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11th out of 59 books
—
44 voters
No Angel (The Spoils of Time #1)
by
Penny Vincenzi (Goodreads Author)
No Angel is an irresistibly sweeping saga of power, family politics, and passion-a riveting drama and a fervent love story. Celia Lytton is the beautiful and strong-willed daughter of wealthy aristocrats and she is used to getting her way. She moves through life making difficult and often dangerous decisions that affect herself and others-her husband, Oliver, and their chi...more
Paperback, 626 pages
Published
October 5th 2004
by Overlook TP
(first published January 1st 2000)
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I walked into the Corner Bookstore while visiting New York City completely exhausted with aching feet and two cranky kids. While I was sitting in a chair, a lovely woman asked what type of book I was looking for and when I told her about my day, she recommended this book. Within 30 pages I was swept away into another world. It's lovely family saga, the first of three volumes, I like this segment the best, that provides love, tragedy, drama, a bit of history, but most importantly, a vacation from...more
The first of the trilogy-- my favorite Penny Vincenzi. The only thing about this book is that you will find a number of typos. This must have been her first book published before she was an international success. Ironic because it is about a publishing dynasty in pre WWI England. If you want a novel that will take you away and immerse you in another time and another family, this is it. The Lytton family is fascinating and lovable. Celia is one of my favorite characters-- so admirable yet so flaw...more
Really enjoyed this book - the way the characters lives changed over several years, influenced by the decisions of other characters was intriguing. Set in the early 20th Century, I wasn't sure I would enjoy the history but it was fascinating and with reference to familiar events it actually helped set the scene for me really well. The saga continues as the characters introduced in this first book of the trilogy have so much more to give and I look forward to reading the other Spoils of Time book...more
This book had the potential to be a good book due to the premise/overall concepts that the book was built on.Though there were so many issues I had with this book, that I was forced to not finish the book. The book was EXTREMELY slow moving- and trust me I gave the book a complete chance, hoping that it would improve or the pace of the story would pick up by chapter 8. It just dragged on and added more and more characters to the point where I came close to losing track (this is coming from an av...more
If you're missing Downton Abbey (soapy elements and all), this book would be a good choice. It's set in the same time period as Downton Abbey and hits the same historical events: Titanic, WWI, flu epidemic, etc. And they share themes that I suppose any story about the early 1910s-1920s would - how families cope with the war and what happens when all the wounded soldiers return, how class lines began to blur, and how women's roles in society change. I almost always enjoy those types of plots.
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I picked this book from my Mother-In-Law's shelf, out of sheer avoidance of my New Year's resolution to read five classics. I had started Pride and Predjudice and I am so tired from being pregnant that I can't focus and instantly fall asleep. This book, however, kept me not only awake, but awake way past my usual bedtime and on into the night. I love books like these. I think these are the closest thing to a love affair that I could imagine. I would literally wait all day to sneak into bed just...more
The first book in a trilogy, No Angel, opens in 1904 London and follows the lives of the, upper middle class, Lytton family. Largely set around their publishing house, it has a bit of everything. Love, infidelity, drama, tragedy, as well as history.
The main character is Lady Celia Lytton. She’s a selfish, disillusioned woman and rather wanting in the parenting department; there were times I wanted to shake some sense into her. Nevertheless, I did feel a certain empathy for her situation and admi...more
The main character is Lady Celia Lytton. She’s a selfish, disillusioned woman and rather wanting in the parenting department; there were times I wanted to shake some sense into her. Nevertheless, I did feel a certain empathy for her situation and admi...more
A friend at the bookstore I work at has recommended this Lytton Family trilogy for years, and now I know why. Utter delight! I am reminded of the "Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance" sagas I read in college and so loved. This time it is a British family that owns a publishing company in the early 20th century. The female characters are what make this book come alive. They, and especially one, Celia Lytton, know what they want and are not shy about going after it, whether that be love, meanin...more
April 2011 book club choice- loved it! Story of a prominent English family from 1904 to 1920ish. My favoite story lines revolved around the publishing house.
One thing I absolutely loved was the dialogue between the extremely entertaining characters; it is so realistic. (I hate it when books have ridiculous, sappy dialogue which is beyond unbelieveable...)
I was intrigued by all of the strong women characters. The Lady Celia Lytton character, who leaves something to be desired in the parenting...more
One thing I absolutely loved was the dialogue between the extremely entertaining characters; it is so realistic. (I hate it when books have ridiculous, sappy dialogue which is beyond unbelieveable...)
