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Park Lane

2.58 of 5 stars 2.58 · rating details · 318 ratings · 92 reviews

London, February 1914. Eighteen year-old Grace Campbell arrives in London from Carlisle, her family's hopes pinned on her becoming a secretary. The only job she can find is as a housemaid in the mansion that is Number 35, Park Lane, and soon she is entangling herself in an ever-thickening web of lies. Upstairs, a jilted and humiliated Beatrice Masters is determined not to...more

Paperback, 320 pages

Published June 12th 2012 by Virago Press Ltd. (first published June 1st 2012)

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Sep 03, 2012 Caitlin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Picked up an Advanced Readers Copy of this book at a used bookstore back in April. At that point it was still several months until its publication. Now, the book has been out for 10 days, and I *just* finished it. That's how dull it was.

This book should have been right up my alley -- a period piece set in London with purported romantic intrigue. Sadly that romance was essentially non-existent. And the book's ending was wholly frustrating.

The only moment that was worth recording here was when B...more

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Apr 04, 2013 Dacia rated it 1 of 5 stars

I was very unimpressed with this book. My friend, Julia's review said it perfectly so I will just copy her review here. "This book was a big let down. Ms. Osborne is a historical writer and the book was described as a cross between "Downton Abbey" and "Upstairs Downstairs". Sounds like a winning combination. Sadly, it was very apparent that Ms. Osborne is not used to writing fiction. While she researched the book well and included things that are factually true, she did not develop the character...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Gaby rated it 3 of 5 stars

I've been fascinated with World War I and the years following it. This fascination goes beyond my fondness for Downton Abbey, Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series and the Charles Todd series of Detective Inspector Ian Rutledge, Bess Crawford mysteries. So when given the opportunity to read another well regarded book set in the period, I grabbed at the chance.

Park Lane is largely told from two perspectives: that of Bea Masters from "upstairs" whose family is known for its railroad money and...more I've been fascinated with World War I and the years following it. This fascination goes beyond my fondness for Downton Abbey, Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series and the Charles Todd series of Detective Inspector Ian Rutledge, Bess Crawford mysteries. So when given the opportunity to read another well regarded book set in the period, I grabbed at the chance.

Park Lane is largely told from two perspectives: that of Bea Masters from "upstairs" whose family is known for its railroad money and Grace, a young girl working as a second housemaid in the Masters household.

We are first introduced to Grace and learn that she's entered service without informing her family. Her own mother's family owned textile mills but the family fortune has long since dissipated and while Grace has trained to serve as a secretary, she has had no luck securing a position. It was after weeks of unemployment that she resorted to applying as a housemaid. Her fellow servants regard her with some suspicion as they can tell she's no experience in service. Grace keeps up a good front, hiding her position from her family, sending money home to help support her parents and younger siblings, and in her time off trying to improve her typing and secretarial skills. As Grace settles into life at Park Lane, she finds herself slowly growing accustomed to the life and fighting a romantic entanglement until the War breaks.

When we meet Bea Masters, she is recovering from a bad love affair and is looking for purpose. She falls in with the more extreme Suffragettes and begins clandestinely assisting them in their more daring exploits. Encounters with the police, violence, escapes, and a chance meeting with a young man leads Bea to an unexpected path. The War breaks her ties with the Suffragettes and she volunteers to drive ambulances in France.

While I sympathized with Grace, I quickly grew impatient with and frustrated with Bea. This detracted from my enjoyment of Park Lane. However, the book seems to reflect the period quite well and I'd recommend it to others who are fond of historical fiction.

ISBN-10: 0345803280 - Paperback $15.95
Publisher: Vintage (June 12, 2012), 336 pages.
Review copy courtesy of the Amazon Vine Program and the publisher. (less)

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Aug 21, 2012 Laurie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book follows two women who live in a mansion on Park Lane: Bea, the single, recently jilted, daughter who still lives at home, and Grace, working as a housemaid despite her secretarial training because her lower class, northern accent bars her from London office work. Both Grace and Bea have secrets; Grace has told her family that she’s doing respectable office work rather than being a maid; Bea is joining her aunt as a follower of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, while Bea’s mother has long...more This book follows two women who live in a mansion on Park Lane: Bea, the single, recently jilted, daughter who still lives at home, and Grace, working as a housemaid despite her secretarial training because her lower class, northern accent bars her from London office work. Both Grace and Bea have secrets; Grace has told her family that she’s doing respectable office work rather than being a maid; Bea is joining her aunt as a follower of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, while Bea’s mother has long supported the non-violent suffragists. Bea and Grace are at the opposite ends of the social hierarchy in the house- and personality. Bea is an excitement junkie; loving fast cars and motorcycles, the thrilling fear at the suffragette rallies, fast ambulance driving practically on the front, and meeting a man who is ‘not of her class’. Grace seeks safety and worries constantly about not living up to family expectations.

