Penny Vincenzi: No Angel, Something Dangerous, Into Temptation (aka The Spoils of Time trilogy)

Ran across a blurb about her about Booksense. My public library had No Angel, which I just devoured. It’s a very well done big thick soap opera/family saga novel, beginning in 1904, with Lady Celia Beckenham getting married to Oliver Lytton, son and heir apparent of the Lytton publishing house. The first novel takes us through World War I, and I just couldn’t put it down. The characters are fascinating. Unfortunately, the second and third are much harder to find here in the US. Paperback editions are currently UK only. I ended up ordering paperbacks from a shop in Bath for less than I could procure US hardbacks. Something Dangerous picks up in 1928 and takes us through World War II, leaving off at 1946. It has all kinds of familial and business intrigue, love affairs, and of course the war. One of Celia’s daughters has to escape from Paris when the Nazis come, along with other tragedies. Into Temptation begins at the time of the Coronation, and many changes have taken place in terms of deaths and such. Reading the “cast of characters” page at the beginning had my jaw dropping several times. Vincenzi has quite a few novels to her credit, although none of the others seem to be trilogies or have recurring characters. Not usually the sort of thing I go for, but they are well written, with strong characters, historical contexts, an interesting overview of the history of book publishing through the 20th century, and plot twists galore.