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The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets

3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 · rating details · 3,252 ratings · 562 reviews

Eva Rice, daughter of the famed lyricist Tim Rice, has written a captivating and wonderfully stylized novel about a group of friends in postwar London's glamorous and daring young society.

With mannered prose dripping in the charm of 1950s London, TheLost Art of Keeping Secrets centers around Penelope, the wide-eyed daughter of a legendary beauty, Talitha, who is unable t

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Hardcover, 368 pages

Published April 20th 2006 by Dutton Adult (first published October 24th 2005)

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Jun 19, 2011 Mariel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Rory and the Storms

Recommended to Mariel by: Mariel and Hurricanes

This is another vaguely rip-offish version of I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. Confession? I'm not original about selecting books to read. I was looking at different book sites on the web and putting in favorite books to see what came up when I came across The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets. I'd read all of the books that were like all of my other favorites, except for Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle (I'm still planning on reading the others, as well. Bring on the Elvis impersonators!). I ne...more

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Feb 01, 2009 Carrie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I suggested this as January’s book club book because I was looking for something that was not too taxing, but still respectable, and this turned out to be the perfect choice. It is the story of Penelope Wallace (actually Lady Penelope, though not too much is made of that), an impoverished noblewoman (or rather an impoverished eighteen year old girl), whose family owns a stately home of England, but one that is falling apart since her father died in the war hot on the heals of her grandparents an...more

5 likes · like · see review

Aug 03, 2009 CLM rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of Atonement, I Capture the Castle

Shelves: 20th-century, fiction, uk, historicalfiction

Penelope is waiting for a bus in London when swept away by Charlotte, an impetuous young woman wearing homemade clothes, who needs someone to share a taxi. Charlotte brings Penelope home to meet her aunt Clare and cousin Harry, and Penelope is pulled into a more entertaining world than offered by the Wiltshire countryside where she lives with her mother and slightly younger brother. It is the 1950s, and on the one hand Penelope is still affected by the loss of her father in WWII but she and her...more

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Jul 29, 2009 Karschtl rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children_teenie, drama, friendship, love, read-in-2009

A friend, who often has the same reading-taste, put this one on a list of books I have to read very soon. Well, and now I did.

It reminded me of "I capute the castle", since it's also about a (once famous and rich) family living in a big house but having almost no money and told from the point of view of the teenaged daughter who experiences her first love.

Well, same is true for this book. Here our heroine is Penelope, a girl of 17/18 living outside of London and befriending another girl and her...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 21, 2010 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What wonderful read in which nothing quite so amazing occurs until you're absolutely, positively addicted to the world of the novel and just don't know how it happened.

Penelope writes her story of the awkward turning point from girl to woman. The minimal tidbits which revealed her older and wiser voice do not overpower the present tense of main story, but rather added small insights about the future.

As characters moved in and out of her life I would mourn their departure, celebrate returns, an...more

4 likes · like · see review

Sep 21, 2010 Melee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: absolute-favourites, comfort-reads

Before I read this book, I had a feeling that I was going to like it a lot. Whether it was the vintage dresses displayed on the cover or the numerous comparisons to "I Capture the Castle", I am not sure. But needless to say, I was not disappointed.

This book is neither suspenseful nor innovative but I couldn't put it down until I had finished it.
I love the characters Eva Rice has created. They are undeniably quirky, but not so much as to make them unbelievable.
And I was enchanted with the descr...more

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Jan 05, 2009 Trena rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Trena by: Book Club

Well-written Anglophile chick lit with some 50s fashion thrown in? Yes, please! This soapy little post-war romance among impoverished toffs coming of age in the time period that kind of invented coming of age is a fun read. Please note this gets four stars within its genre, not four stars in the grand scheme of Literature.

The only thing that bugged me is the author is described as the daughter of lyricist Tim Rice, which, first of all, I'm glad I didn't read before I finished the book because wh...more

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Aug 29, 2007 Kimz Zahour rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I can't say exactly what it is about this book that is so captivating... but it truly is. It's beautifully written, almost poetic, here is one of my favorite lines during a lull in an intense "duck supper" conversation; "Like the curious pause that takes place before blood seeps out from a cut finger, we all sat quite still...".
Flipping through the pages was more like hearing the narrative of an actress like Emma Thompson with a wonderful British accent rather than reading. After a session, I wa...more

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Oct 21, 2008 Lara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone.

Shelves: favorites

I think this book is going to find a spot on my list of favorite books of all time. I loved the characters, I loved the story, I loved everything about it. It reminded me a little of Pride & Prejudice, just set in a different era and with a different plot.

This snippet of conversation between two of the main characters pretty much sums up my love of this book:

Charlotte: "[My mother] hates having me at home - plowing through the books in her library and kicking my heels up at night. She think...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Book Concierge rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: british, coming-of-age, concierge, family, friendship, historical-fiction, library, love, women-writers

Penelope Wallace meets Charlotte Ferris at a bus stop, when the latter insists Penelope accompany her to her Aunt Clare’s for tea. It is 1950s London, and the two young women, seemingly very different, become fast friends, moving through elegant parties, sharing a crush on singer/heartthrob Johnnie Ray, and exploring various love interests. Together they weather the changes in British post-war society, and in their own family situations.

I really enjoyed this novel. Through her characters, Rice...more

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Feb 16, 2013 Zara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: feel-good-books, historical-20th-century, historical-fiction

This is a charming novel that sweeps you off your feet and keeps you suspended in delight and happiness for the entire time whilst you are reading it.

It's set in the 1950s, around Penelope Wallace, a girl who doesn't quite fit in with the debutantes and girls of the ball circuit until she meets Charlotte. Charlotte is the perfect best friend: witty, creative, clever, funny and perceptive. She also has a cousin called Harry (yes, I know this is a bit predictable and yes, Penelope does fall in lov...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Cheryn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have not read "I Capture the Castle", and I don't doubt that reading it will affect my current opinions about "The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets" as I notice some similar plot points. For now, I would like to keep it as a memory and a pleasurable experience that I would cherish long after the last page has been turned.

This is a story about a character named Penelope along with many other things. Magna Milton, Charlotte, Clare Delancy (Aunt Clare), Talitha Orr.. etc. It is a story about music, a...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Vipula rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Based in post-war British , this is the utterly delightful story of the friendship of Penelope, Charlotte an Henry. And that is just one layer of the story. Eva Rice transports the reader into the 1950s high society London and you can almost hear the clink of the wine glasses and smell the perfumes.
Penelope Wallace is the main protagonist of the story and the reader is instantly engaged with her character from the first page. You remember your teenage obsessions as she swoons over Johnnie Ray, y...more

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May 12, 2012 Jgrace rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets
3.5 stars (call it three)

I enjoyed this book. It was a very pleasant story of young people in postwar England. Penelope Wallace is facing the challenge of her family’s crumbling financial circumstances as the 1950’s hover on the verge of a cultural explosion. She balances her burgeoning social life and her fantasy obsession with a current pop star against her increasing anxiety about her family’s dire situation. The atmosphere of the story is rich in historical de...more

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Dec 03, 2011 Gwenyth rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've read a few books recently based on goodread's newish recommendations feature. They'be been hit or miss, this one is similar. It was recommended to me because I liked "I Capture the Castle". Superficially they are similar books (girls growing up in England the 50s), but in no way did it make me sit up and take notice like Dodie Smith did.

Nevertheless it was light, mostly fun to read, and I would pass it on to certain friends for something like a long plane flight or a beach read.

The most gl...more

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Aug 22, 2011 Annemieke Windt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Eva Rice - The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets
Summer is the time to relax and read books that help you doing just that, sometimes sprinkled with books that make you think about things a little bit deeper. Rice's The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets is a book that helps you relax, but it's still a great book to read. It tells the story of Penelope Wallace, daughter of a widow who walks sadly around the grand mansion Milton Manga Hall. The house is falling apart and only a good marriage or a sudden fortune...more

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Aug 09, 2011 Martine Peacock rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This looked like a Chick Lit novel, which in itself would ordinarily have deterred me from reading it. However, on the back cover it was likened to I Capture the Castle, so I gave it a shot. Well written, with charming characters. A good portrayal of what it was like to be a teenager in the 50s when the very concept of "teenager" was being born, but were the protagonists really as conscious of the social phenomenon they were a part of as Penelope (the book's main character)? Maybe Eva Price coul...more

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Jan 26, 2011 Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Jane Austen lovers

"Funny, I thought, putting the letter away and pulling out my handkerchief, how the best months of my life had also been the saddest."

This quote sums up what was a delightful read for me. This isn't a remarkable book, but it was a pleasant and enjoyable read. Set in 1950s England, when the country was coming to grips with post-wartime suffering, but also burgeoning freedom, the book follows 18-year old Penelope as she comes to grips with growing up and finding her place in a new world. Her frien...more

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Jan 11, 2011 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

From Publishers’ Weekly:
An impulsive taxi ride with a stranger in 1950s London indelibly changes Penelope Wallace’s life in Rice’s sparkling debut. At 18, Penelope lives with her younger brother, Inigo, and her terribly glamorous, young widowed mother in a drafty, rundown, English estate house in the countryside. With the loss of the man of the house, financial pressures mount, threatening sheltered Penelope’s family manse—and what’s left of her family’s place in society. She finds a kindred s...more From Publishers’ Weekly:
An impulsive taxi ride with a stranger in 1950s London indelibly changes Penelope Wallace’s life in Rice’s sparkling debut. At 18, Penelope lives with her younger brother, Inigo, and her terribly glamorous, young widowed mother in a drafty, rundown, English estate house in the countryside. With the loss of the man of the house, financial pressures mount, threatening sheltered Penelope’s family manse—and what’s left of her family’s place in society. She finds a kindred spirit in the outspoken posh Londoner, Charlotte Ferris, who has a “great gift for circumnavigating normal behavior,” when they both reveal their passion for American singing sensation Johnnie Ray. After agreeing to accompany Charlotte’s aspiring magician cousin, Harry Delancy, to his former girlfriend’s engagement party to make her jealous, Penelope begins her journey through a world of smart parties, fashionable teas and simmering romance.

When I was thirteen in the late 1960s, I came upon a stack of my mother’s old records. They were 33s but they looked like 78s, so their “quaintness” immediately intrigued me. But more important than how they looked, was how they sounded: from them came the dulcet tones of a man of whom I had never heard–Johnnie Ray.

Johnnie RayI loved listening to those records but despite my best efforts, my friends never came to share my enthusiasm for Johnnie. Even their parents gave me odd looks. So I was delighted to be able to share the thrill of Johnnie with the two young protaganists of The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets, Penelope and Charlotte, who eventually score front row seats for Johnnie’s London concert.

I greatly enjoyed this book–and not just for Mr. Ray’s high-jinks.

English society, with its class system, has long fascinated me. It was interesting to see how far removed from its center Penelope was, living a train ride outside of London. Despite the fact that her family no longer has any money, she’s accepted into this society on Harry’s arm because of her family home – Milton Magna, the albatross that shapes the future of Penelope, her brother and her mother.

Rice makes the contrast between the glittery parties and simple country life, between having money and having a name, between English and American class systems. She shows how American music and culture overtook England long before the “British Invasion” of America in the 1960s.

My mother’s older sister, Loretta, had married an American soldier…and had moved to the United States after the war….My mother liked to give the impression of being appalled by her sister’s willingness to embrace a country she considered deeply vulgar, but secretly she was envious as hell, and who could blame her? She and I were fascinated by stories of refrigerators in every kitchen, proper washing machines and spin dryers, drive-in movies and Coca-Cola. (My brother) Inigo (was) obsessed by the new wave of American music…

The only complaint I have is that, after making me salivate at the dresses on the cover of the book, there was very little detail about the party clothes. I’d really liked to have known more than just it was “sparkly mint green dress”!

