I would read a shopping list if Armistead Maupin wrote it, he is one of my all- time favourite authors with such a beloved list of characters, even thinking of Barbary Lane makes me smile.

I was absolutely delighted to get the chance to read an early copy of Mona of the Manor, which moves some of much-loved characters across the sea to the heart of the English countryside and into the 1980s.

Mona inherited a huge mansion and title when her English husband Teddy Roughton passed away. She has embraced her new identity and role as Lady of the Manor in an entirely fitting way, with inspired local folklore events mixing with her love for telling tall stories about previous generations.

Mona lives with the wonderful Wilfred, a young man who she adopted; the two of them adore each other and their lives in the Manor House.

The two of them are joined by US guests Rhonda and her awful bullying husband Edward who have come for a visit. Mona and Wilf help Rhonda see what she could do to change her life for the better. The whole story is just fabulous

As with all of the Tales of the City books, it’s a wonderfully easy read but with some deeper layers and political messages woven in. It’s a joy to read especially for fans of Tales of the City

Mona of the Manor feels like coming home. The titular Mona is of course Mona Ramsey, the rambunctious redhead from Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City series. We find Mona living in the late 80’s, in her mid 40s and with a son in his early 20s. Now the lady of a stately home in middle England, Mona follows in the footsteps of her mother Mrs Madrigal, taking in waifs and strays in the form of holidaymakers from around the globe. Her most recent guests, being Mr Ernie and Rhonda Baylock, from a Podunk town in America. Rhonda has always dreamed of coming to England and staying in a Manor House, and Ernie absolutely doesn’t want to be there. And of course Mona can’t help but getting involved. Featuring a diverse group of characters new and old, Mona of the Manor is a treat for fans of Tales of the City, and serves as a jumping on point for new readers.

Maupin’s characteristic heart and humor lead the story, with his mysterious beats running along in the background. You will laugh out loud in this book, and maybe shed a tear or two, remembering how far we have come and the ways we still have to go, but no matter where we are in the world, our friends from Barbary lane will be along for the ride.

Running through a list of the names of the Gloucestershire locations and their residents that feature in this latest instalment in the Tales of the City series (including a post office and tearoom in Chipping Campden and Miss Vanilla Wafer, a big yellow dog) should illustrate how naturally the setting of this story fits with Armistead’s style.

I was delighted to spend time with beloved characters in a story in 1993. As one character contemplates during the story, there is pleasure to be had in the melding of old memories and new discoveries.

As a huge Tales of the City fan, every time a new book in the series is published I think it will be the last, so I was delighted to see this latest volume. We return to the 1990s and original character Mona, who eventually disappeared from San Francisco for a while and was later discovered to have married an English lord and to be living in his stately home. Now widowed, she lives with her adopted son Wilfred and takes in paying guests to keep the manor going. She champions the cause of an American guest, and in the last part of the book has a visit from her close friend and beloved key character Michael “Mouse” Tolliver and their former landlady (and her father/mother) Anna Madrigal. The story is fairly slight and I missed the other inhabitants of Barbary Lane and life in San Francisco. Mona was never one of my favourites, but it was still good to catch up with her and to get Maupin’s take on British country life- he himself now lives in England after fleeing the Trump regime. It also is a poignant reminder of the horrors of the AIDS epidemic, and how frightening it must have been to be actively gay at that time. Full of warmth and humour, but not afraid to tackle darker themes of prejudice, snobbery and violence, this is a very welcome addition to a fabulous series. I hope it won’t be the finale!

Oh, Armistead, thank you for this gorgeous book. I am a huge fan of Tales of the City, the book series to which this belongs, and was absolutely delighted to see that Maupin has treated his fans to another instalment.

Here we follow the magnificent Mona and her life in England. I don’t want to say too much so as not to spoil anything if you haven’t read the previous books, but what I will say is that this was an absolute joy. Tales of the City is one of favourite book series of all time. It has everything - drama, mysteries, romance, and comedy, as well as characters you will genuinely fall in love with. It champions the LGBTQ+ community and while it does deal with hard hitting issues such as homophobia, transphobia, and the AIDS epidemic (all of which are handled with dignity), it is also a lot of fun. Maupin really has created a wonderful series that I can’t recommend more and I’m pleased to report that Mona of the Manor is a fabulous and well-awaited addition.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Thank you again to @netgalley and @transworldforbooksellers, a division of @penguinrandomhouse for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts. This one was a real pleasure to read and review!

