Ten years later, Violet’s father has been trying to marry her off for years, what he doesn’t understand is after her mother went missing, Violets friends stopped talking to her, they cross the street when they see her and some men no longer treat her with the respect she deserves. In 1896 a young woman is expected to marry young, behave like a lady, and pursue interests such as charitable work. An unmarried woman of 28 is considered a spinster, unlikely to ever marry, and certainly not expected to work. Especially as a detective. But Violet is not your average Victorian woman. Nellie travels with Gertrude Bell, who will go on to be called Queen of the Desert for her later exploits in Egypt, as well as the most glamorous and beautiful woman of the era, Lily Langtry, consort to the Prince of Wales. Along for the ride is a young gunfighter called the Sundance Kid. And there's the mysterious Roger Watkins, who romantically and physically challenges Nellie's determination to be an independent woman in a man's world. I would say it renders the mystery sort of low key. I liked that though, as this book is actually more about Violet wanting to become a lady detective. This is how we get introduced to Benjamin, the love interest, who I really enjoyed. It was very sweet but also sarcastic, and we love that.

I loved this book, it is beautifully written, enjoyable, humorous and very refreshing. The characterisation of all the players is strong, I could relate to all of them. It’s a cleverly woven mystery, as Violet tries to find her mother, and I so enjoyed the narrative, it never flagged. It kept me fully engaged from start to finish. No Life For A Lady by Hannah Dolby was such a treat to read! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC. Price is a Labour MP, going against type somewhat for Penelope Keith’s on screen career, having been the upper class Margot and of course also having played Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in To The Manor Born. Price is very keen to do well by her constituents, keeping her finger on the pulse of individual needs while accepting responsibilities that are now more national. To maintain that personal touch she needs the assistance of several people around her to keep the plates spinning. She shares an office with Scottish MP Ken Miller (Paul Young) who has been around long enough to know the do’s and don’ts within the corridors of power. The main character, Violet, was such a brilliant protagonist. She’s in her late twenties, sure of herself and forthright, but also painfully naïve. Her mother disappeared ten years earlier, and without a parental figure to guide her (her father is physically present but emotionally not) she has some glaring blind spots in her knowledge of the world. I’ll be honest, I was worried at the start that she was just ‘not like other girls’ but her character made perfect sense within her world and her family. What was great across the course of the novel was that she not only grew more knowledgeable about the world, but actively took those steps herself, admitting to herself that there were things she didn’t know and seeking the answers. We meet Jean Price MP in her early days in office having earned her place in the Commons courtesy of winning a bi-election by a majority of 507. Little seems to have prepared her for the challenges of balancing the life of an opposition MP with a home life while at the same time battling the sneering of the government’s MPs and the sexism of operations within the House, despite this still being the time of Margaret Thatcher’s reign.A quirky, funny Victorian mystery, Dolby’s debut novel was a refreshingly original story about a young woman who wants to find mother. Viola doesn’t want to get married. She wants to be independent, have a career but finds herself being forced by her father to meet a multitude of young bachelors that she has no intention on marrying. No Life for a Lady is a bold, historical fiction read, centred around 28-year old Violet Hamilton, an unmarried spinster who struggles to fit into the confines and expectations set by society. Violet wants to work and make her own way in the world, but despite this rebuffing of social conventions, she is still quite prim and proper and altogether living a sheltered life on the edge of societal ostracism because of her lifestyle choices - namely, being single. Together, will they discover the truth of what happened to Violet's mother? Or will there be far more at stake than Violet ever imagined? In the summer of 1886, Violet Hamilton’s beautiful mother kisses her goodbye, heads for a party and disappears, the last sighting being on Hastings pier. Ten years on, Violet decides to hire private detective Frank Knight to search for her mother though sadly he inspires little confidence. Can Violet solve the mystery herself but keep her reputation intact?

It is 1886, 18-year-old Violet Hamilton says goodbye to her mother as she head off a party on Hastings Pier to never been seen again. Ten years later Violet is now 28 years old. She is an independent confident, but quite naive woman, that knows her own mind and her father fears that she will never get married and keeps finding suitors for her. But Violet is not interested but she doesn’t think that they have her best interests at heart anyway. History, mystery, and murder are the traveling companions of Nellie Bly, the world's first female investigative reporter. In Carol McCleary's No Job for a Lady, Nellie defies the wrath of her editor and vengeful ancient gods while setting out to prove a woman has what it takes to be a foreign correspondent in dangerous Victorian times. No Life for a Lady by Hannah Dolby is a delightful historical romance about a spirited woman who is ahead of her time.

Her main goal is to find out more about her mother, who disappeared 10 years ago. But as a detective-in-training, there's plenty of demand for her skills and opportunties to hone them. At 28, Violet's father is beginning to worry she will never find a husband. But every suitor he presents, Violet finds a new and inventive means of rebuffing.
Because Violet does not want to marry. She wants to work, and make her own way in the world. But more than anything, she wants to find her mother Lily, who disappeared from Hastings Pier 10 years earlier.
Finding the missing is no job for a lady, but when Violet hires a seaside detective to help, she sets off a chain of events that will put more than just her reputation at risk.
Can Violet solve the mystery of Lily Hamilton's vanishing before it's too late? Perhaps the ending was a tad rushed for my tastes, but when compared to the overall development of Violet's character and storyline, this is just a minor quibble.

We meet 28-yr-old Violet Hamilton in Victorian Hastings, ten years after the disappearance of her mother. A chance sighting of a newspaper advertisement for a new detective in town leads Violet to hire him in the hopes of finding out what happened to her mother. Never before have I gone out of town all by myself, because it's not proper etiquette for a single woman to travel without a companion. Well, why is it proper etiquette for a man to travel alone? Once again, rules made by men. Why should they have all the fun? Besides, this is something I have wanted to do forever, and even though I realize this is probably not the smartest time to make this decision, being that I am going into a foreign country where I don't speak the language, I'm glad I'm doing it. Violet’s mother went missing ten years earlier. Her father has avoided most any talk of her mother, and Violet has missed her terribly. While she knew her parents fought, she did not think that her mother would simply abandon her. Most suspect that she is dead. Violet is sure that she’s not. So she hires a local detective to look for her mother. Only he’s a smarmy man that treats her as though she’s brainless. Not what Violet expected.is a protagonist that you can’t help but love. From the start she had me giggling away with her witty comments or on-point observations. Her naivety to the social norms only made me love her more but I did fear for her safety. A fan of Victorian fictional female detective Loveday Brooke, Violet lives with her banker father in Hastings, England. She has never had any adult responsibilities other than running his household since her mother left home as if to go to one of her frequent social engagements, giving no hint she wouldn’t return later in the day. Even running the household, Violet has the help of two full-time servants and a weekly laundrywoman. Regarded as a spinster at twenty-eight, Violet is happy with her single status. In fact, she has long found creative ways to reject every suitor her father brings home.