Book Review: Velvet by Mary Hooper

Goodreads description

Velvet is a laundress in a Victorian steam laundry. With both her mother and father dead, she is an orphan and has to rely upon her own wits to make a living. The laundry is scalding, back-breaking work and Velvet is desperate to create a better life for herself. Then Velvet is noticed by Madame Savoya a famed medium, who asks Velvet to come to work for her. Velvet is dazzled at first by the young yet beautifully dressed and bejewelled Madame. But soon Velvet realises that Madame Savoya is not all that she says she is, and Velvet's very life is in danger ...A romantic and thrillingly exciting new novel from an acclaimed and much-loved historical writer for teens.

My thoughts

I first heard about Velvet when Mary Hooper was in the first stages of writing it, about a month before her previous book Fallen Grace was published as she visited my school and I loved the sound of the storyline of a young laundress mixed up in the Victorian spiritualism industry. Hooper is the author that introduced me to historical fiction (for which I’m eternally grateful!) so her books are automatically on my must-read list.

The story is told from the point of view of the heroine Velvet in the first person, an orphan who works as a laundress. I warmed to her character within the first few chapters because despite growing up in a home with an abusive father who regularly came home drunk and spent his wages on gambling, she still had the courage to believe that she could make a better life for herself and remained positive. I admired her strength and determination to live independently and better herself in an era where it was frowned upon for women, particularly in the working class, to have high aspirations. She also had a rather sweet innocence because of her inexperience in the ways of the world that led her to seem gullible sometimes, especially when it came to her encounters with mediums. At times I found this a little annoying but I had to remember Velvet’s background and the setting.

It was really clever how there are passages with Velvet’s employer Madame Savoya- the medium- with her clients that let the reader know the secrets of her work whilst Velvet does not because it gave a completely different viewpoint. Although the down side was that it made some of the plot a little predictable. Madame Savoya herself was an interesting character and she made me wonder how mediums like her could live on the riches conned from her poor clients without feeling guilty.

I was glad to find the historical detail that I love so much in Hooper’s writing because it gave the perfect sense of Victorian London, providing intriguing insights to life in that era without unnecessary details that weigh the narrative down. . The main focus is on the business of mediums and spiritualists who use the popularity of the spirit realm amongst the upper classes during Victorian times and the vulnerability of the bereaved to trick people into giving up their money. I really enjoyed learning about how this industry was conducted and the lavish lifestyles mediums led through it. There was also a harrowing passage that shows the atrocities of baby farms and the historical note at the end gives more information on this for readers who are interested in finding out more. As in her other books, famous Victorian characters appear in the book too such as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle and the baby farmer Amelia Dyer. It is clear that a lot of research has gone into creating this authentic atmosphere and it really pays off.

For those looking for a bit of romance, there is a smidgen that was enough to keep me satisfied but it’s really a background story that doesn't get developed much in the story and left much to my imagination at the end. 

Verdict: Mary Hooper has again transported me back in time with Velvet’s relatable characters, wonderfully compelling writing style and fascinating insights into the spiritualist world of Victorian London. Despite this, I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that it didn't top Fallen Grace as I was so hoping it would but if you haven't read this or anything else by Mary yet, I recommend you do!

Rating: 4 stars


Thank you to Bloomsbury for providing me with a copy for review.


If you like the sound of Velvet, check out the first post on it's blog tour to celebrate the UK release this week over at Wondrous Reads for an interview with Mary.

Waiting on Wednesday: Velvet by Mary Hooper

Button courtesy of sheshines.net

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme held at Breaking The Spine in which book bloggers feature soon to be published books that they are eagerly anticipating.

Velvet by Mary Hooper

Goodreads description:

Rose is a laundress in a Victorian steam laundry. With both her mother and father dead, she is an orphan and has to rely upon her own wits to make a living. The laundry is scalding, back-breaking work and Rose is desperate to create a better life for herself. Then Rose is noticed by Madame X, a famed medium, who asks Rose to come to work for her. Rose is dazzled at first by the young yet beautifully dressed and bejewelled Madame. But soon Rose realises that Madame X is not all that she says she is, and Rose's very life is in danger ...A romantic and thrillingly exciting new novel from an acclaimed and much-loved historical writer for teens

Why I want to read it:

I LOVE Mary Hooper's books and she was the author who led me to historical fiction so I'm grateful to that! I interviewed her in person when she came to my school and she's very lovely too. I've been waiting on Velvet for about the longest time I've ever waited for a book because I first heard about it when Mary had just begun writing it and mentioned the premise in her talk at her first visit to my school. I like the sound of the setting of a Victorian steam laundry because I haven't read about one before although I just read a book about a fraudulent medium (Haunting Violet), I'm interested to see Mary Hooper's take on it.

