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More Than You Know: A Novel
by
Penny Vincenzi (Goodreads Author)
It all comes down to love or money in a harrowing custody battle over a little girl, set against the glossy backdrop of the magazine and advertising worlds in 1960s London.
A privileged girl from a privileged class, Eliza has a dazzling career in the magazine world of the 1960s. But when she falls deeply in love with Matt, an edgy working-class boy, she gives up her ritzy...more
A privileged girl from a privileged class, Eliza has a dazzling career in the magazine world of the 1960s. But when she falls deeply in love with Matt, an edgy working-class boy, she gives up her ritzy...more
Hardcover, 585 pages
Published
April 3rd 2012
by Doubleday
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I loved this book and all the complexity it delivered. Its set in an era where wives are little more than babysitters, and the girl (I read this book quite some time ago, forgot her name) wants to break stereotypes and hold a high-profile job in a field where no one is irreplacable-and does so, well, until she meets her husband, Matt, who confines her to the house of duties of taking care of their child. Push comes to shove, and they file for divorce.
This book infuriated me because I am a self-p...more
This book infuriated me because I am a self-p...more
I love Penny Vincenzi, though I can’t tell you exactly why.
Part of it is the rich world she delivers. I know little about London in the 1960s, or about fashion magazines, or about real estate, but I was immediately drawn into Eliza and Matt’s lives. I enjoyed reading about how they flit in and out of each others’ lives before they marry. I also liked seeing the social changes happening in the world during that time period.
A larger part of it is the dialogue. Vincenzi relies heavily upon dialogue...more
Part of it is the rich world she delivers. I know little about London in the 1960s, or about fashion magazines, or about real estate, but I was immediately drawn into Eliza and Matt’s lives. I enjoyed reading about how they flit in and out of each others’ lives before they marry. I also liked seeing the social changes happening in the world during that time period.
A larger part of it is the dialogue. Vincenzi relies heavily upon dialogue...more
This book is an extremely readable novel. Set in the 1960's it is the story of a marriage which founders under the weight of it's own passion. The backdrop is swinging London with lavish references to the social and fashion world. Names, from designer Mary Quant, model Jean Shrimpton and photgrapher David Bailey are dropped.
Eliza comes from the upper class of debs and royal presentations but scorns suitable marriage prospects and longs to be involved and write about the fashion world. Her husban...more
Eliza comes from the upper class of debs and royal presentations but scorns suitable marriage prospects and longs to be involved and write about the fashion world. Her husban...more
A great big, juicy read, "More Than You Know" is author Penny Vincenzi's homage to the glamorously gritty and endlessly fascinating period of history known as "The Sixties". Radical, revolutionary, and refreshingly ridiculous, the 1960's swept away remaining traces of the after-war fifties, and set the stage for the upcoming platform-shoed seventies. Set in high-fashion, high-drama London, and taking the reader to some of the most fabulous cities around the world, "More Than You Know" is also th...more
Posh fashion editor Eliza Clark defies beginning to crumble class barriers by falling hard for working class, self-made property developer Matt Shaw in the trendy London of the swinging 60s and early 70s. It’s a passionate relationship that ends in divorce and a fearsome custody battle—this isn’t a spoiler because the book opens on the day before the judge’s decision in 1971, then hops back to 1958 when Eliza, in mid-curtsey to the Queen, decides it’s time to rid herself of her virginity. Eliza...more
This book has been languishing on my TBR shelf for a few months now. I have picked it up started it and then stopped and picked up something else to read. Well I finally broke down and decided to stop procrastinating and read MORE THAN YOU KNOW by Penny Vincenzi. Now I know why it took me so long to read this tome. The story is akin to a rehash of an old Jeffrey Archer or Danielle Steel plot from their halcyon days in the 1970’s and 80’s. Both Archer and Steel’s writing formulas were fairly cons...more
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More Than You Know
By
Penny Vincenzi
What's it all about?
Matt and Eliza and their long long road to unhappiness...their story is the heart of this book but there are many other key characters and their stories that intertwine with Matt and Eliza's.
What are my thoughts?
My thoughts are everywhere...so many characters and so much to think about while so much is going on!!!
I loved every word of this lovely long English novel. It was my perfect cup of English tea although most of the characters were cof...more
By
Penny Vincenzi
What's it all about?
Matt and Eliza and their long long road to unhappiness...their story is the heart of this book but there are many other key characters and their stories that intertwine with Matt and Eliza's.