But don’t let that minor problem stop you from reading this delightful novel. Four stars.

P.S. If you want to see & hear Johnnie Ray, there are some videos on YouTube under several misspellings of his name. Coincidentally, we just finished watching the 1954 movie There’s No Business Like Show Business (we found it at Zip.ca, Americans might try Blockbuster.com ) in which Ray has a couple of solo numbers.(less)

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Sep 25, 2010 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this, it was original and quirky and funny and delightful. A lot of similarities to I Capture the Castle, but that can only be a good thing. I particularly enjoyed Julian the Loaf (I laughed and laughed over that conversation when Harry was calling someone weird and Penelope was like 'look who's talking, you kept a loaf of bread as a pet' and Harry was like 'leave Julian out of this'.) I loved Harry in general, he was my favourite character, along with Charlotte, who I pictured as lookin...more

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Amy That's not how I picture Charlotte at all! I picture her as very thin, dark and elfin, a bit like Felicity Jones (in Northanger Abbey). Harry was also...more
Nov 24, 2011 04:18am

Sarah Yes I agree Harry was by far the best character in it and much more about him should've been included. Sorry about the spoiler, although may I say you...more
Nov 24, 2011 06:57pm

Mar 03, 2011 Brandy Painter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, young-adult

Review originally posted here.

Author, Eva Rice, has a power with words. From the first page of the novel I felt the time and setting perfectly. The images she evoked made it as if I had been plunged into an Audrey Hepburn movie. It is even more impressive as Rice manages this using mostly dialogue in this opening scene. The novel is solid historical fiction. I didn't notice any anachronisms, but I am not an expert on this time period either. It is interesting because, while there are plenty of n...more

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Sep 18, 2009 Josie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of I Capture the Castle/Love in a Cold Climate

Recommended to Josie by: LibraryThing

Shelves: general-fiction, books-i-own

I knew I'd love this book when I opened it up and saw that the author had written (among others) a non-fiction book titled Who's Who in Enid Blyton. Classic.
It's 1954, and six-foot-nothing Penelope Wallace lives with her younger brother Inigo, and her beautiful mother Talitha in their enormous family 'home', Milton Magna. It is falling apart, yet they cannot afford to repair it, and their financial struggles are becoming concerning. (Sound familiar, Dodie Smith fans?) Penelope studies English an...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, own-it, read-2012

I wasn't sure about this book when I first started it. I wasn't really all that concerned about the "tragedies" of London's social elite in the 1950's, and, frankly, I thought the characters were going to be a lot more shallow than they turned out to be. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there was way more to the story than that, and the drama that I expected turned out to have depth and heart.

I can't imagine having grown up during the second World War. It must have been a strange sens...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fluffy-reading

I picked up this novel because one of my favourite authors EVER, Elizabeth Wein, gave it an excellent review on Goodreads. I had absolutely no idea what it was, except that there were comparisons to Dodie Smith's "I Capture the Castle" which I vaguely remember reading and enjoying. I found this gem on the fifth page -- the main character, Penelope (who has a brother named Inigo!), talking about another girl she had just met: "She was the sort of person one reads about in novels yet raraely meets...more I picked up this novel because one of my favourite authors EVER, Elizabeth Wein, gave it an excellent review on Goodreads. I had absolutely no idea what it was, except that there were comparisons to Dodie Smith's "I Capture the Castle" which I vaguely remember reading and enjoying. I found this gem on the fifth page -- the main character, Penelope (who has a brother named Inigo!), talking about another girl she had just met: "She was the sort of person one reads about in novels yet raraely meets in real life, and if this was the beginning of the novel -- well! (5)"

Penelope is the tall, plain daughter of a father killed in the war, and a beautiful young mother just seventeen years older than herself. Her chance encounter and subsequent friendship with the charming and outgoing Charlotte brings excitement to her life that has been absent -- living in the giant old estate called Milton Magna Hall, a crumbling old mansion, is a rather dull existence, broken up only by her mother's alternating moods of guilt and emotion, extravagance and spending. Penelope also becomes acquainted with Charlotte's brother, Harry, who is infatuated with an American woman, Marina; he eventually hatches a plot to win her by convincing Penelope to serve as a foil.