I'm not a big fan of the cover because there are so many YA historicals with beautiful dresses on their covers for example which would make them appeal to me more on first glance. It's nothing particularly special but I can't deny that it does look nice and the red swirls and lace work on the part of a bodice shown are pretty. I just wish it told more about what the book is about.

Velvet is being published by Bloombury UK on September 5th this year.

Author Interview with Mary Hooper (face to face)

At the beginning of this month, I was very lucky to be able to meet Mary Hooper for the second time at her visit to my school. She is one of my favourite authors and although I wasn't allowed to take time out of my lessons to listen to her talk to the younger years as I did last year, I did get the opportunityy to get her latest book, Fallen Grace signed and interview her in person. Very exciting! To interview her, I stayed behind with a friend to watch her officially open my school's new library extension so the questions are a mix between mine and hers. Interviewing face to face (with a recording) was a fantastic experience because it was like a chat and Mary is a lovely person. So without further ado, I am very happy to be able to introduce Mary with the answers to our questions here today!

Note: I do have some photos from the event but they have other people from school in them so I can't post them for privacy reasons.

Interviewer: What is your favourite thing about writing YA historical fiction?

Mary: All the things I find out along the way.

Interviewer: What time period do you most enjoy writing about?

Mary: Ooh, I’d say 17th century.

Interviewer: How do you research your books to get your descriptions accurate to create a period feeling?

Mary: It’s a long answer isn’t it? Well, library first, and then the Internet, personal visits to places, talking to people, all sorts of bits, reading old newspapers from the time, that sort of thing. 





I never actually noticed
the skull in her eye
before-spooky!



Interviewer: What’s your favourite cover out of all of your books?

Mary: Ooh, I think probably At the Sign of the Sugared Plum, I like the skull.

Interviewer: Yeah, I like that one too but all of yours are wonderful.

Mary: It’s good, isn’t it?!

Interviewer: I have The Fever and the Flame [At the Sign of the Sugared Plum and Petals in the Ashes] edition.

Mary: Oh have you?

Interviewer: Who is your favourite real life historical character and who would you most like to meet?

Mary: Oh, Charles Dickens [Featured in Fallen Grace] definitely.

Interviewer: I thought it might be him.

Mary: Mind you, I quite like the idea of Nell Gwyn {featured in Petals in the Ashes] as well; I think she might have been fun.

Interviewer: Is there a story behind Velvet’s [main character in Mary Hooper’s new book, Velvet] name because I remember on Facebook you were asking for ideas.

Mary: Yes. No, I just looked at a list of Victorian girls names and got it off the list, I just loved it, and my editor loved it and we decided she could be the title of the book and it was such a nice name.

Interviewer: Yeah, I like it to.

Can you tell us any more about Velvet (featured in Velvet]?

Mary: Only that, she goes to work for, first of all she’s working for a spleen laundry and she then goes to work for a medium, who’s crooked, but Velvet doesn’t know that.

Interviewer: How would you feel if Fallen Grace was shortlisted for the Carnegie medal this year?

Mary: I’d love it to be shortlisted, I’d love it.

Interviewer: Have you got any ideas for your next book yet?

Mary: Yes, I think it’s going to be, I think it might be 18th century, which I haven’t tried before, and I think it’s going to feature the Hulks, I think I mentioned this on my Facebook page. The Hulks were prison ships on the Thames, they kept a sort of overflow of prisoners, especially before they sent them to colonise Australia, you know, that was one of the punishments in prison, that they would deport them, that was a valid punishment. I think that that will only be part of it but it should be interesting.

Interviewer: Which of your characters would you most like to meet, including the ones from your contemporary books as well?

Mary: I’d probably like to meet Grace [Fallen Grace]. She’s a very enterprising girl.

Interviewer: What got you started in writing?

Mary: What got me started? Writing short stories, which are a very good way for anyone to start, because it gives you good practice at writing. Yeah, short stories. And I did lots and lots of short stories and sold them and then moved onto doing serials. And you know, once you’ve done a serial for a magazine it’s almost like the same length as a book.

Interviewer: Where is your favourite place to write?

Mary: Just in my spare room. Surrounded by bits, bits and pieces, and pictures, all sorts of things I collect.

Interviewer: Have you any tips for budding writers?

Mary: Oh, tips for budding writers. I always say the best thing is to read as much as you possibly can because it’s quite rare for anyone of your age to be able to write a whole book. Na also you haven’t got the experience of life, whereas, you know, when you’ve been around as long as I have, you have. So, you know, while you’re waiting to be old enough to write I think, read, read, read.

Interviewer: What types of books do you like to read in your spare time?

Mary: I tend to read historical books, factual and fiction, anything historical really.

Interviewer: Are any of your family interested in books?

Mary: Any of my family? Well my children. My son’s just written a book and that’s the only connection I think. He’s much more science fiction, his book is science based, much more learned than mine.

Interviewer: Who is your favourite author?

Mary: It changes, you know, it changes all the time according to who I’m reading, it’s usually Charles Dickens, a good cover-all.

Interviewer: What were your favourite childhood books?

Mary: I really used to like, and still do, Just William books, have you ever read them? They’re excellent.

Interviewer: Is there another particular person or author who’s inspired you in your writing at all?

Mary: No, not really. Just a case of seeing if you can do it, you know, if you want to do something it’s always worth having a try because, you know, so what if you fail. So yeah, always try.

Thank you very much for doing the interview, Mary, I really enjoyed it! I really like the sound of the ideas for the book you are working on next as I love the eighteenth century.

If you haven't read any of her books before, I really recommend that you look them up because she is one of my favourite authors and introduced me to historical fiction, which is why I love it so much today. I reviewed her latest book, Fallen Grace, which has just been released in the US back in July on this blog so you could start with that as I loved it. Her new book, Velvet,  is being published by Bloomsbury in the UK in September this year (I can't wait!) but the cover has not yet been revealed. Here's the synopsis:

Velvet is a laundress in a Victorian steam laundry. With both her mother and father dead, she is an orphan and has to rely upon her own wits to make a living. The laundry is scalding, back-breaking work and Velvet is desperate to create a better life for herself. Then Velvet is noticed by Madame Savoya, a famed medium, who asks Velvet to come to work for her. Velvet is dazzled at first by the young yet beautifully dressed and bejewelled Madame. But soon Velvet realises that Madame Savoya is not all that she says she is, and Velvet's very life is in danger ...A romantic and thrillingly exciting new novel from an acclaimed and much-loved historical writer for teens

Doesn't it sound fantastic- the Victorian era, an orphan and romance? Yes please :)

Above- Signed copy of Fallen Grace and two pretty Mary Hooper bookmarks

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is held by Kristi from the amazing Story Siren, where bloggers share what new books they have every week through the post, at the library or what they have bought.

This week I got:

An audio book of The Betrayal by Mary Hooper (won on Mary's Facebook page, thank you Mary!)

Need by Carrie Jones (borrowed from the library)

For review (from Penguin):

Vampire Academy (#1) by Richelle Mead - I am about half way through now and am really enjoying it

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

I am a huge fan of Godbersen's Luxe fan so I am very excited to receive this and can't wait to start reading it. The Penguin release date is in January so I will be reviewing it near then.

I have now run out of room on my bookshelves in my bedroom so I am very glad that my family's new guest room/study/library will be built and finished by the end of this month!

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Book Review: The Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza Rose by Mary Hooper

My summary:

When fifteen Eliza Rose is thrown out of her home by her step mother in 1670 she journeys to London in the hope of finding her father and starting a new life there. However, things don't go as expected as Eliza quickly finds how harsh the streets of London and when she gives into hunger and steals a pasty, she is caught and thrown into Clink Prison. Faced with filth, fever, lice and rats, her hopes and dreams of a life in London fall flat .. When finally she is offered a chance of freedom by an old woman who calls herself Old Ma Gwyn, Eliza jumps at the start of having a second chance at making a life for herself in London but she soon realises in horror what immoral Ma Gywn expects from her in return from rescuing her. Befriended by Ma Gywn's daughter who is favoured by the King, Eliza is taken under her wing and introduced to the world of the theatre and the King's court as her situation improves. However Eliza is still too poor and common to be taken seriously by the handsome young noblemen, Valentine Howard who captured her heart when she first met him when she was begging in prison and is thrown in her path again often. 