Divided into years, the story covers 1914 to 1923 (with a gap between 1918 and 1923). This is a tumultuous age in England; WW I, socialism and the women’s suffrage movement all changed the lives of rich and poor alike. There is violence at the suffragette rallies, incredible loss of life in the trenches of WW I, post traumatic stress for both men and women (who drive ambulances in the war zones and nurse the torn up men), class differences come to mean a *little* less, and women gain more freedom well before they get the vote.

I enjoyed the book- I find the era fascinating (while a fan of Downton, I first was introduced to the era when PBS ran ‘The Forsyte Saga’ way back around 1970) and Osborne knows the time intimately- she had to, to write the brilliant biography ‘The Bolter’- and she has a great power of description. But I feel the book could have been better. Bea comes off as rather hard and it’s difficult to sympathize with her. Grace likable enough, but passages about things she goes through that should make us terrified for her are a bit flat. One character who connects the two women, Grace’s brother Michael, seems like he was created only to connect them- he’s introduced as a socialist, a budding writer, but he doesn’t really do anything with it. A subplot about sneaking books out of the house to him starts out extremely tense but is allowed to peter out to nothing. Because of these faults, I’m afraid I can only give the book four stars. But remember that this is Osborne’s first fiction book- when that’s taken into consideration, it’s pretty great.
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Mar 20, 2013 Jenny GB rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what I expected when I picked this up, but there was a quote about it being sort of similar to Downtown Abbey. I haven't watched that series just yet, but I hope it's more exciting and has a bit more humor in it. The story revolves around two women, Grace who is trained as a typist but works as a housemaid for a wealthy (yet declining) family. Bea is a daughter in this family and she is feeling restricted by her age and class. She longs to do something worthwhile and finds herself i...more

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Oct 09, 2012 Wendy rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: No one

Shelves: anglophilia, fiction

Perhaps it is breaking the rules to rate and review a book that I decided not to finish, but what can I say -- I'm a rebel. I read Osborne's The Bolter: Edwardian Heartbreak and High Society Scandal in Kenya which is her non-fiction account of her great Grandmother Idina and her Happy Valley set. It was a really interesting and fun book to read. So, I began Park Lane with high expectations. It had all the ingredients for a terrific book -- set in pre-War London with the contrast of stories betwe...more

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Sep 19, 2012 Kris Irvin rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: didn-t-finish, bad-books

Holy cow, this book is SO SLOW. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who sees that. I'm on page 45 and absolutely nothing has happened. I might skim the rest, but it's so boring there's really no reason for me to continue. If you want a good period drama, read Kate Morton's works instead. She's much more interesting than Frances Ozzzzzzzzborne.

I really hate the style it's written in. It's like first person present tense with almost zero dialogue, plus alternating points of view.

Grace laug

...more

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Sep 08, 2012 Carolynn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, historical-fiction, library-books, unfinished

This combination of 'Upstairs Downton', and 'Testament of Youth' with some suffragettes thrown in for good measure should have had me gripped but I'm taking it back to the library today only two thirds of the way through and I'm not sure why. It's a tale of two women - Bea, rich upper class suffragette, and Grace one of the maids in Bea's house - and their lives just before, during and after WWI. I think Frances Osborne lost me when she had Bea meeting Grace's radical brother in the middle of a...more

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Oct 13, 2012 Sharon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: england, historical-fiction

It is a real shame when a book that should based on its premise, be gripping and fascinating from page 1, takes nearly 200 pages to get going.

Sadly, that's the case with Frances Osborne's "Park Lane," the story of two young women from contrasting worlds. Grace goes to work in a large house on London's Park Lane, serving as a housemaid, while telling her family that she is working in an office during the onset of WWI. She has ambitions in that direction and wants to better herself. Her brother, M...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Alex rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, historical

Bea and Grace. Grace and Bea. Fiddle de dee.

