and let yourself be dazzled. Assured of hitting the bestseller lists'

—— THE PARISIAN

A well-written historical novel... book groups will thoroughly engage with the plot and characters.

—— NB Magazine

Looks at the knife crime phenomenon from street level, rather than top down . . . Given the subject matter, the book is surprisingly hopeful

—— Max Daly , UnHerd

In a potent mix of personal anecdote, social history and politics, he interweaves the stories of people caught up in the violence, to show how society is fracturing along lines of race, class and postcodes. The result is a trenchant, page-turning and sometimes challenging reading, but also a blueprint for positive change

—— Caroline Sanderson , Bookseller, Editor's Choice

A crucial contribution and a compelling read. Thapar combines captivating narratives with a sophisticated understanding of the policy landscape - a must-read book for anyone interested in, or working to improve, the safety and well-being of children and young people

—— Keir Irwin-Rogers, Lecturer in Criminology, The Open University; lead criminologist to the Youth Violence Commission

Cut Short is at once a compelling memoir, a biting critique of Britain's hideous inequality, and a beautiful tribute to the remarkable strength and spark of London's youth - and those who work with them. Weaving together reflective autobiography, expert interviews and the stories of young people he works with, Ciaran Thapar paints a portrait of London's greatest assets and deepest injustices. Everyone - from teenagers to government ministers - can learn a lot about contemporary Britain from Cut Short

—— Luke Billingham, youth & community worker, co-author of the Youth Violence Commission Final Report

Big up Ciaran x10 on the new book. Ciaran was basically there from where we really started to take off and it's good to see him doing big things and always tryna encourage and give back to the youth 'cause they need that

—— Skengdo, rapper

Shout out Ciaran on the new book, everyone go cop that and take in the gems - real life issues being addressed. It's important to know that even though the book's called Cut Short your life don't have to be cut short, as long as you're breathing you got opportunities if you just focus and stay consistent

—— AM, rapper

This book strongly gives a voice to the voiceless . . . essential reading

—— Kenny Allstar, DJ

Takes us to the heart of London's street culture . . . more necessary than ever

—— Alistair Fraser , TLS
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved