Summary
She Knew She Was Right was one of Lucinda Leavitt’s few joys in life. She lost her mother at a young age. Because of his grief, her father dismantled any reminders of her and tucked them away. Rather than relate to his teenage daughter, who looked more like her mother every day, he sent Lucy to finishing school. Her days were spent on “proper” pursuits like calling on society families and embroidery. Despite her giftedness for numbers and finance, Lucy wasn’t even allowed to work at her father’s business even though she had helped there as a kid.
Wheathill’s Magazine carried the serialized She Knew She Was Right by Mrs. Smith. And Lucinda read it faithfully. In fact, she’s been eagerly anticipating the final pages so she can find out which suitor the protagonist chooses. But the last entry is unfinished. Mrs. Smith apparently died, and the publisher didn’t receive the full finale. Lucy won’t ever know who Miss Emerson chose. Well, that’s unacceptable!
Lucy is determined to track down this Mrs. Smith, find her family and final papers, and learn Miss Emerson’s fictional fate. And she knows just the gentleman to escort her – her childhood friend David Randall. He has to help her. After all, it’s all his fault she ended up at finishing school!
Review
This was a delightful, quick story of 1860s London and a young woman of some wealth but no title trying to make her way in the world. Lucy is a treat. She’s spunky and smart. She knows how to use her position and her wit to get what she wants a lot of the time. David is a great character, too. He gets to tell part of the story, which I enjoyed.
This is a story of Lucy’s quest for independence and the freedom to be herself in a man’s world. It’s also the story of Lucy and David which was lovely. But it was the quest for the end of Mrs. Smith’s story that tied it all together and kept me reading this straight through to the end.
I enjoyed the author’s note at the close of the book. She describes real life serials that weren’t finished due to the deaths of their authors. Other story events were anchored in real historic people and experiences, too. I loved those little details.
Over all, this was a delight! If you enjoy historical fiction or dual perspective storytelling, along with light romance and a little bit of mystery, don’t miss this terrific story!