I was intrigued by all of the strong women characters. The Lady Celia Lytton character, who leaves something to be desired in the parenting...more
Nov 19, 2011
Bethan
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
popular-fiction-from-teens
I only read this because I was abroad and it was free. Probably unfair of me to say since so many people clearly really like the book but these type of bestsellers are the McDonalds of literature. Some people can't stand McDonalds and say it's 'cardboard food'. Vincenzi obviously tries to incorporate serious subjects such as war, suffragettes and poverty but it comes across like cardboard cut-outs and too obvious in intention. The book lacks depth and complexity. It's, however, not unreadable -...more
Well, this family saga set in the early 1900's in England was, for me, a cross between historical fiction and victorian soap opera. It begins with Lady Celia Beckenham becoming pregnant on purpose to defy her blue-blooded parents and marrying Oliver Lytton whom they disapprove of. Oliver, along with his sister LM, have inherited the Lytton Publishing House. Becoming bored with being a housewife Lady Celia joins the publishing team and discovers she is a pretty good editor and then begins to take...more
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This book calls itself "an epic family saga" - but in reality, it's a piece of fluff desperately trying to emulate Gone with the Wind. (And really, who wants that? Haven't we had our fill of shallow, self-absorbed bitches who are described by the author as "strong-willed" in a desperate attempt to generate some kind of admiration from the reader?) The main character is deceitful, unfaithful, selfish, and unkind to her family. She has a few charitable moments, but the fact that she is ridiculousl...more
I was rather conflicted about this book. It was a fairly long read, with a sentence structure that was at time confusing, and while it was engrossing, I couldn't wait for it to be over. I would recommend this book to people who have recently read something heavy and complex, and are looking for something light and obvious before the next heavy and complex read comes along.
That being said, I would probably pick up the following two books in the trilogy, because I did find myself interested in the...more
That being said, I would probably pick up the following two books in the trilogy, because I did find myself interested in the...more
Really, really enjoyed this family saga set in London during WWI!!! Vincenzi follows each family member through the trials before, during and after the war... and she does this seamlessly!!! It is fast paced and never slows down... can't wait to read the rest of the series!!!
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Soap opera drama but with a cast I'm drawn to -- can't wait to find out what happens next. Even looking forward to the other books in the trilogy.
But for a book about a publishing house, where proofreading for grammar, spelling and continuity is upheld as a very important skill on page 23 (which even gives the example of a two-year pregnancy allowed to exist in one novel published in the book's story), No Angel is full of errors including convoluted timelines, punctuation, etc. So many that I b...more
But for a book about a publishing house, where proofreading for grammar, spelling and continuity is upheld as a very important skill on page 23 (which even gives the example of a two-year pregnancy allowed to exist in one novel published in the book's story), No Angel is full of errors including convoluted timelines, punctuation, etc. So many that I b...more
This novel had just enough scandal to entertain but was also very classy. Normally, a novel with too many characters to keep track of throws me off, but this one introduces each character bit by bit and I had no trouble at all keeping track of who was who and what was going on in their lives. Very skillfully done. The novel spans about 15 to 20 years of the Lyttons' lives. The focus, mainly centers on the marriage of Cylia and Oliver and the troubles they face; deceit, growing apart, affairs, an...more
Please excuse my crudeness, but it wouldn't be necessary had this author never been born. Has the question, "how many times can an author get away with mentioning sex and orgasm in a non-sleezy-romance book?" ever come to your mind? No, it hadn't to mine either until I listened to this book on my MP3. I kept listening thinking it would get better, but I finished the book depressed wondering if as many people in the world as in the book accept adultery as OK. I know I'm very conservative in my vi...more
I'd like to go with 3.5 stars but I can't. :) I read this ages ago - it was my first Penny Vincenzi book, bought on a discount table, and it spurred me on to buy lots more of hers, so I decided to reread it.
I still enjoyed it, although some parts of the plot are a bit unreasonable and Celia made me want to punch her a few times, but the grammar is atrocious! Strange sentence fragments (and not intentionally done, quite clearly), missing commas and apostrophes - and it did seem to get worse towar...more
I still enjoyed it, although some parts of the plot are a bit unreasonable and Celia made me want to punch her a few times, but the grammar is atrocious! Strange sentence fragments (and not intentionally done, quite clearly), missing commas and apostrophes - and it did seem to get worse towar...more
I really enjoyed this story and the characters, but I don't know if I enjoyed it enough to bother with the rest of the trilogy. We'll see; I have a pretty long "to read" list at the moment, and they definitely don't make the top five.
Unfortunately, for a book centered around a family entrenched in the publishing world, it didn't have a very good editor. Misspelled words, missing punctuation, uncapitalized words, incorrect pronouns (he instead of she?!); it drove me mad!! The previous reader (I g...more
Unfortunately, for a book centered around a family entrenched in the publishing world, it didn't have a very good editor. Misspelled words, missing punctuation, uncapitalized words, incorrect pronouns (he instead of she?!); it drove me mad!! The previous reader (I g...more
How could a book with a cover like this turn out so bad? Total soap opera stuff.
