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The Sisterhood
When Charity Bellingham visits London for the Season, she has no idea what adventures lie ahead. But a chance meeting with the beautiful Isobelle Greenaway will have long term consequences as Charity discovers things about London society, about slavery, and most of all about herself.
But it’s the introduction to The Sisterhood—a secret society of ladies—that will impact and change her life forever.
Penelope Friday’s romantic tale of women and life in early 19th century London is one that readers won’t want to miss.
Editor: Amanda Jean
Cover Designer: Sandy Knowles
But it’s the introduction to The Sisterhood—a secret society of ladies—that will impact and change her life forever.
Penelope Friday’s romantic tale of women and life in early 19th century London is one that readers won’t want to miss.
Editor: Amanda Jean
Cover Designer: Sandy Knowles
296 pages, Paperback
First published June 20, 2016
2 people are currently reading
263 people want to read
About the author
Penelope Friday
41 books11 followersPenelope Friday has been fascinated with the Regency Period since she discovered Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer in her teens, and she is a regular contributor to Jane Austen’s Regency World. She is also a speaker and writer on sexuality and disability, both separately and the intersection of the two, including presentations and contributions to NHS and Channel 4. She lives in Kent, England.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
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April 18, 2018A Regency f/f, with a very endearing 'mannish' heroine in Charity, and a rather more informed and nuanced view of the period than many histroms. Strong feminist vibes--Charity's sister gets into Wollstonecraft--with a full acknowledgement of the helplessness inflicted on women by the laws of marriage and inheritance.
The romance is paced rather oddly for a romance novel, in that about 60% of the book is a love affair with someone who isn't the heroine. This isn't the first time I've seen this in f/f, whereas you virtually never get it in m/f, there's a thesis in there somewhere. The eventual love interest is adorable and the romance very believable, so it worked very well for me. Sexytimes are offpage.
There is a very big focus on the abolition movement in this book, it's set around the passing of the Slave Trade Act of 1806, and the book engages powerfully with the fact that so much of the Ton's wealth came off the back of slavery. This is really strong, as is the emphasis on how women were driving the abolition movement while being excluded from the actual politics and lawmaking of it. But--big but--this is almost entirely white feminism in action. There's a black British character who speaks at a meeting and gets a handful of lines, and that's it. There's no mention of the crucial black speakers and campaigners, the people who gave testimony of their own experience of slavery. The book talks about racism in the abolitionists, and presents ladies at the abolitionist meetings as not wanting to listen to a black speaker, which adds plenty of nuance--the author is clearly aware of the white feminism issue--but the previous generation of abolitionists had been led and inspired by black speakers like the Sons of Africa who got standing ovations around the country and brought thousands of people to their cause. It perhaps felt here as though the book was addressing a serious 2017 issue, and thus missed an opportunity to reflect the numbers of people of colour in 1806 London as well as their part in the abolition struggle. But addressing current issues is good, so. And heaven knows this is one of very few Regencies to acknowledge the slave trade at all.
Overall a very fluent and enjoyable read with likeable, engaging characters and plenty to think about.
The romance is paced rather oddly for a romance novel, in that about 60% of the book is a love affair with someone who isn't the heroine. This isn't the first time I've seen this in f/f, whereas you virtually never get it in m/f, there's a thesis in there somewhere. The eventual love interest is adorable and the romance very believable, so it worked very well for me. Sexytimes are offpage.
There is a very big focus on the abolition movement in this book, it's set around the passing of the Slave Trade Act of 1806, and the book engages powerfully with the fact that so much of the Ton's wealth came off the back of slavery. This is really strong, as is the emphasis on how women were driving the abolition movement while being excluded from the actual politics and lawmaking of it. But--big but--this is almost entirely white feminism in action. There's a black British character who speaks at a meeting and gets a handful of lines, and that's it. There's no mention of the crucial black speakers and campaigners, the people who gave testimony of their own experience of slavery. The book talks about racism in the abolitionists, and presents ladies at the abolitionist meetings as not wanting to listen to a black speaker, which adds plenty of nuance--the author is clearly aware of the white feminism issue--but the previous generation of abolitionists had been led and inspired by black speakers like the Sons of Africa who got standing ovations around the country and brought thousands of people to their cause. It perhaps felt here as though the book was addressing a serious 2017 issue, and thus missed an opportunity to reflect the numbers of people of colour in 1806 London as well as their part in the abolition struggle. But addressing current issues is good, so. And heaven knows this is one of very few Regencies to acknowledge the slave trade at all.