 Fate seems determined to stop to finding her father and Eliza longs to find her real place in London society, a place she can call home. Taking on various jobs and disguises including orange seller to lady's maid, can Eliza find where she belongs?

My thoughts

Eliza's story is a fictionalised tale told through the third person, which allowed me to also get to know the other characters in the book besides herself. I found her plights and struggles in the unfamiliar and harsh world of Elizabethan London easy to relate to and credible. Her story was quite fast paced and full of twists and turns in Eliza's life that took me by surprise and through all of this, we get to meet a large cast of characters. Some of these characters were real such as Nell Gywn, the famous mistress of King Charles who is known for her charming wit and beauty. I found Nell particularly interesting because of the unstable life that she led and her carefree take on the world, I think she is a character than needs to be explored more in historical books. She also brought some light hearted humour to the book that was a great contrast against some of the darker themes running through the book.
Mary Hooper writes exceptionally well and through her vivid description of Elizabethan London, a sense of being back in that era was created and I love how the darker side of society was also shown so as to be realistic without being too explicit.
The only thing that I was let down by was the ending as although I didn't mind the fact that it was 'fairy tale' like and fairly predictable, I found that I was left wanting to find out how the other characters reacted to the ending so that it felt more complete. Having said that, it leaves brilliant scope for a sequel and I hope that Mary Hooper will eventually write one.

The Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza Rose definitely earns its title and transports you back to Elizabethan London through realistic depictions on a journey with a kind and beautiful protagonist who is trying to find her place in the world. This  beautiful fairy- tale like story with a hint of sweet romance will definitely take you on an adventure!

Teaser Tuesdays (2)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along and have fun! Just do the following:



• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page


• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)


• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

This week, I am going to bend the rules a little and share a few sentances from Mary Hooper's Fallen Grace, seen as I have also reviewed it today.

The first quotes are from the back cover of the book:

"You must go to Brockwood."
"What's that?"
"It's like a wonderful garden, with trees and flowers and statues. When you think about your poor child, you'll be able to imagine him there with beautiful stone angels watching over him.'



The next two are taken from the cover leaf on the inside of the book:

'The train roared, sook and swayed as it rounded a corner, and Grace grasped the window frame and waited until it straightened on its course. Then she pushed open the door to the van containing the coffin and went in.'

They appear in the first chapter of the book, when Grace is taking her dead baby to be buried.

Book Review: Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper

I’ve always been a big fan of Mary Hooper’s historical books (which are usually about the lives of ordinary people at the time the book was set but usually mentioning famous people then to keep the book realistic) and I was very thrilled when she came on an author visit to my school. At that time, which was a few months before the publication of the book, I had a brief look at the cover leaf (which was stunning and suited the book so perfectly) and could not wait to read it. As I pre-ordered it, I managed to get it a few days before publication, which was great! Fallen Grace is Mary Hooper’s first Victorian set book (that has always been my favourite period of history) and there aren’t as many young adult historical fiction books set in that time period.

Publisher description:

Grace Parkes has just had to do a terrible thing. Having given birth to an illegitimate child, she has travelled to the famed Brookwood Cemetery to place her small infant's body in a rich lady's coffin. Following the advice of a kindly midwife, this is the only way that Grace can think of to give something at least to the little baby who died at birth, and to avoid the ignominy of a pauper's grave. Distraught and weeping, Grace meets two people at the cemetery: Mrs Emmeline Unwin and Mr James Solent. These two characters will have a profound affect upon Grace's life. But Grace doesn't know that yet. For now, she has to suppress her grief and get on with the business of living: scraping together enough pennies selling watercress for rent and food; looking after her older sister, who is incapable of caring for herself; thwarting the manipulative and conscience-free Unwin family, who are as capable of running a lucrative funeral business as they are of defrauding a young woman of her fortune. A stunning evocation of life in Victorian London, with vivid and accurate depictions, ranging from the deprivation that the truly poor suffered to the unthinking luxuries enjoyed by the rich: all bound up with a pacy and thrilling plot, as Grace races to unravel the fraud about to be perpetrated against her and her sister.

