This is an excellent book; set in the London of Queen Anne, the country is in political turmoil (with the machinations of Whig and Tory we can still recognise today!).

Mrs Trotter runs a coffee house, and with her tenant, a budding poet Tom Bristowe, and his lawyer friend Will she becomes embroiled when one of the coffee house's patrons, a printer called Morphew, is accused of murder. The trio are determined to prove his innocence, and their efforts threaten to bring down the government as secret letters and satirical pamphlets abound.

There are elements of this book that show incredibly skilled writing - the author depicts life in the early 18th century incredibly well, and the sketches of the coffee house culture, the 'beau monde' on display and the horrors of the prison are handled extremely well. The characters are well drawn and very believable.

However, the book is far too long. It could easily have been reduced by a third and been a better read for that. The first half seemed very ponderous and I had to force myself to carry on. Once I was drawn into the story, it was very enjoyable.

Overall, well worth pursuing and a very entertaining portrait of Anne's London.

Thank you to NetGalley and Matador for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

1708 and Widow Trotter has plans for her Good Fellowship Coffee House. But a politcal scandal with connections to the crown and Queen Anne is brewing. Mary Trotter with her friends Thomas Bristowe (an aspiring satirist), Will Lundy of the Middle Temple and Constable Elias Cobb are drawn into the intrigue. But when a body is discovered and the wrong man accused, the group of friends are determined to find the guilty party and save their friend from the gallows.
It took awhile for me to get drawn into this long book, its story and the characters, and the politics of the Torys and Whigs. An era which I don't know a lot about but just enough.
Overall an enjoyable if somewhat involved read and I look forward to hopefully reading more of the adventures of this group of likeable characters.

I really wanted to like this. I'm interested in the period and setting and like the playful voice but there is just too much going on. The dialogue scenes, in particular, are very long and go round in circles. As a reader it's impossible to know what you need to remember and what you can let go. I'm sure there's a brilliant book in here somewhere! Sorry but DNF.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2973957421

Rare historical fiction for the period of Queen Ann's reign. The action is early 1700's as storm clouds gather between political factions leading up to the Queen's Birthday celebration when London comes alive with parties and fireworks and a final conflict that leads to a bartered solution after a series of crimes.
We are introduced to a lively trio of characters who take center stage and we can hope will continue to live on in further books by this author. A young lawyer Will and his poet friend Tom both have important family connections that figure in this drama where it takes a coalition of three dedicated to bring justice to a falsely accused publisher. Their landlady Mary Trotter, a widow running a coffee shop where she hopes intellectual pursuits will be the norm steers the ship, organizing their efforts.
It is a long book, but how can it be too long when it is filled with historical detail of London?

I am grateful to NetGalley for this book and happy to see it is available from Amazon.

This is a well thought out novel set in the times of Queen Anne’s reign.
The main characters were extremely likeable.
Hoping that there is a follow up to this book

Thank you NetGalley and Matador for the eARC.
It took me a bit to find the rhythm of the book, but once I did, I couldn't put it down.
This is a rich and well plotted novel with an intense feel of early 1800's London and the machinations of Queen Anne's reign. The three main characters who are trying to save the life of the imprisoned publisher are well drawn, they are extremely likeable and hopefully will return as part of a series.
You can feel, smell and hear the city and the visit to Newgate with its fetid smells and wretched conditions were particularly memorable. The delicious descriptions of the Chocolate House on the other hand made me brew some coffee and wish I had some chocolate sweetmeats!
Here's hoping I will meet Tom, Will and Widow Trotter again.