This book as been touted as a wink and an homage to Downton Abbey. Or, I guess, it's been compared to Dowton Abbey. However, this is not a fair comparison because Downton Abby is rife with characterization and detailed, purposeful plot. This is all emotion, no payout.

We meet Grace, a maid at Park Lane, where Bea lives. Their lives do not coincide as much as the jacket cover promises. Grace attends to Bea and we learn that Bea like Grace, but only bec...more Bea and Grace. Grace and Bea. Fiddle de dee.

This book as been touted as a wink and an homage to Downton Abbey. Or, I guess, it's been compared to Dowton Abbey. However, this is not a fair comparison because Downton Abby is rife with characterization and detailed, purposeful plot. This is all emotion, no payout.

We meet Grace, a maid at Park Lane, where Bea lives. Their lives do not coincide as much as the jacket cover promises. Grace attends to Bea and we learn that Bea like Grace, but only because the author tells us this is the case. Their interactions are kept very sparse.

The writing style is laborious, trying to incorporate dialect and I assume a sense of propriety that is in keeping with the time period. Instead it plods along. The writing LITERALLY PLODS, PEOPLE. It is unnecessarily difficult in a way that the arrangement of words on the page makes comprehension less than effortless, and more like trying to a sit up with a heavy tomcat lying on your stomach: achievable, but awkward. And it is not that I do not like to be challenge, it is rather that the challenge is not rewarding.

The chapters flip flop between Grace and Bea, from their point of view. Even though we are seeing through them, essentially, we still managed to learn very little about them despite it. We know that Bea is very invested in the suffragette movement. Her motivations become less and less apparent as she goes from bored heiress to suffragette to war volunteer. It is clear Bea wants freedom. But it is not clear how she changes throughout. I could never get the sense of whether or not I liked Bea. I could never get a sense of whether or not Bea actually HAD a mind of her own or a motivation. Thrown in a sort of... irrelevant and loosely written love interest that connects Bea to Grace and... meh. Just meh.

Grace absolutely disappears in the second half of the book. We find out why later, and in the end I found that I rather wished the chapters would have focused more on Grace and less on Bea.

What the book does well is tell a story of war. It does a great job of showing the sadness and change that wartime brings, the changes that occur in people who aren't even TRYING to change but simply do because they are adapting and coping. The author plays the suffragette movement against this concept very well. There is a lot of sadness in this book, and not in the satisfactory sort of way. It is mostly in a way that leaves the reader feeling tired of the whole thing.(less)

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Jul 19, 2012 Brenda Hawley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Very Downtown Abbey-esque- 1914-1923- an aristocratic English family is torn apart by Womens' suffrage and World War II as class lines crumble and the old order dies away. Two young women- one the daughter of the house and the other a lower servant- dream of excitement and love while most of the males of their acquaintance go off to die in the trenches. A twist of fate brings Miss Beatrice into the orb of the servant's brother- a lowly law clerk. Can she marry him and move into a slummy flat and...more

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Sep 19, 2012 Connie Fischer rated it 4 of 5 stars

"Park Lane" is a novel that captures that most evolving time in history - the turn of the century. Society is changing along with industrial improvements and inventions. It presents the dedicated work and pain that the suffragettes endured to get the vote for women. We also see the changes of England as World War I approaches. The differences between the "haves" and "have nots" are clearly depicted. The suffering of the soldiers as the war is in full swing and the sacrifices of not only the sold...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Christine Rebbert rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Could have been good, but seemed to really get off track... Set in London, early 19-teens, kind of an "Upstairs, Downstairs" set-up with what's going on with various characters both above and below stairs. I was liking the part about Beatrice, the young privileged daughter, going to volunteer among the suffragette, but then it just all wandered off into other areas. The relationship between Beatrice and the young anarchist Michael was totally ridiculous -- well, come to think of it, all the rela...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Joanray04 rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book of historical fiction. It starts in 1914 when England experiences the first challenges to their staid, rigid class conventions. It focuses on two different attitudes to the burgeoning women's movement from the radical suffragettes to those who propose more peaceful methods. A young woman from the pedigreed upper class, Beatrice, struggles to find her place and purpose in the world through her involvement with women's rights and WW I. She moves from a life of parties and leisu...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Elaine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I choose a book to read, the first thing I do is read the summary. If I’m still interested, I will give it the “first page test” (especially if it’s an author that I haven’t read before). If I like the way the first page is written, then I’m good to go.

