I really enjoyed this book, London in the 1870's as seen through the lives of Spiritualist Mediums and their 'Circles' in the upper classes of Victorian society. Great plot and a wonderful glimpse into how Mediums operated, how prevalent they were as a source of entertainment or indeed comfort and also how they read their clients and picked up on the minute details of their lives. I loved the interplay between Mrs Wood and Miss Finch, the steadying hand of Miss Newnham plus the array of other well drawn characters. The writing is excellent and I found it a joy from start to finish. Looking forward to more from this author and I highly recommend.

This was great fun and we really enjoyed doing the event with her! Looking forward to the paperback because it'll be a great one to send out on subscriptions.

I really struggled with this book. I thought it was a bit slow and failed to sympathise with Mrs Wood because I thought she was just really unbelievably stupid. I think that’s why I found it so hard get into the character. I thought it was going to be a Victorian spooky read but I just found it incredibly frustrating and all a bit cringe.

This was such a fun and delightful book. I love Victorian settings so this was right up my street before I even started it. It's such an interesting premise, set around mediums and seances. Mrs Wood needs to up the theatrics of her seances to keep her audience interested, just when a journalist is trying to expose false mediums.
A really good read, perfect for some escapism.

“Illusion is everything”

My thanks to William Collins Fourth Estate for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Other Side of Mrs. Wood’ by Lucy Barker.

London, 1873. Mrs Violet Wood is one of the city’s most celebrated mediums, well known in this competitive world of contacting the Other Side conveying messages to the bereaved. She regularly holds well attended séances for the cream of Victorian high society.

Yet there are recent reports of American mediums nearly materialising full spirits and audiences are no longer satisfied with the knocking on tables and theatrics of years gone by. When Mrs Wood hears a faint, but unmistakable yawn at one of her gatherings, she realises that she needs to spice up her act.

Not long after Mrs Wood is approached by Miss Emmeline (Emmie) Finch, a pretty young woman who asks Mrs Wood to teach her. Violet decides that she will take on Emmie as her protégé. Yet is Emmie Finch the naïve ingenue she seems to be? You will have to read the book to find out!

This novel was an entertaining peek into the world of Victorian Spiritualism. I felt that Lucy Barker achieved a good balance between drama and comedy. Mrs. Wood is a complex character and is clearly no saint as she is using all kinds of tricks to impress her clients. Yet she has a code of conduct and sincerely believes that she is providing succour to the bereaved.

Still, there’s no doubt that Mrs Wood is a demanding woman, especially when it comes to her long suffering assistant, Miss Sarah Newman. She has recently become interested in the women’s suffrage movement and much to Mrs. Wood’s annoyance is exerting more independence.

The novel has a number of colourful characters, including Mrs Wood’s upper class clients, some who could have easily stepped out of a Dickens novel. Clearly, Mrs. Wood has limited means but she seeks to impress them even if it means that she has to scrimp on essentials like heating and food.

Alongside the themes of mediums and séances, Barker examines aspects of Victorian society including the few choices available to a widow such as Mrs Wood.

Overall, I found ‘The Other Side of Mrs. Wood’ a charming tale. It is well written and engaging. Lucy Barker clearly undertook considerable research into the subject of Spiritualism during this period. I felt that it was a promising debut and I look forward to news of her future projects.

I think this is going to be huge! Two Victorian mediums go head to head - former protégée and teacher. A great read, I loved the ups an downs, twists and turns.

This is was a pleasant and intriguing read. Not the first I read about the world of spiritualism and mediums in this timeframe but a new and fresh take on what was the world of mediums and seances
Mrs Wood is an interesting characters and the descriptions of her world are well researched and vivid.
The characters and the plot are well developed and I hope there will be another book by this author soon.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This was fun and very unexpected..not something I'd usually pick up but I loved the title and cover. I enjoy historical fiction so this was perfect for me, though I've not read much at all about mediums so it was a great little intro without being too heavy! It felt a little slow at times but kept me gripped just enough!

The Other Side of Mrs Wood was a wonderful historical fiction. I really enjoyed the spiritualist storyline which is not something i'd normally pick up.
I had no expectations with this one but it was really good and i'd definitely recommend it to a friend.

