The Mayfair Bookshop

A young woman investigates an enigmatic book inscription written by British author and socialite Nancy Mitford in this uneven dual-narrative outing from Knight (Taming the Scot). Nancy lives the high life until she marries Peter Rodd, an unmoneyed minor aristocrat with a drinking problem, in 1933. As he begins seeing other women and WWII nears, two of Nancy’s sisters embrace fascism, upending Nancy’s life. But she finds comfort at Heywood Hill, a bookshop that has long championed her work and hires her when Peter’s reckless spending forces her to find a job. In the present day, Lucy St. Clair arrives at Heywood Hill on an assignment to curate rare books for a collector. A fan of Nancy’s, Lucy takes the opportunity to look into Iris, a woman to whom Nancy inscribed a copy of one of her books that was eventually bought by Lucy’s mother. Knight captures Nancy’s quick wit and shines a light on the darker corners of her life, but Lucy’s story fails to match up and comes across as a distraction. Readers will enjoy the rich retelling of a complex period in British history, but the rest is pretty forgettable. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marshal Lyon Literary Agency. (Apr.)