Young Jonathan Clyde causes mischief for everyone at Whitehall, the stately home of his privileged ancestors. As he matures, however, he comes to despise the vanity and conceit surrounding him.
Misfortune requires Lydia Smythe, an exceptionally clever farmer’s daughter, to seek employment at Whitehall. As a parlor maid, she feels stifled and harried by those over her. Still, she refuses to … refuses to relinquish her independent mind and spirit.
From the moment Jonathan catches Lydia reading the books she is supposed to be dusting, he is intrigued by this unusual servant. Thus begins a clandestine relationship that is simultaneously amusing, confusing and enlightening. Just as it is evolving into something neither of them expected, an unforeseen truth comes to light, and the two wonder if their unconventional bond will be forever lost.
Set in England in the mid-eighteen hundreds, A Girl Called Foote is the coming-of-age story of two similarly impressive people leading very different lives.
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A GIRL CALLED FOOTE
By A.E. Wolnofer
The curiosity of the name of this title certainly intrigued me. What I found in A.E. Walnofer’s novel was a graceful and tasteful romance that blossoms between an unlikely coupling, Clyde and Lydia. It was nice to get so many perspectives as told through multiple POV’s throughout the novel of the early 19th century in England.
It kept it refreshing and lighthearted without any gloom or doom that some romance stories come to at some point. It flowed beautifully and I enjoyed seeing such naive love form without mind to social status, financial standing but just pure feelings. There of course is drama but nothing to alarming to take away from the main storyline that is in fact a love story.
The world building was so real it includes you and scoops you up and takes you into the story. The Author’s writing has humor that has you in fits of laughter to moments where you are wiping tears from your eyes in order to continue reading.
You get to see Lydia find herself and both Clyde and Lydia grow separately and then together. This book will captivate your attention and you will have difficulty putting it down. It is a great spirited read and I recommend for anyone that wants something light and not too heavy to read.
I absolutely loved this book – I was so engrossed by Clyde and Lydia’s story and was transported to the beautiful setting of England in the mid 1800’s which was quite a delight to read. I love a well done historical romance between two people from the opposite social classes, like a Romeo and Juliet of sorts.
Jonathan Clyde lives in a grand estate called Whitehall that showcases privilege and vanity. Lydia Smythe a strong willed and intelligent young woman ends up working in Whitehall as a parlor maid. There are a cast of secondary characters that surround Jonathan and Linda that was so well developed and added to this beautiful story. How Walnofer can tell a story about the life and times of people from almost 200 years ago and make it so engrossing and immersive is truly the author’s brilliance.
I loved the storytelling style, the wonderful vivid and rich descriptions of their everyday lives and the development of the characters to culminate a satisfying conclusion of our protagonists.
For our historical fiction fans, this is a must read.
I really liked this book. I was in need of a historical read with a hint of romance. It has amazing characters that you will fall in love with and a story about a farmer’s daughter forced to enter life as a servant for a wealthy family, the Clyde’s. As Lydia renamed Foote by the baronet’s mother, Foote must become accustomed to life as a servant. There she becomes to and care for the baronet Johnathan and his little brother Elliott.
This is was such an enjoyable book that I couldn’t put down.
I liked this book for its original plot, the descriptive writing and the ability to connect with the characters.
Although it took me a while to get into it, stay with it because, in my opinion, it is worth it. I think the set up of characters could have been better presented if they were incorporated when the characters were introduced into the story versus so much being told in the very beginning.
The author was very descriptive making the reader feel like they were part of the scene, which I really appreciate. As the story unwinds you engage with the characters and can enjoy their humor and feel their sadness.
Give it a try and perhaps you will appreciate the story as much as I did!
I was surprised by this book—I wasn’t sure what to expect, as even the cover gives nothing away—but it was a wonderful tale of loss, class culture, and relationship.
It takes a hard look at the pretenses that society forces on people to fit in, as well as the state of affairs for a servant who is treated more like property than a person.
The backstory is given in the first chapters through the eyes of the protagonists as children which gives a clear picture of how they evolved into the young adults that they become. The rest of the story is presented from several POVs giving a broader view of what is happening.
Jonathan and Foote are from different social circles. This book explores not only the differences between them, but the similarities that draw them together despite those differences. They find friendship through common interests, while their views of propriety continually get in the way.
I can clearly see and relate to all of the side characters in the book. They were all well written and thought out. Some I could become friends with, while others I might want to do a bit of bodily harm to. Elliot is a wonderful boy full of spunk who I would easily adopt as a little brother.
I recommend this book as one to step out of the norm with. Not a cookie cutter story. Great book!
The title of this book piqued my interest so I checked out the free sample and was immediately struck by the verve and power of Walnofer’s prose. This is a fresh treatment of the familiar Upstairs/Downstairs romance which avoids the cliches of the genre. The heroine does not have unruly curls forever escaping the confines of her mob cap, or eyes spaced a little too widely for true beauty. Her problem is she knows she looks terrible in her mob cap and she has trouble keeping it on! She is in fact not a great beauty at all, but as you read, she becomes beautiful in the sight of the man who falls in love with her, and he first notices her for her mind and her intelligence, not her looks. Likewise the hero is not always heroic but he’s a decent, feeling human being. Also, Walnofer doesn’t avoid some of the unpleasant truths of the early 19th century — poverty, mortality, illness, crude medicine, nightmare trips to the dentist.
The first chapters are written from the POV of the main characters as children, so we get their limited perspective on things. The hero is kept in the dark by his mother–a most unsympathetic but interesting character, I should have liked to see her story line carried out to the end. And therefore, so the reader doesn’t fully understand what is going wrong in the big house at the beginning. The characters, and their reactions to the situations they find themselves in, are what drive the plot and at every turn I found their actions and emotions to be believable and compelling. I didn’t find the middle of the book to be as forcefully written as the beginning, but the ending was very satisfying. I was just as interested in the doings of the minor characters as well, and wanted to see and hear more about them. [SPOILER] In fact, at the beginning I was wondering if there would be a big scandal or a Big Reveal of a long hidden secret, and I was thinking, “please don’t let there be a Big Reveal.” And there isn’t — not in the sense of a murder or babies switched in their cradles, or anything like that. The denouement is sweet and delightful, especially since the girl called Foote has to repress her emotions and her longings throughout the story.
A gentle, heart-warming story of two young people from different backgrounds, but with an appreciation of the absurdities of life. Lydia, a farmer’s daughter, finds herself in service to a family that is struggling to maintain a facade of respectability in spite of their dwindling resources. Jonathan, on the other hand, is full of mischief but at the first hurdle he has to cross as the new baron, he takes a stand and refuses to bow down to the demands made by his pretentious mother. Although the story is pastoral in nature, it nevertheless focuses on the class differences of the era with devastating results. I thoroughly enjoyed this author’s writing style as well as the insights she brought to the plot. The romance that developed between Lydia and Jonathan is clean, and the attraction between them is evident from the beginning. As Lydia makes an impact on the household in more way than one, the reader cannot help but hope for a happy ending.