I began this book with great hopes, and went merrily along for about half the book, at which point I started to feel disillusioned with the characters; with Penelope and Charlotte's gushing over the popular singer Johnnie Ray, with her mother's whims and emotions, and even with the seeming smallness of things that bothered Penelope, especially in contrast to the larger problems around her. While I was intrigued by the idea of American popular music taking the fancy of young English girls (as in a counter wave to the "British Invasion"), as the novel wrapped up, everything came together a la Daphne du Maurier, and I was left more than a wee bit disappointed, despite the charm and witty prose of the narrator. I would say this is about 4 stars for the first half, then slides down to around 2.5 towards the end, which makes me sad because I really really wanted to like it.(less)

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Apr 30, 2010 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: british, historical-fiction, read-in-2010, underrated, midcentury

4.5 stars. I really, really liked this--like, a lot--and wonder why I didn't become more popular. Well, I'm basing my perception of its lack of buzz on the fact that I'd never heard of it, which maybe isn't exactly the final word in things, but even though this is just the kind of thing I'm always on the lookout for, I only stumbled across it randomly on the shelf at the library, and selected it mostly because the cover is fantastic, and I'm in love with the dresses pictured. Then I heard it men...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Leah K rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice

★ ★ ★ ★ ½ + heart

Synopsis off of Amazon: Set in 1950s London, The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets centers around Penelope, the wide- eyed daughter of a legendary beauty, Talitha, who lost her husband to the war. Penelope, with her mother and brother, struggles to maintain their vast and crumbling ancestral home—while postwar London spins toward the next decade’s cultural revolution.

Penelope wants nothing more than to fall in love, and when her new best frie...more

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Jul 08, 2010 Chana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: british, chick-lit, better-romance, fiction-family-drama, gothic

Penelope and Inigo Wallace live with their young, beautiful and widowed mother in a glorious, crumbling medieval English mansion. It is one of the last of the great houses and it is falling down around them as they have no money to keep it up. The year is 1954, Penelope is 18 and Inigo 16. Jonnie Ray is all the rage as a pop star, rationing has ended, the youth of England are bursting with life and change. Elvis Presley is about to be discovered in the U.S.
Into this setting enter Charlotte and...more

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Jan 20, 2010 Louise rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, 2010-01

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Snowbound at home and wanting to keep up the 50 books in a year challenge I started this book. I wanted a lighthearted read after reading the Outcast by Sadie Jones which was wonderful but quite depressing.

The book is about a girl called Penelope who lives with her widowed mother and brother (Inigo) in an old crumbling stately home. She is obsessed by the singer Johnnie Ray, whilst her brother is music mad on a new singer called Elvis Presley. Set in the 50’s it tells the story of how she meets...more Snowbound at home and wanting to keep up the 50 books in a year challenge I started this book. I wanted a lighthearted read after reading the Outcast by Sadie Jones which was wonderful but quite depressing.

The book is about a girl called Penelope who lives with her widowed mother and brother (Inigo) in an old crumbling stately home. She is obsessed by the singer Johnnie Ray, whilst her brother is music mad on a new singer called Elvis Presley. Set in the 50’s it tells the story of how she meets a girl called Charlotte (who is also Johnnie Ray mad), Charlotte’s aunt Clare and her cousin Harry (a magician). Harry is madly in love with an American (Marina) who is engaged to be married to someone else and convinces Penelope to pretend to be his girlfriend in order to make Marina jealous and want him back. The story is about the friendships between them all and the plot to win Marina back.