Long awaited tenth book in the "tales of the City" saga. As a huge Maupin fan it was fascinating to discover what had happened to Mona when she was left behind in England. This is a book for committed fans as new readers hauled go back to the beginning.

There are shades of previous books with the welcome return of all the old characters. Anything by this author is a delight and I am so happy that he can still produce a book of this quality.

This marks the 10th installment in the series, presenting a witty and comedic exploration of identity, assumptions, and the quest for a chosen family during the 1980s and the Thatcher era. The series has consistently brought joy to readers, and its ongoing journey is indeed a reason for celebration. It feels wonderful to be in the company of friends through these stories.

Tales of the City is one of those series I thrust upon people if they ask me what they should read or what my favourite books are. It's one of those series which is in my heart as well as in my head. After Sure of You, the sixth book in the series, it was announced that there would be no more. I was so sad. When Michael Tolliver Lives came out I could not have been more delighted. Since then, Mary Ann In Autumn and The Days of Anna Madrigal have rounded off their respective stories, I was thrilled when Mona of the Manor was announced and we got a chance to revisit one of my favourite characters. These are books you have to read from the beginning. These are characters you grow with and care about and cry over. Maurine has always has the knack of writing funny, wise and humane characters. The kicker is that there is sadness a mile wide running through the books too. It's what lifts them and makes them real. Mona of the Manor is not the strongest of the series, but it was a joy to dip my toe in the water one more time.

The fabulous storyteller is back, with the book he has promised us for a while, filling in some of the time after Mona moved to England and became Lady of the Manor. It slots in perfectly with the other Tales of the City books, familiar characters reappear and the pace and tone of the book feels like home. Armistead's attention to detail is wonderful as ever, giving you a real sense of people and their surroundings. He also tackles social issues with his usual style, wit, grace and genteel anger. So good to have another instalment, absolutely loved it, highly recommended.

With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a long-time fan of Maupin and his Tales of the City series, I couldn't hit 'request' fast enough when Mona of the Manor appeared on Netgalley.

And it didn't disappoint, except in its relative shortness.

Set in the early 1990s - in the Tales of the City universe this places it after Babycakes, the last of the original series, but well before Michael Tolliver Lives - Mona of the Manor takes place in bucolic England, where Mona relocated in the early 80s to live as lady of the, well, manor.

Following Mona and her adopted son Wilfred (whose exploits on Hampstead Heath recall those of Michael 'Mouse' Tolliver in the bathhouses of 1970s San Francisco in the early books), with cameo appearances from Michael himself and, of course, the legendary Anna Madrigal, the book is likely to hold limited appeal to anyone not already familiar with the series and its characters. But for those of us for whom these characters have felt like old friends these past 30-odd years, it is a delightful and classically Maupin return to our beloved friends.

When Mona Ramsey married Lord Teddy Roughton, enabling him to stay in San Francisco as part of the strangest exchange ever, she really didn't imagine that she would end up inheriting Easley House.

Typically, the fortune of the Roughtons (of which Teddy was the last) didn't extend to sufficient cash to keep the old pile afloat. So Mona (and adopted son Wilfred) is forced to take in paying guests, thus making her the third generation of Ramsey women as landladies (in the loosest possible sense).

Midsummer is coming, and with it all the ceremonies the pagan celebrations entail. Current guests are an American couple. But all is not right with the the visitors...and Barbary Lane is on its way to the English countryside.

An utter delight, as ever, to spend time with our old friends once again

A new Tales of the City-related book is always a welcome arrival and Mona of the Manor, which relocates the action to an English country house in 1993, is presumably timed to mark the 50th anniversary of its first publication as a newspaper serial in 1974. While you don't go to Maupin for experimentation or surprises, you do get what you expect and hope for - a reunion with familiar themes and characters and a sense of coming home. I raced through it, not put off by the odd piece of clunky dialogue, the two-dimensional villain or slightly clumsy plotting, happy to be in Maupin's company and in the sense that he was happy to be in the company of old friends again. And he gets away with setting it all in a Cotswold country house. It probably wouldn't really stand up as a stand-alone novel, but if you have enjoyed the previous 9 novels in the sequence, especially the initial run, treat yourself to another.