Overall a very fluent and enjoyable read with likeable, engaging characters and plenty to think about.
January 7, 2018
After Petticoats and Promises, this is Penelopy Friday’s second Regency novel I’ve read. It is an attentive, character driven historical romance set in London. Next to the usual goings on of Regency ladies with their assemblies, fashion, fripperies and gossip the author added the abolitionist movement to give the plot more depth.
Charity Bellingham should have been born a boy. Too tall, gangly and unladylike she might as well have been. Nothing like her older sister Rebecca who is sweet-natured and feminine, Charity is a disappointment to her parents. After her father’s death the estate is entailed to a male cousin and the Bellingham sisters and their mother move to London where the girls will start their season.
Rebecca is soon married off to the reprehensible Mr. Fotheringay, a wealthy social climber twice her age who made his fortune in trade (gasp!) and their cold mother is hightailing to Bath after parking poor Charity at her sister and her new husband. When Fotheringay gets too handsy (some recompense for his troubles of putting her up would be nice, Whot?!), Charity flees the house in a panic. She happens upon the beautiful and well-connected Isobelle Greenaway who changes her life instantly.
Isobelle introduces Charity to the Sisterhood, a group of like-minded, influential women who love women. Charity – nicknamed Harry – gets an education in more ways than one. La!
f/f there are some period appropriate sexytimes.
Themes: like always in Regency novels it’s all about who you know, great group of secondary characters, Isobelle is a little gay butterfly fluttering from flower to flower, and poor Charity gets her little heart broken, but there is always Nan.
4 stars
Charity Bellingham should have been born a boy. Too tall, gangly and unladylike she might as well have been. Nothing like her older sister Rebecca who is sweet-natured and feminine, Charity is a disappointment to her parents. After her father’s death the estate is entailed to a male cousin and the Bellingham sisters and their mother move to London where the girls will start their season.
Rebecca is soon married off to the reprehensible Mr. Fotheringay, a wealthy social climber twice her age who made his fortune in trade (gasp!) and their cold mother is hightailing to Bath after parking poor Charity at her sister and her new husband. When Fotheringay gets too handsy (some recompense for his troubles of putting her up would be nice, Whot?!), Charity flees the house in a panic. She happens upon the beautiful and well-connected Isobelle Greenaway who changes her life instantly.
Isobelle introduces Charity to the Sisterhood, a group of like-minded, influential women who love women. Charity – nicknamed Harry – gets an education in more ways than one. La!
f/f there are some period appropriate sexytimes.
Themes: like always in Regency novels it’s all about who you know, great group of secondary characters, Isobelle is a little gay butterfly fluttering from flower to flower, and poor Charity gets her little heart broken, but there is always Nan.
4 stars
November 19, 2016
Ordinary historical romance is a bit of a rarity in the lesbian publishing field. The majority of lesbian historicals fall solidly on the erotic side and tend to stick very close to the 20th century (with a small foray into the American West). It is, perhaps, understandable: authors of lesbian historicals report that sales are much lower than for other subgenres, and this doesn’t encourage writers to develop the sort of research background and writing expertise necessary to write the books that could expand readership.
Penelope Friday’s The Sisterhood is a refreshing exception to this trend. Like her previous novel from Bella Books Petticoats and Promises, this story is set in England in the early 19th century, a bit late in date to be a true “Regency Romance” but very much with that flavor.** Although the romance plot is central, The Sisterhood expands beyond the small personal dramas of a young woman whose secret desires set her at odds with society’s expectations for her. Charity Bellingham has been an awkward tomboy all her life, burdened with the knowledge that she wasn’t the son her father wanted. Her older sister accepts an advantageous (if far from brilliant) marriage to a wealthy social climber and when their mother washes her hands of her daughters and decamps to Bath, Charity is left as a dependent on her brother-in-law with no good prospects of escape.
Her life changes when she falls in with a circle of women who secretly share same-sex desires--a circle that cuts across the barriers of class, wealth, and education and gives Charity access to possibilities beyond being an eternal wallflower at balls. Where this book takes a step in seriousness beyond Friday’s earlier endeavor is that “the Sisterhood” as they call themselves, also have strong (if variable) interests in social welfare, and especially in anti-slavery activism. If the activism of the characters sometimes seems naive and superficial, it is true to the times. Also true to the times is the overlap between the communities of female social activism and women-centered women (whether or not romance was involved). In my opinion, Friday’s previous Regency suffered for the lack of a parallel non-romance plot and I’m delighted to find this book much stronger in terms of story.