What are my thoughts?
My thoughts are everywhere...so many characters and so much to think about while so much is going on!!!
I loved every word of this lovely long English novel. It was my perfect cup of English tea although most of the characters were cof...more
1 like · like · see review
Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com...
More Than You Know is a saga of a family and the people who surround them. It is set in 1960s London in the world of high fashion and real estate. It is the story of Eliza, a woman from the "upper" class of London, and Matt, a working-class man making his own way in the world. It is the story of how they come together, the family they create, and how that family falls apart and comes together.
More Than You Know is also th...more
More Than You Know is a saga of a family and the people who surround them. It is set in 1960s London in the world of high fashion and real estate. It is the story of Eliza, a woman from the "upper" class of London, and Matt, a working-class man making his own way in the world. It is the story of how they come together, the family they create, and how that family falls apart and comes together.
More Than You Know is also th...more
Penny Vincenzi is a guilty pleasure. Although associated with the likes of Daniele Steele and Nora Roberts (both who are not pleasures)Vincenzi is a great storyteller rather than a formulaic novelist. I love her insights into English class struggles as she writes about those at the bottom longing to be at the top and those at the top who take it for granted until they find themselves on the bottom. The first novel I read of hers was No Angel, an historical first book in a series, is of a small p...more
I generally like Penny Vincenzi for a good family saga, beach read. But this one made me so angry I couldn't even finish it. Upper class Eliza becomes a fashion editor and marries working class Matt. As their marriage goes through struggles, Eliza must decide if its worth it to go to work, and fights for her daughter and her family home in a bitter divorce.
Eliza wants to go to work, and Vincenzi clearly intends us all to agree with her awful husband, who is the "no wife of mine will work for a...more
Eliza wants to go to work, and Vincenzi clearly intends us all to agree with her awful husband, who is the "no wife of mine will work for a...more
This book has been making me late for work. There is the posh sister-brother pair, Eliza and Charles, and the working class sister-brother pair, Scarlet and Matt. It's London in the 60's. Eliza has a career she loves. And I love that Vincenzi loves women characters who love work, and are smart, and great looking, and have great adventures, and are vulnerable. Not finished yet, but loving it....
Eliza and Matt are a fiery combination, date, find each other exciting, get pregnant, get married. Matt...more
Eliza and Matt are a fiery combination, date, find each other exciting, get pregnant, get married. Matt...more
This book is hard for me to rate. It was more like a 3.5 star for me. There were things that I loved and other things that I cared for less.
What I loved; the author has a very easy writing style she is descriptive and the story flows easily. You want to laugh and cheer and yell at the characters all at the same time. There is a glamorous picture of the rich and famous in the fashion world of London in the late sixties and early seventies. The book is fun and the fashion references are amazing....more
What I loved; the author has a very easy writing style she is descriptive and the story flows easily. You want to laugh and cheer and yell at the characters all at the same time. There is a glamorous picture of the rich and famous in the fashion world of London in the late sixties and early seventies. The book is fun and the fashion references are amazing....more
Really, I wanted to give this one star, but since I like Vincenzi so much normally, I bumped it up.
What a disappointment! After waiting and waiting for her new book, I could not believe the drivel I was reading. The 2 main characters, Matt and Eliza, were both so unsympathetic. His character enraged me; he was such a misogynistic asshole. And Eliza completely let him treat her like utter crap. For someone who was working so high up in the fashion world before her marriage, this was a pretty big...more
What a disappointment! After waiting and waiting for her new book, I could not believe the drivel I was reading. The 2 main characters, Matt and Eliza, were both so unsympathetic. His character enraged me; he was such a misogynistic asshole. And Eliza completely let him treat her like utter crap. For someone who was working so high up in the fashion world before her marriage, this was a pretty big...more
Nicely written and compelling story about a family's breakdown during the 60s & 70s in London and environs. The issues of class, insecurities, gender stereotypes and societal change are all handled quite well, making for a readable novel.
Unfortunately, the ending was a bit strange to me and perhaps not terribly representative of the disintegrated marriages I have seen. The judge's ruling was absurd although I would have to believe some research was done in that regard. And lastly, even thoug...more
Unfortunately, the ending was a bit strange to me and perhaps not terribly representative of the disintegrated marriages I have seen. The judge's ruling was absurd although I would have to believe some research was done in that regard. And lastly, even thoug...more
Buying a new Penny Vincenzi is like buying a new lipstick - completely unnecessary, but feelgood and world-brightening (is that a word?!) Like Marian Keyes, I have yet to be disappointed by a Penny Vincenzi novel. Do they make me a better person? No. But I still love them.