I think the title refers to many parts of the book but perhaps the main one being that Aunt Clare was once in love with Penelope’s father. In the present day, there is so much more communication through mobiles, texting, social networking sites etc that you never really seem to keep any secrets because your life is on show to all at all times. Sometimes I think this is quite sad, but other times I think it’s a good thing that it is so much easier to keep in touch with people and keep them updated.

The time frame of the 1950’s as the era in which the book is set is important. It sets the atmosphere, just post war, the music, rationing, money… all factors play a part in the story.

Penelope finds Charlotte fascinating as she is very similar to her but at the same time, completely different. For instance, both girls are 6ft, Penelope is embarrassed by her height, but Charlotte is as confident as one could be with herself. However, I think Penelope shocks herself by getting into the cab with Charlotte at the beginning of the book as this is something I would imagine is completely out of character for her. Again this is something that depicts the era that it is set in as you would NEVER get into a cab with a stranger these days… the world has become a very untrustworthy place!

I actually felt sad to have finished it. It’s one of those stories that could have been ongoing. It was a natural end but I would love to have kept on reading and seen how Penelope and Harry’s relationship developed. The book was amusing most of the time, very lighthearted, a few smiles along the way!

My favourite character is Charlotte. She is a talented independent girl who is incredibly confident in her own skin. Although her story is rather sad if you think about her relationship with her mother, I obviously wouldn’t want to take that on!

I think if I were to change anything I would like to change Inigo’s name, purely because I didn’t really know how to pronounce it. I looked it up and I was reading it as In-EE-go, though this never really felt right so I’m not sure if I had it right at all!!!

All stories were tied up nicely, though if a second book were written I should like to follow the relationship between Penelope and Harry, Penelope’s mother and Rocky, I would like to see Charlotte fall in love with someone suitable and I would like to see Inigo pursuing his music career. There’s a lot of scope for a second book!! The only question I would like answered is what did Aunt Clare actually die of?

I would love to read other work by Eva Rice, particularly the one about Enid Blyton characters, though I think that might be a non fiction book.
I would possibly read it again, it is lighthearted and feelgood enough to warrant a second read one day.

Oh and I LOVED the cover, the pink edged pages are so pretty. (less)

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Mar 13, 2012 Hannah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Review originally posted at Books Worth Remembering

This book came out in 2005 and was chosen for the Richard and Judy's book club; I saw a review of the book on TV at the time, it had a great response and it sounded like an interesting read. I won't lie, the front cover was definitely a contributing factor when purchasing the book (Once again it pays off to be vain when it comes to books), it is beautiful and stylises the story's retro feel.
After buying it, I fell instantly in love. It's written...more

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Nov 30, 2009 Alana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009_11_november, reviewed

My roommate does not really own or even buy books. When she moved in and I offered her a bookcase, she said she just needed two shelves. We both read a great deal; she just tends to read magazines, journals, or newspapers. The point of all this is that on a recent trip to London, she bought me a book, which was a big deal for her. It is one of her favorites and I found it to be quite charming.

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice (daughter of lyricist Tim Rice) is told from the perspective...more My roommate does not really own or even buy books. When she moved in and I offered her a bookcase, she said she just needed two shelves. We both read a great deal; she just tends to read magazines, journals, or newspapers. The point of all this is that on a recent trip to London, she bought me a book, which was a big deal for her. It is one of her favorites and I found it to be quite charming.

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice (daughter of lyricist Tim Rice) is told from the perspective of Penelope Wallace, an eighteen-year-old girl in 1950s London. Having grown up during the war, she finds herself part of a generation struggling to be young while they still can, listening to music their parents can't stand, falling in love with singers that embody their youths, and indulging in anything that might have once been rationed.