The first in a trilogy. This one centers around Celia Lytton. This book starts in 1904 and takes us through WWI. Celia is a wife, a mother and a senior editor at her husband's publishing house. She is ambitious and manipulative and also a lady, but basically our heroine, and so you can forgive her her follies. This is yet another book that tells us about how women could and did rise to power back in the good old days. This is the story of a family's ups and downs. There were a few too many edge...more
This was a very enjoyable story and I will definitely read the other two volumes when I have a chance. I found it very hard to put down. (I even picked it up and read bits during the commericials for Walking Dead last night!) I loved Cecilia and LM and Barty. I did not care for Oliver or Sebastian, but even they proved redeemable in the end. The settings are very evocative, the writing is excellent. My only criticism is that there were a lot of typos and formatting problems in the Kindle edition...more
Buyer beware...do not buy just one of these books at a time...
strong women, family business, family monkey business, the men women and children at the extreme of the spectrum of adjectives: handsome/vulnerable/brilliant/depressed/beautiful/each one of a kind in the whole world.
The Lytton publishing empire and family allows the reader guiltless eavesdropping on their deepest secrets. Enough salacious behavior to discourage any bookears of the pages (books are not on audio!!).
Very Peyton Place b...more
strong women, family business, family monkey business, the men women and children at the extreme of the spectrum of adjectives: handsome/vulnerable/brilliant/depressed/beautiful/each one of a kind in the whole world.
The Lytton publishing empire and family allows the reader guiltless eavesdropping on their deepest secrets. Enough salacious behavior to discourage any bookears of the pages (books are not on audio!!).
Very Peyton Place b...more
If you love historical fiction, then there is a good chance you'll love this book. The first book in a trilogy that i have tried to single handedly convince everyone that they need to read. It's so incredibly honest, set just prior to WW I and has a romantic love triangle to end all love triangles. Celia is the best Female protagonist since Noelle Paige in Sidney Sheldon's 'the other side of midnight'. Must say, penny vincenzi's other books are pretty good, but this is my favorite...my only hope...more
This is not the type of book I usually read, but I am on a World War One kick, and this story is set during that time period. I will admit, I am a book snob, and this was a little on the soap opera side for me. That being said, I think it was a good story, and the author did a fantastic job of building suspense. There were times I couldn't put it down. The story is about a publishing family, mainly Lady Celia, who marries into the family and then becomes an integral part of the company. She is s...more
This is just one of those books you want all your friends to read so you can talk all about it! Problem with fantastic books I always feel my reviews will never do them justice. So I will just give a few thoughts.
It was really difficult for me to get into this book it took about 100 pages before, the I can't put it down, read it in 2 days crazy for it place. I don't find this odd for it is 600+ pages.
I have two thoughts on why this was the case for me.
First it felt tedious and a bit tiresome...more
It was really difficult for me to get into this book it took about 100 pages before, the I can't put it down, read it in 2 days crazy for it place. I don't find this odd for it is 600+ pages.
I have two thoughts on why this was the case for me.
First it felt tedious and a bit tiresome...more
No Angel by Penny Vincenzi chronicles the lives of the Lyttons, a wealthy family who owns a publishing house in London around the first world war. At the center of the story is Lady Celia Beckenham, a strong-willed, blue-blooded beauty who forces her parents to bless her marriage to the lower-ranking Oliver Lytton, by getting pregnant. Motherhood is not quite as fulfilling as she or others would have hoped and eventually works her way into Lyttons, becoming an accomplished editor and asset to th...more
While it does feel a little bit like Sex in the City set in the World War 1 era sometimes, it's also pretty darn meaty. It's a mass of contradictions and frustrations and VERY difficult to put down. The look at the publishing industry of the era through the lens of the women working in it was really innovative and surprising (were there women in the business then?) The characters were a lot like people, in that sometimes you like them and sometimes they do stupid stuff and you get frustrated wit...more
So when I give this four stars, that's obviously four stars within the genre it represents. Clearly we're not talking about ANNA KARENINA here. However, if you're a person for whom summer isn't complete without a big juicy page-turning family saga, or winter not complete without same plus cozy fire and glass of wine, then this, yes, sweeping novel and its two sequels are for you. After years of writing really pretty terrible potboilers, Vincenzi summoned her resources to churn out this multi-gen...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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I'm surprised the author is not more popular in the US. I love Penny Vin...more
Apr 01, 2009 12:33pm