Two novels coming out today are seemingly quite different but share many of the same qualities. Would Like to Meet, a contemporary romance by Rachel Winters and The Clergyman’s Wife, historical fiction by Molly Greeley are both inspired by other material—in the first case, it’s romantic comedies in film and in the second, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Both feature young women with romantic possibilities who are finding themselves; both young women’s lives are influenced by their fathers, either by having a parent who encouraged his daughter’s pursuits or by having a parent whose newfound claim-to-fame blinds him to the economic effect on his female offspring. Both young women work to make the best of the situations they find themselves in within these novels written by debut authors.In Would Like to Meet, assistant film agent Evie Summers seems to be destined to remain in that lowly position even though she aspires to be an agent—and maybe even a screenwriter. She is a hard worker, but her boss and owner of the agency takes advantage of her good nature, because she is willing to take on any task to prove herself.
When Evie agrees to deal with the most difficult client in the agency, Ezra Chester, who is also a dashing award-winning screenwriter, she must convince him that writing a romantic comedy is not beneath him AND that romantic comedies describe possible real-life scenarios. Trying to inspire him to write the rom-com script that he was contracted for, Evie agrees to set up her own meet-cutes and write about them to get his creative juices flowing; she must prove that this is viable by finding someone in time for her best friend’s wedding.
Using scenes out of her favorite movies like "Notting Hill" and "You’ve Got Mail," Evie meets men with often hilarious results. Her trio of friends provide moral support through entertaining group e-mails and periodic get-togethers while planning for their one (demanding) friend’s “hen party.” Meanwhile, a widowed dad and his precocious daughter witness Evie’s first attempt at meeting someone in the local coffee shop and entwine themselves in her life with perceptive conversations, assistance, and misunderstandings.
The story has some very sweet moments and some that make you laugh while cringing (a little bit), but the cast of characters is wonderful, and it’s a fun look at a woman coming into her own.
In The Clergyman’s Wife, Molly Greeley tackles an Austen character who seems least likely to be a protagonist in a novel. Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth Bennet’s friend in Pride and Prejudice, is the woman who darts in after Elizabeth’s rejection of the obsequious vicar and marries him as a way to become a semi-independent woman with a home of her own.
Charlotte, now Mrs. Collins, celebrates the small joys of life in the village of Hunsford, presided over by the overbearing Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Charlotte’s greatest delight is her little daughter Louisa who acts as a tiny mediator with the villagers who are part of Mr. Collins’ flock. Reaching out to people who are lonely, sick or poor, Charlotte develops friendships beyond the exalted walls of de Bourghs’ home at Rosings Park. This way, she meets Mr. Travis, a farmer who piques her interest, who shares her concerns, and who seems to invade her thoughts in ways that a man has never before.
Some of the great strengths of this story are the beautiful writing, the characterization of Charlotte, and the depictions of everyday life in this small section of England in the early 1800s. Charlotte’s thoughtful observations about herself and her life choices makes a wistful narrative about a woman’s life.
Between Charlotte’s first person perspective and the imagery the author uses to create sensory experiences of the woods, the gardens, the weather, and the homes, there is an immediacy that brings the reader into the story. Here is one example: “The dining room at Rosings is lit by dozens of candles, but still it is so vast that much of the room remains in darkness, the footmen lining the walls merely man-shaped shadows except when they step forward to pour wine. The candles do, however, illuminate the gleaming table settings and platters of rich foods, and cast the faces of my dining companions in a light that gentles all of their profiles and makes even William almost handsome.” (page 132)
The story is resolved in the only way that it could be, but like the novel above, it allows the main character to have agency and to realize her self-worth. The novels are published today, December 3.
Thanks to the publishers and to Edelweiss for advance copies.
Rachel Winters, Would Like to Meet (Penguin Random House)
Molley Greeley, The Clergyman's Wife (Harper Collins)