A welcome return to one of my most favourite book series ever brimming with sheer nostalgia and warmth. Armistead’s latest instalment is as chaotic and entertaining as ever and it is an absolute treat to catch up with the residents of 28 Barbary Lane again. Bravo, Mr Maupin, you have done it again with Mona of the Manor, this is a fabulous read!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

I've been a Tales of the City fan since my teens so whenever a chance to get back to the residents of 28 Barbary Lane (wherever they may now reside) appears, it's always a cause for celebration. I raced through this latest one in 2 days...my only criticism really was that just as it got going, it was over. More please!

Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series are among my all time favourite books and so it was a real treat to be back with Mona, Michael and Anna. This, the tenth in the series moves back in time from the most recent instalments to 1980s Britain where Mona is now Lady Roughton and residing at Easley House in the Cotswolds. She lives with her adopted son 26 year old Wilf and keeps the manor house afloat by taking in B and B guests.
I loved the character of Mona from the first Tales novel and really missed her presence in subsequent novels, so it was great to see what happened to her after she moved to Britain.
As ever, Maupin writes effortlessly and I finished this over the course of 24 hours. It's an engaging and comforting read although it does cover the serious issues of the AIDS crisis and living in Thatcherite Britain. I loved the references to other characters in the series such as Brian and John and also Mona and Michael's memories of their years in San Francisco.
If you've never read the Tales series I'd start at the beginning- there is so much joy ahead!
I adored this return to the much loved characters, the only downside for me was that it was too short and I feel bereft now I've finished it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.
4.5 stars

4+ 🌟

didnt even read the blurb on this one, because it's Maupin and some of the Barbary Lane gang.
Imagine my surprise to be in England then.
It was a good surprise.
This whole book felt like one long comforting hug.
I can't remember where the last book left off, as I think I've seen a TV show since then, but I was SO happy to be back with Anna, Michael and Mona.
It raised more than a few smiles, whilst also tackling the AIDS crisis.
I flew through it, and was then a little sad it ended.

Armistead Maupin and the Tales of the City series is iconic and was/is a landmark in LGBTQ+ fiction. Mona of the Manor is a companion novel to the chronicles and is set in rural England during the Thatcher era- five years after the introduction of the divisive Section 28 and with the shadow of AIDS very much prevalent.

Armistead Maupin's novels are a joyous celebration of being who you are and embracing every moment of life. Mona lives with her adopted son Wilfred in a somewhat ramshackle mansion ; with the arrival of American guests, Rhonda and Ernie- life changes for all. Mona is also aware that her mother Anna Madrigal - the iconic character from earlier books - is getting older and wishes she could spend time with her. A surprise visit including the arrival of Michael Tolliver reunites some of the familiar characters.

This book breezes with love and life- yes, the tragedy of the period when AIDS first started to claim many lives is woven through the story but this is a tale so filled with respect , compassion and warmth that you cannot help but adore Mona and Wilfred as they search for love but knowing family - in all its forms- is at centre of living. It is as funny as it is poignant . Maupin still knows how to deliver a wonderfully moving big-hearted read. Life -affirming in so many ways

I'm not sure there's anything Maupin can write that I wouldn't be supportive of, after being such a formative writer for my entire reading life - from my discovery as an early teen that being gay is both normal and something to be celebrated (under the shadow of Section 28 and the only news coverage being around AIDS and the incorrect assumptions and prejudices) . Maupin through his crazy coincidences and convoluted connections showed me that we could form our own family and find our own community and joy.

Key to that was the central trio, for me, of Michael, Mary-Ann and Mona, and while I understood and liked Mona the least she was an essential part of the first few books, and I was disappointed to see her remain in England during the original six book run.

Catching up with her has been a treat, and as with other recent Maupin books the farcical elements have been toned down, tempered by the wisdom of age, and the sense of an ending that comes as you get older.

Flashing back to the 1990's here is smart and mixed nostalgia and new content really well and was a smart side step following the most recent books charging forwards. It's lovely to see some legacy characters again still in their prime.

Maupin never forgets the tragedies of our community, but this as with the other nine novels also brings me joy.

James
(also @james_reads_books on IG - personal account)