I forgot to give “Park Lane” the “first page test.” As I started reading it, I was immediately disappointed. I found Frances Osborne’s style of writing a little hard to follow. I was even considering stopping and going on to read something...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Caroline M. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Grace and Bea live in a grand London house; Grace is one of the maids, while Bea is the why-isn't-she-married-yet? younger daughter of the family, whose fortunes, made by the grandfather's railroad building, are declining. The novel opens in 1914 and follows the two women through World War 1 to 1923.

Sound a little familiar?

To Osborne's credit, the novel is inspired loosely by her own family history (which she wrote about in her previous book, The Bolter), but still, it's a very Downton Abbey sto...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Anna rated it 1 of 5 stars

As a huge fan of Downton Abbey and historical drama in general, I was very excited to read this novel. Unfortunately, the writing style was awkward, and a story that could have been very interesting ended up being rushed and choppy. I think the author was trying to do too much by having both Bea's and Grace's perspectives in the book, and as a result, neither is particularly well-developed. A lot of novels, TV shows, etc. about this era tend to have similar storylines and characters, but most of...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Annie Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: galleys-free

We start out with two very different women in 1914, the privileged Beatrice and the housemaid Grace who both reside at 35 park Lane.
As do most wealthy women of that era who are not occupied with a family of their own they tend to get bored as does Bea & to her credit she does want to make a difference so she takes up the cause of the suffragettes with a little enticing by her wild and mysterious aunt Celeste (whom I really enjoyed & would have loved to read more about!) she becomes ve...more

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Aug 03, 2012 Maia B. rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: awful-awful-heroine, boring, could-not-finish, historical, horrible-ending, mediocre-writing, nothing-special, vile-characters, abominations

First, "books appealing to Downton Abbey fans" is NOT a genre. I don't know how any self-respecting writer could take that seriously.

Second, this book is the worst novel I have read for some time. The writing is strange stream-of-consciousness mixed with some brief, random obscenity. The characters are, every one of them, miserable, pathetic, time-wasting monsters, who frankly made me feel ill. The plot is bland, predictable, and unpleasant.

Honestly, there's not a single positive thing about thi...more

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Apr 27, 2013 Stevie Carroll rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This seems to be a book people either love or hate. I definitely fall into the former camp, although I found the narrative style took a couple of chapters to get used to. The two protagonists are linked not only by their address, but also by their separate meetings with Michael Campbell: a series of coincidences I'm prepared to accept in this instance. Incredibly well researched on both sides of the class divide (well, it would be, given that it's written by a biographer), this book isn't afraid...more

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Jul 16, 2012 Emily rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book should have been right up my alley, but alas, it was not to be. The pace is very, very slow-going. It picks up a bit at the end, but I had to force myself to get to that point. As a person who works daily in the written word, I noticed some editing errors and just felt the novel could have done with a good trimming in places. I also didn't like the ending, but that is just my personal taste. Overall, I was disappointed. I felt misled by the comparisons I heard to "Downton Abbey" and th...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Joyce rated it 2 of 5 stars

I am having hard time writing about this book as I don't want to be too harsh. I was expecting to read a rousing tale about a bored London socialite who gets involved in the fight for women’s rights. Well, there is a smattering of the suffragist movement and then it skips on to WWI and the fight for women’s vote is forgotten except for a small mention near the end of the book. I was disappointed that no story line was resolved, but rather rambled on into the next setting. There was only a cursor...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Julia rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book was a big let down. I heard an interview with the author on NPR and so I had high hopes. Ms. Osborne is a historical writer and the book was described as a cross between "Downton Abbey" and "Upstairs Downstairs". Sounds like a winning combination. Sadly, it was very apparent that Ms. Osborne is not used to writing fiction. While she researched the book well and included things that are factually true, she did not develop the characters well at all and the book jumps around a lot. It se...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Bookworm1858 rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2012, historical-fiction

I was very excited about this book since the publisher blurb compared it to Downton Abbey, a beloved TV series for me. However that excitement was dampened when I glanced at the goodreads reviews beforehand and saw that they were decidedly negative.