Penelope's family lives at Milton Magna, a medieval ancestral home that is crumbling around their ears and they can ill afford it. Penelope's father died in the war, leaving his very young widow with two young children and the weight of the house's crushing debt. Talitha, a once famed beauty and still devastatingly pretty, is only thirty-five, but rattles away in the house with only her children for comfort as she worries about their poverty. Penelope herself is rather tall and not quite as lovely as her mother (who is constantly being mistaken for her sister when they go out shopping together) Penelope's brother attends boarding school, returning home once in a while to fill the house with music from records that his mother dislikes.

The book starts with an uncharacteristically impulsive decision on the part of Penelope. While waiting for a bus, a pretty girl in a striking green coat announces that she'd like to split a taxi and Penelope takes her up on it. This is how Penelope meets Charlotte Ferris, a vivacious girl who designs her own clothes and shares Penelope's love of American singer Johnnie Rae. Charlotte whisks Penelope off to tea with her eccentric Aunt Clare (who evidently knew Penelope's family once, though Penelope cannot get her mother to say anything on the matter) and the girls become fast friends. Penelope also is introduced to Aunt Clare's son, Harry Delancey, a magician with different colored eyes. All kinds of things can happen to young women in London, particularly when Johnnie Ray is scheduled to come to town and some newcomer named Elvis Presley is just starting to create a new sound. In exchange for impossible-to-acquire Johnnie Ray tickets, Harry convinces Penelope to attend the engagement party of his old girlfriend and pose as Harry's new girlfriend so he can inspire enough jealousy in the old girlfriend to win her back. Through Charlotte and Harry, Penelope is introduced to a more social world of smart parties and society types beyond the oppressive walls of Magna while still she and her family struggles with their bond to the stately home.

If you enjoyed I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, then you'll find a kindred novel here, though perhaps this is less concerned with the pains of growing up in quite the same ways. There's a bit more poignancy to Smith's novel, but The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets is still quite lovely in its own right. Rice paints an interesting picture of post-war American-English relations, particularly emphasizing the importance of music. The emergence of Elvis Presley becomes a key moment in the life of Penelope's brother, who has his own musical aspirations. I found the mindset of the younger generation of characters (meaning Penelope, Charlotte, and so forth) to be quite interesting: these young people who grew up during the war and can hardly imagine a world without it, resulting in a somewhat skewed perspective that is attempting to right itself. Items like a new department store dress are incredibly precious and wonderful, which might seem trite, are actually poignant and lovely in a story that isn't beating you over the head with themes of poverty or the Depression.

The characters are charming, though perhaps too many crucial encounters depend on chance. While I found the general plot to be a bit predictable (once all the main players are accounted for, as a few people are introduced a bit late), I was not disappointed a bit. Charlotte and Penelope are very different kinds of girls, though their friendship (despite its odd origin) is believable as they both find something fascinating about the other. It's also pleasant to see a post-war friendship depicted, even in young people, where one of them doesn't do something terrible to the other, as I feel is so often the case in books or films about this period. Someone always seems to be stealing a boyfriend or telling a lie that results in painful loss... it was refreshing to not have such out-of-place drama here, and instead, we're simply dealing with relationships between people. And Rice is certainly more concerned with those relationships, often at the cost of setting descriptions. I should have liked to hear more about London at the time, but then, she has invested all her location description energy in Magna. This looming and historic estate is lovingly presented, evoking both its majesty and decay. The idea of a poor family living in an English estate is not a new concept, nor is the fact that it is such an albatross around the neck of the Wallace family, but Rice is compelling in her portrait of the family's complicated relationship with such a home.

Ultimately, The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets is a very charming novel with some minor flaws that can be easily forgiven. This would be a perfect novel for an afternoon where you might find yourself house-bound due to inclement weather (and be sure to have a cup of tea handy). I'm quite grateful to my roommate for introducing me to Eva Rice and even if there's only one copy of the novel in our apartment, at least I know it's one we're both pleased to see on the shelf.(less)

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Vintage Book Group: The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets	3	9	May 31, 2013 04:14am

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