Having read all of Mary Hooper’s other brilliant historical books before, she had a high expectation to live up to and I wasn’t disappointed at all. I found Fallen Grace beautifully compelling with a twisting plot and vivid characters: hard working Grace, the deceiving Unwins (funeral directors) and a kindly young man, Mr James Solent that all brought the book to life. Infact, I thought that it slightly surpassed her other books and shows just how much she has progressed in her writing since she was writing her modern teenage fiction series about a young girl called Megan.

Characters (main and favourites):

I loved the heroine Grace who was vulnerable and tragic enough for the story and the poor living that she and her older sister Lily make but also had a strong will and loyal spirit that clung onto hope even in times when the sisters had barely a penny to rub together. Through all the things that she has to bear, from making sure there is food to eat and money to pay the rent with day to day to dealing with an unwanted pregnancy and the death of the baby, she is a very resilient girl. I think that this was a nice balance as the story of the two originally wellborn girls who dropped into destitution and into the world of severe poverty and hunger in London’s notorious Seven Dial slums could easily have turned into an unbearably sad tale.

Also, she is not like the typical girl who is verging on destitution, as she is well mannered to the people she meets and tries to keep the values that her mother taught her as a small girl before she died. Another thing -which I liked- that Grace tries to keep remnants of their past life such as a pretty hand decorated tea cup, which is worth a good deal of money but she refuses to pawn unless there is no other option.

Another main character is Lily, Grace’s childlike older sister who is unable to care for herself. She was adorable and always tried her best to please Grace and loved having stories told to her at night. Their bond together really made me care about them and as the events in the story (I won’t give any away!) began to unfold, it was impossible to read fast enough to know what happened to them.

Wonderful historical detail:

Mary Hooper’s detailed descriptions of life for the poor in Victorian times and the dangers for young girls on the streets must have taken a lot of research. It was this that outshined her other books, and really made a dramatic atmosphere. I know a lot about the Victorian era, having been interested in it since I visited Osborne House (her holiday home) when I was very little and I thought that the story transported me back to that time really well. Some teenage girls who read this may not know much about life was like for Victorian London’s poor and the way that many people lived in constant dread of been ‘thrown out into the gutter so it would be very interesting for them. I think that some may also be a little shocked about how dangerous it was for young girls around their age and how some were driven to become ‘fallen women’ as Grace describes it.  Furthermore, at one point in the story, we meet Charles Dickens, which is in keeping with Mary Hooper's liking of using real people in her books.

As some of the book was set in a funeral parlour, there were so many fascinating and quaint little details that I learnt about such as the correct mourning etiquette and the fact that mourning wear suppliers told customers that it was unlucky to keep the clothes once the mourning period was over. This made the book uniquely different to any other novels set in Victorian London.

In addition to the wonderful description in the book, at the beginning of chapters, there is usually a small picture such a small newspaper advertisment or an invitation. Sometimes, this also tells you more about Victorian times and added to the character of the book.

Even thought this book is  mainly a historical fiction story, there are also elements of mystery and adventure too so it should appeal to a wide range of different book tastes. There were times when I felt pity, sadness, anticipation, anger, thrill, love and hope in the course of the book and I don’t think that there was anything that I would have done to change it. It was fantastic as a stand alone book that left me feeling satisfied and not wanting more from the characters as in some books although there was also an element of imagining what happened to the characters after the book ended.

Overall it was a rare gem of a book, emotional, full of suspense, thrilling and exceptionally well written.

Even if this book doesn’t sound like your usual style, I recommend that you try it as you might be pleasantly surprised. I know that several other reviewers have said that they would never have read it if they hadn’t been sent an advanced reader copy by the publishers but ended up loving it!

The Video:

This is the trailer for the book, which was filmed at Brockwood Cemetery, just outside of London. I like the effect that it creates  and enjoyed but it was different to what I imagined and I think that it portrays the book to be darker and more eerie than it really is.