First this book was very difficult to get into. It begins in 1914 and goes to 1923 for an epilogue, alternating between Grace, a maid, and Bea, the young lady of the house. Grace is just settling in to her new position and the writing style, instead o...more I was very excited about this book since the publisher blurb compared it to Downton Abbey, a beloved TV series for me. However that excitement was dampened when I glanced at the goodreads reviews beforehand and saw that they were decidedly negative.

First this book was very difficult to get into. It begins in 1914 and goes to 1923 for an epilogue, alternating between Grace, a maid, and Bea, the young lady of the house. Grace is just settling in to her new position and the writing style, instead of smooth and inviting, was ragged and rough. There were a lot of passages where I was kind of confused about what was happening or what the relationship between the characters was. I don't want everything to be spelled out for me but I would have appreciated more smoothness and clarity.

Second it presumes a certain level of familiarity with British history with the battle for women's suffrage playing a huge role in the early chapters. One of the main characters Bea has a mother and an aunt (her father's sister) on opposing sides of the battle. But not because one opposes giving women the vote. In fact, both are in favor but the aunt prefers more radical actions while the mother is more conservative, trying to patiently push it through her Parliament connections. This was *so* confusingly presented and not explained until the Historical Note at the end.

And third this book was overall very depressing. Grace is in service as her dreams of being a secretary were dashed and lowered her earning potential. Then Bea was jilted by her love and seems on the brink of spinsterhood. Add in more ruined relationships and the tragedy of WWI and this is just not a happy book. I can handle sad books of course but I guess I was hoping for more of the happiness that balances out Downton Abbey. It is not present here and quite frankly I only finished this book through pure doggedness.

Cover: I find the cover misleading-if the insides were as cool as the cover, this book would have been more my taste.(less)

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Apr 09, 2013 Connie rated it 5 of 5 stars

PARK LANE takes place in England during 1914-1923. It is realistic, historical fiction that describes in bleak detail the lives of Londoners (of all social classes) during this period.

I picked this book due to my recent fascination with this place and period due to the popularity of DOWNTON ABBEY.

However, I believe that PARK LANE is more historically accurate.

I found it interesting that the author, Frances Osborne, is the great-granddaughter of the infamous Idina Sackville.

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Dec 28, 2012 Cindy S rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 10, 2012 Maggie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, england, fiction, historical-fiction, i-own

It read like a mashed together version of Downton Abbey right down to the odd time cuts. I think it would have been much better if it kept it's current length but focused on a smaller amount of time as part of a series or if it was maybe twice as long. Also, like another reviewer I wasn't always sure who I was reading about and there were a few times the author used the wrong name which made it even more confusing.

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Sep 17, 2012 Gail rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kcls, fiction

I'm upset that it ended at the point where it did because what I was most interested in was the aftermath of everybody finding out the real connections among them. I especially missed Grace's voice in the years of the war. It was sorely missing.

What I loved about this book is the way it transported me into the time period and made me feel like I knew these people personally. All were sympathetic and felt like real people. I guess that's why I felt just a little bit cheated with the ending. I wan...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Katie Hurst rated it 1 of 5 stars

It reads a little rough - very stop and go. I'd be reading about one character and the story would suddenly jump into the another character's thoughts/story. Felt like I backtracked a lot. Was this story adapted as the 'Dowton Abbey' series? The story lines were incredibly similar. If so, I like how the book gets more into the torture war creates within the men. That's hard to convey sometimes on camera.

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May 09, 2013 Lynda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another great read from Frances Osborne,'The Bolter' is still one of my favourite books of all time!

This book really had me gripped and didn't want to put it down.I loved the war the story worked through the First World War and the whole Suffragete struggle and the characters were well written but I desperately wanted a happy ending for the main characters which didn't exactly happen but was a really good read.

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About Frances Osborne

Frances Osborne was born in London and studied philosophy and modern languages at Oxford University. She is the author of two biographies; Lilla's Feast and The Bolter: Idina Sackville. Her first historical novel, Park Lane, will be published Summer 2012. Her articles have appeared in The Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Independent, the Daily Mail, and Vogue. She lives in London with her husband,...more

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Books by Frances Osborne

The Bolter: Edwardian Heartbreak and High Society Scandal in Kenya

Lilla's Feast: One Woman's True Story of Love and War in the Orient

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