Things I like about Penny Vincenzi:
1. Value for Money (as a doorstop when you have finished reading) They are enormous!
2. The vast cast of characters. So much so that she usually includes a list at the beginning of each book....more
Things I like about Penny Vincenzi:
1. Value for Money (as a doorstop when you have finished reading) They are enormous!
2. The vast cast of characters. So much so that she usually includes a list at the beginning of each book....more
This is a Not-So-Closet Geek review: http://not-so-cg.blogspot.com
This was my first Penny Vincenzi novel, and I've found reading it to be a rewarding, if not pleasant, experience.
More Than You Know follows two people from different worlds as they stumble into love and later crash out of it. It elegantly shows how a marriage with so much love can go so wrong. This is the first time I've read an up-close portrayal of a divorce and found it successful in it's representation. The pain in this novel...more
This was my first Penny Vincenzi novel, and I've found reading it to be a rewarding, if not pleasant, experience.
More Than You Know follows two people from different worlds as they stumble into love and later crash out of it. It elegantly shows how a marriage with so much love can go so wrong. This is the first time I've read an up-close portrayal of a divorce and found it successful in it's representation. The pain in this novel...more
I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Great pacing in this novel--a few paragraphs on one character, then a few on another. It makes for a quick read. I rarely read synopses of books before I read them & there is a prologue here which hung over & clouded everything I read--I just wait for that to happen. I do not like knowing the outcome before I read it! This "hero" is horrible! Not at all attractive. He treats everyone terribly. Constantly, I questioned why the he...more
Great pacing in this novel--a few paragraphs on one character, then a few on another. It makes for a quick read. I rarely read synopses of books before I read them & there is a prologue here which hung over & clouded everything I read--I just wait for that to happen. I do not like knowing the outcome before I read it! This "hero" is horrible! Not at all attractive. He treats everyone terribly. Constantly, I questioned why the he...more
This is one of those times that if there was a 1/2 star option, I would give this book 3 1/2 stars. And, quite frankly, it would depend at what point in the book I was asked to rate it. I have read one other Vincenzi book, and loved it. This one took a lot longer to get into, and even then, there where several points when I really did consider giving up on it, which is quite rare for me. The main issue that I kept coming back to was that frankly, I couldn't stand either of the main characters, M...more
I got this book by accident, it has the same title as another I wanted to read. But it seemed interesting enough. But it infuriated me. I never considered myself a feminist until I was reading this book and wanting to alternately strangle the main character and her husband. It was so hard to remember that the book was set in the 60s and 70 s, thus the opinions and characters were formed of the time. I can say the author certainly nailed the coming-of-feminism characters. But personally, I can't...more
"More Than You Know" was an absorbing story beginning in the late 50's and ending in the early 70's. The book starts off a bit slowly, but picks up speed. All of Penny Vincenzi's characters are well written and dimensional.I particularly liked the character of Matt's sister Scarlett, who seemed to be one of the few people in the story with her head on straight. I found Matt to be a bit one dimensional with few redeeming qualities. It is a very character driven book but sometimes it seemed as tho...more
More Than You Know
bY: Penny Vincenzi
I won this from a Goodreads/First reads giveaway
This book starts in the 60's and works it's way through a 20 year span. There are a lot of characters and includes a list of Characters in the front of the book so you can keep them straight. (This comes in very handy).
This book takes you to London, Milan, Paris and Greece. The background is the magazine and advertising world. Eliza falls in love with Matt, working class, and gives everthing up to get married. Th...more
bY: Penny Vincenzi
I won this from a Goodreads/First reads giveaway
This book starts in the 60's and works it's way through a 20 year span. There are a lot of characters and includes a list of Characters in the front of the book so you can keep them straight. (This comes in very handy).
This book takes you to London, Milan, Paris and Greece. The background is the magazine and advertising world. Eliza falls in love with Matt, working class, and gives everthing up to get married. Th...more
I am huge Penny Vincenzi fan. I try to only read her books when I know I will be off work or on vacation, because I don't want to put them down.
I got this book on Friday night and finished by Sunday night. As always it's a well written book with twists and turns you just don't expect. So well written, I felt like I was part of book. I got emotional for the charactors. I was actually quite diappointed when I finished the book, as I really wanted it to keep going, I wanted to know more.