Just as the non-romance plot adds complexity, the romance is far from straight-forward and the reader is allowed enough hints to be kept on the edge of their seat as Charity stumbles through her choices. I think I would be tempted to classify this as a “sweet” romance, in that there is very little in the way of on-page sex (though much implied off-page activity). The sexual content felt very natural and comfortable. There are a few hanging threads left at the end of the book, but tying up the largest of them would require significantly more writing--possibly another entire book--and the conclusion comes at a natural point for both major plot elements.
**ETA: I was confused as to the date of the setting due to having used the keywords "Slave Trade Act" and "William Wilberforce to triangulate. There was more than one act by that name that Wilberforce was involved with and I had mistakenly thought it was a later one.
Penelope Friday’s The Sisterhood is a refreshing exception to this trend. Like her previous novel from Bella Books Petticoats and Promises, this story is set in England in the early 19th century
Her life changes when she falls in with a circle of women who secretly share same-sex desires--a circle that cuts across the barriers of class, wealth, and education and gives Charity access to possibilities beyond being an eternal wallflower at balls. Where this book takes a step in seriousness beyond Friday’s earlier endeavor is that “the Sisterhood” as they call themselves, also have strong (if variable) interests in social welfare, and especially in anti-slavery activism. If the activism of the characters sometimes seems naive and superficial, it is true to the times. Also true to the times is the overlap between the communities of female social activism and women-centered women (whether or not romance was involved). In my opinion, Friday’s previous Regency suffered for the lack of a parallel non-romance plot and I’m delighted to find this book much stronger in terms of story.
Just as the non-romance plot adds complexity, the romance is far from straight-forward and the reader is allowed enough hints to be kept on the edge of their seat as Charity stumbles through her choices. I think I would be tempted to classify this as a “sweet” romance, in that there is very little in the way of on-page sex (though much implied off-page activity). The sexual content felt very natural and comfortable. There are a few hanging threads left at the end of the book, but tying up the largest of them would require significantly more writing--possibly another entire book--and the conclusion comes at a natural point for both major plot elements.
**ETA: I was confused as to the date of the setting due to having used the keywords "Slave Trade Act" and "William Wilberforce to triangulate. There was more than one act by that name that Wilberforce was involved with and I had mistakenly thought it was a later one.
February 14, 2019
oh this is it chief
a perfect regency novel with lesbians, which is what i've been looking for for weeks.
Complex plot, focus on world building, well written characters and a romance that develops at a realistic pace.
i've said this before and i'll say it again GIVE ME MORE REGENCY AND VICTORIAN LESBIANS PLEASE THANK YOU
a perfect regency novel with lesbians, which is what i've been looking for for weeks.
Complex plot, focus on world building, well written characters and a romance that develops at a realistic pace.
i've said this before and i'll say it again GIVE ME MORE REGENCY AND VICTORIAN LESBIANS PLEASE THANK YOU
July 9, 2016
A really lovely, gentle but incisive look at morals, manners and attitudes to slavery in regency England.
Charity Bellingham displeases her own parents from birth for not being born a boy: they favour her sweet-natured, feminine older sister Rebecca. Charity is awkward, not suited to the clothing of the period and rather too tall for dancing as a lady. However an unfortunate marriage in the family puts her in the way of well-connected and persuasive Isobelle Greenaway and her life is transformed in an instant.
We're brought on a highly enjoyable romp through the politics of the ton and the machinations of a group of women-identified women and how they make a life for themselves in which the very existence of women depends largely on the goodwill of men. The awkward issue of slavery pops up and unlike Jane Austen, there is no attempt to hide away how much of England's gentry's wealth is founded on pure human misery and suffering. Indeed Charity herself is brought face to face with that ethical dilemma when Nan points it out to her. Friday, who has done her homework and it shows, wisely does not widen the scope of the book too much (Jo Baker's Longbourn, an otherwise excellently written novel, tends to throw in too much about the Napoleonic wars - in The Sisterhood, a passing reference by Rebecca's husband is enough.)
Isobelle herself is a complicated, warm character, difficult to dislike even in her more awkward moments, and her friend Nan Musgrove a pleasant counterpoint. I really liked the nuance of the characters and how they developed through the story. There was the occasional anachronism, such as the use of the word "boycott" with reference to sugar since that word did not enter the lexicon until 1880 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boycott) but that did not significantly impede my enjoyment of the story.
Recommended for enjoyable historical fiction with characters that evolve naturally and who you will genuinely care about.
http://www.bellabooks.com/ for more information.