Fabulous premise that wasn't quite pulled off for me.
I have always loved a Victorian setting although it is so very familiar nowadays that I find it takes a special writer to give you something new; I love the concept of spirituality, where the gulf between what is real and what is contrived is very very fine.
For me, however, I found the characters rather flat and it was a struggle to engage with them - which may be more about me than about the writing. There was nothing wrong with this book and I did not dislike it... but I didn't find anything to rave about either.

Before starting this book, I already had a strong penchant for novels centred around Victorian spiritualism and this is one of the best I’ve read! The book follows the ups and downs in Spiritualists’ lives. The author succeeds in setting the scene through a thorough knowledge of the practises at the time. The period in which this story is set is a time of campaigning for female suffrage and this is touched on too. I really loved this book! Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

I thought this was a little slow to start with, but then I really got invested in the main character Mrs Wood, and I just had to find out how she was going to get out of her predicament and really hoped Miss Finch would get her comeuppance. It’s not often a fiction book gets me interested in history, but having read this book I’d now like to find out what really went on in England during the eighteen hundreds. I’d definitely recommend this book, and say it’s worth it to keep reading if like me you struggled to start with! Thank you #netgalley

I really liked to premise to this one when I requested it but honestly I just struggled with the pace of this book and ended up dnf-ing it.

I'm not sure if it's down to my mood or that I just no longer seemed interested in the characters and plot?

This is definitely a 'me' problem as a lot of people have loved this one so I'm giving it two stars because I just feel like this one wasn't for me but will be loved by a lot of other people.

''In our world, illusion is everything '

'The truth's not important. If people want to believe then that's just what they'll do'

Mrs Wood is Victorian London's most sought after medium but talk begins to turn to the new more daring American medium's. A young girl turns up on her doorstep & she decides to take her on as her new protege.

Fascinating story, with moments of humour, about the spiritualist scene of Victorian London but also the suffrage movement that is gathering steam and the friendship & trust between women.

Prepare to be transported back to the séance tables of Victorian London and the gloriously spectacular performances of Mrs Wood! This was a great story, very entertaining and it kept me hooked from early on. I loved the meticulous detail and planning of the seances, where heaven forbid an imposter might be at work; the rivalry between Mrs Wood and her protégée; the secret history of Mrs Wood’s past. A super debut novel and I’ll be looking out for more from Lucy Barker.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for a review.

Loved this book, a good easy read, funny in parts. Enjoyed how the author put the story together. Loved how the relationship between Mrs Wood and Emmie grew and how it had twists and turns

I was really intrigued by the synopsis of this novel, but, unfortunately, it took me more than half of the book before I really got into it. First of all, I found the pace of the first half of the novel too slow so that, sometimes, it was difficult to concentrate on it. Also, I had trouble connecting or liking any of the characters, especially the protagonist. When I finally passed the first half of the novel, things got more interesting, thrilling, and suspenseful, the characters start developing and I finished it in a couple of sittings. What I liked about this novel is the setting in Victorian England, which I think was well-researched, the themes of séances and ghosts and the rivalry between two mediums, which kept things interesting, but also the theme of loss and grief, which made the story more relatable.

“In our world, illusion is everything.”

This book is an interesting, sober take on the world of mediums – entertainment so popular back in the 19th century. While a fair amount of people believed in what mediums were doing are quite a literal truth, there was another side to things. Reasons, why people chose to be medium and what led them to it, and of course, where is that thin line between belief, help and just pure entertainment and show. I love the nuance of while it was an illusion, it still helped people to cope with the loss, grief, depression and loneliness.
The story weaves around a well-established medium in 19th century London, who has a lot of secrets not only in her professional daily life but in her past and very private life. As the story unfolds, secrets get exposed and things change – for better or for worse. There is a moral in the story as well, however, I found the ending disserving the whole story - not only because I didn't quite expect it to be this way but more because it diminishes the moral of the story and struggles the heroine went through.
It is a light read, engaging, and easy to follow, even with the plot twists.

This had so much potential but just didn't quite hit the mark for me. It was a little too slow but I did enjoy the storyline overall!

I’m not normally a fan of historical dramas but this book’s description drew me in and I am glad it did. It was well written and kept me engaged throughout. The characterisation was good and the descriptions of life in Victorian London and the expectations of society were an added bonus to the entertaining storyline.