I don't wri...more
I got this book on Friday night and finished by Sunday night. As always it's a well written book with twists and turns you just don't expect. So well written, I felt like I was part of book. I got emotional for the charactors. I was actually quite diappointed when I finished the book, as I really wanted it to keep going, I wanted to know more.
I don't wri...more
A big, fat (600 pages), drama-laden, superficial, absorbing, escapist beach read. Set in 1960s "classless" London, the story follows rich debutante slash fashion editor Eliza and her romance with working-class-guy-turned-self-made-millionaire Matt. The cast of characters is huge beyond those two, with several overlapping, intertwining stories. The rich are all glamorous, the working-class are all drop-dead sexy, and the houses, parties, and travel (Milan, Greece) are all divine. Colorfully writt...more
Originally reviewed on Cozy Up With A Good Read
When I started this book I was not quite sure what I was getting into, I've heard a lot about Penny Vincenzi but never actually read anything by her. I also really enjoy books by European authors, especially English/Irish ones, I just seem to enjoy the different setting. I was expecting this to be a big court battle (a little like Jodi Picoult's novels). What I actually got was something so different and yet amazing! I found myself continually surpr...more
When I started this book I was not quite sure what I was getting into, I've heard a lot about Penny Vincenzi but never actually read anything by her. I also really enjoy books by European authors, especially English/Irish ones, I just seem to enjoy the different setting. I was expecting this to be a big court battle (a little like Jodi Picoult's novels). What I actually got was something so different and yet amazing! I found myself continually surpr...more
I was happy to see a new book by this author. But after getting comfortable and opening up the book to immerse myself in the make believe world of the rich, I was SO disappointed. It seemed like the characters weren't quite real, made up and hard to relate to, emotionally as well as every other way. I read the first 100 pgs (as I always do, to give it a chance) and skimmed the rest. Sorry, this story didn't do it for me. I'm not even going to go into the story line. If you're really interested,...more
More Than You Know was quite enjoyable. I was fascinated by how the different class systems of England and the revolution of the 1960's and 1970's were woven together. Eliza is a beautiful, intelligent, debutante that's presented at the Queen's court; that is determined to get a real job and not get married and have babies. Matt grew up the hard way and has decided that he will make millions in property. After they meet several times sparks fly and they marry against almost everyone's wishes. Ma...more
"More Than You Know" is billed as the story Eliza Clark, whose stormy marriage to Matt Shaw serves as the centerpiece of the book. But Eliza and Matt are just the beginning, and the reader is served notice by a two-page listing of a "Cast of Characters" before the book gets under way. Keeping these characters in line is no mean feat.
It's worth the effort. The 20-some years spanned by the story are brought alive in London, Milan, Paris and even a small island off the coast of Greece. Characters r...more
It's worth the effort. The 20-some years spanned by the story are brought alive in London, Milan, Paris and even a small island off the coast of Greece. Characters r...more
Jul 20, 2012
MountainShelby
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audio-reviews
In this novel of hijinks among the wealthy London set, Eliza is a privileged debutante turned successful working girl vying for success in the high fashion industry in 1960s London. She's gorgeous, savvy, intelligent, and ambitious--the toast of the town. Her story glitters with fascinating details about the world of fashion before the advent of the Internet, plastic surgery, and “women’s lib.” But while the details are fresh, the plot eventually takes a familiar turn: Eliza dumps her high socie...more
This was an interesting story to listen to as we follow the social circles of all the characters involved. Not only do we get an up close look at Eliza's life, but we also get to see things from Matt's perspective as well. Getting to know Matt and Eliza's siblings was like the icing on the cake.
After Eliza ends an engagement, she finds herself falling in love with Matt, a self-made entrepreneur. A whirlwind romance results in a wedding between the two, leaving Eliza compromising the life she led...more
After Eliza ends an engagement, she finds herself falling in love with Matt, a self-made entrepreneur. A whirlwind romance results in a wedding between the two, leaving Eliza compromising the life she led...more
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I was nine years old when I embarked on my storytelling career. I wrote my own magazine called “Stories”, which I copied out three times on carbon paper and sold for two...more
More about Penny Vincenzi...
I was nine years old when I embarked on my storytelling career. I wrote my own magazine called “Stories”, which I copied out three times on carbon paper and sold for two...more
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updated May 12, 2013 02:43am