Charity Bellingham displeases her own parents from birth for not being born a boy: they favour her sweet-natured, feminine older sister Rebecca. Charity is awkward, not suited to the clothing of the period and rather too tall for dancing as a lady. However an unfortunate marriage in the family puts her in the way of well-connected and persuasive Isobelle Greenaway and her life is transformed in an instant.
We're brought on a highly enjoyable romp through the politics of the ton and the machinations of a group of women-identified women and how they make a life for themselves in which the very existence of women depends largely on the goodwill of men. The awkward issue of slavery pops up and unlike Jane Austen, there is no attempt to hide away how much of England's gentry's wealth is founded on pure human misery and suffering. Indeed Charity herself is brought face to face with that ethical dilemma when Nan points it out to her. Friday, who has done her homework and it shows, wisely does not widen the scope of the book too much (Jo Baker's Longbourn, an otherwise excellently written novel, tends to throw in too much about the Napoleonic wars - in The Sisterhood, a passing reference by Rebecca's husband is enough.)
Isobelle herself is a complicated, warm character, difficult to dislike even in her more awkward moments, and her friend Nan Musgrove a pleasant counterpoint. I really liked the nuance of the characters and how they developed through the story. There was the occasional anachronism, such as the use of the word "boycott" with reference to sugar since that word did not enter the lexicon until 1880 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boycott) but that did not significantly impede my enjoyment of the story.
Recommended for enjoyable historical fiction with characters that evolve naturally and who you will genuinely care about.
http://www.bellabooks.com/ for more information.
March 5, 2020
I finished reading The Sisterhood by Penelope Friday this weekend, a rare lesfic Regency romance, which has been on my tbr forever. As such, I’ve been wary of reading it, because I wanted to love it so much, and I was afraid I wouldn’t. Well, I didn’t *love* love it, but there were some really nuanced, well-written moments, and barring a few blunders a smooth and accomplished narrative voice.
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I loved that the author had done her homework with particular attention to the few resources there are on lesbian history during this particular time period. I loved the focus on one of these ”sisterhoods”—secret assemblies for the lady-loving ladies of the ton—and the weaving-together of this with other social concerns of the time, primarily the Abolitionist movement (a sub-plot which I felt could have been made more of). I liked the gaucheness of the main character, and the moments of rapture.
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What I didn’t like so much were the constant repetitions of certain sentiments and observations, without really incorporating them fully into the action. I also felt like the character arcs could have been more effectively underpinned, and the dialogues sharper, funnier and less ”I’m telling you this now because it fits with the plot, even though there is scant reason why I shouldn’t have done so before”.
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Correction: there wasn’t really that much of a plot. Charity Bellingham finds out she’s into women, a concept she accepts within two seconds of it being suggested. As with a host of other plot points, (a lot) more could have been made of this. Having said that, I still enjoyed the read, but I have to admit I was bored at times.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I loved that the author had done her homework with particular attention to the few resources there are on lesbian history during this particular time period. I loved the focus on one of these ”sisterhoods”—secret assemblies for the lady-loving ladies of the ton—and the weaving-together of this with other social concerns of the time, primarily the Abolitionist movement (a sub-plot which I felt could have been made more of). I liked the gaucheness of the main character, and the moments of rapture.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
What I didn’t like so much were the constant repetitions of certain sentiments and observations, without really incorporating them fully into the action. I also felt like the character arcs could have been more effectively underpinned, and the dialogues sharper, funnier and less ”I’m telling you this now because it fits with the plot, even though there is scant reason why I shouldn’t have done so before”.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Correction: there wasn’t really that much of a plot. Charity Bellingham finds out she’s into women, a concept she accepts within two seconds of it being suggested. As with a host of other plot points, (a lot) more could have been made of this. Having said that, I still enjoyed the read, but I have to admit I was bored at times.
December 31, 2017
!!!!!!
This is my second book from the author and it's written so well! Really, the first one must have been a short smutty story - this book is properly long and well written, full of highs and downs. I sincerely hope that Rebecca horrible husband meets an appropriate end or alternatively never comes back, amen.
Loved the abolitionist angle, so well done!
This is my second book from the author and it's written so well! Really, the first one must have been a short smutty story - this book is properly long and well written, full of highs and downs. I sincerely hope that Rebecca horrible husband meets an appropriate end or alternatively never comes back, amen.
Loved the abolitionist angle, so well done!
October 25, 2019
I am rating this 2 stars because historical f/f is rare enough.
There were a few small things I appreciated:
- the although it's still too "real love will last forever" for my taste;
- the somewhat reluctant acceptance from the sister was more nuanced than usual;
- the slower pace, although the attraction/love appeared abruptly and inorganically;
- I liked Nan, although I disliked her only faults being that she is average in looks and intelligence (*eye roll*) – to be honest, I would have preferred the story to be entirely told from her perspective;
- I liked the sister, even if Charity/Harry looks down on her for most of the book.
But so much was not-good to really bad – in no particular order:
- I didn't like the main character, Harry, she was oblivious of some specific convenient parts of her sister's ordeal (I think it was meant to reflect the mores of the time but it just came across as her being inconsiderate, because she challenged a lot of the social expectations otherwise, in a way that was too modern too), and she looked down on any woman who didn't fit her views (very masculine/butch) or whom she didn't admire;
- I didn't like Isobelle, and being clubbed to death with how amazing she is (which basically boiled down to her being beautiful and popular) when her selfishness and condescension was obvious didn't help matters;
- a lot of the plot was obvious from way too early on ();
- the Sisterhood is anachronistic, I sincerely doubt women of such different classes would be able to so fully overcome this (especially when the author makes a point to have Isobelle, and Nan, and probably the others given the chance, look down on the sister's husband who made his fortune in trade);
- the is here for conveniance only, and perpetuates the usual myths;
- actually, the whole book is a clumsy study in "we are not like other women";
- the entire slavery thing was BS in the way it is approached, very anachronistic and revisionist.
There were a few small things I appreciated:
- the although it's still too "real love will last forever" for my taste;
- the somewhat reluctant acceptance from the sister was more nuanced than usual;
- the slower pace, although the attraction/love appeared abruptly and inorganically;
- I liked Nan, although I disliked her only faults being that she is average in looks and intelligence (*eye roll*) – to be honest, I would have preferred the story to be entirely told from her perspective;
- I liked the sister, even if Charity/Harry looks down on her for most of the book.
But so much was not-good to really bad – in no particular order:
- I didn't like the main character, Harry, she was oblivious of some specific convenient parts of her sister's ordeal (I think it was meant to reflect the mores of the time but it just came across as her being inconsiderate, because she challenged a lot of the social expectations otherwise, in a way that was too modern too), and she looked down on any woman who didn't fit her views (very masculine/butch) or whom she didn't admire;
- I didn't like Isobelle, and being clubbed to death with how amazing she is (which basically boiled down to her being beautiful and popular) when her selfishness and condescension was obvious didn't help matters;
- a lot of the plot was obvious from way too early on ();
- the Sisterhood is anachronistic, I sincerely doubt women of such different classes would be able to so fully overcome this (especially when the author makes a point to have Isobelle, and Nan, and probably the others given the chance, look down on the sister's husband who made his fortune in trade);
- the is here for conveniance only, and perpetuates the usual myths;
- actually, the whole book is a clumsy study in "we are not like other women";
- the entire slavery thing was BS in the way it is approached, very anachronistic and revisionist.
July 14, 2022
Charity is the younger daughter of a Regency-era British family that was hoping for a son. As a result, she receives little love and attention from her parents but receives affection and support from her older sister. After her father dies, the mother and daughters must leave their home to a male cousin. They head to London for the season so that the mother can try to find husbands for her daughters. But Charity is taller than most men and not at all feminine. When her sister is matched with an older man who has money, their mother leaves and Charity must live with her sister and brother-in-law. One day, after a sexual assault by her brother-in-law, she meets Isobelle, a higher born, beautiful unmarried young woman who introduces Charity to The Sisterhood, a secretive group of women who love women.
From the little I know of this era, it seems the author was able to capture the historical details of the time. We do not hear about The Sisterhood until almost halfway through the book. The final pairing of Charity and another woman happened quite quickly with little build up.
From the little I know of this era, it seems the author was able to capture the historical details of the time. We do not hear about The Sisterhood until almost halfway through the book. The final pairing of Charity and another woman happened quite quickly with little build up.
January 29, 2022
There are some anachronistic ideas and figures of speech in this one, but I found them easy to accept if I acknowledged them and moved on. It s an easy, entertaining read. With likeable characters - and some dislikeable. The main character shows a lot of growth as does her sister, which is plausible. Overall, a nice, engaging read.
August 30, 2025
I guess I've been on a queer Regency Romance kick lately, and Penelope Friday has written quite a few. This one was pretty good. I didn't 100% buy the historical setting, but the characters are generally well-drawn and the story was interesting.
December 10, 2023
DNF around 40% in. Really wanted to like it, just wasn't connecting and felt like it was taking far too long to get to the meat of the plot.
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