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Reputation

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What to expect

It is a truth universally acknowledged that girls just wanna have fun.

Abandoned by her parents in favour of a sea view, middle class Georgiana Ellers has moved to a new town to live with her dreary aunt and uncle. At a particularly dull dinner party, she meets the enigmatic Frances Campbell, a wealthy socialite and enchanting member of the in-crowd.

Through Frances and her friends, Georgiana is introduced to a new world of wild parties, drunken debauchery, mysterious young men with strangely alluring hands, and the sparkling upper echelons of Regency society.

But high society isn't all it's cracked up to be, and the price of entry might be more than Georgiana is willing to pay . . .

This witty romcom about status, friendship, and first loves explores sex and consent in a time when reputation was absolutely everything, and feminism in a time when women's rights were a completely different story. It's full of lavish parties, handsome men on horseback and a sense of humour that would have given Austen herself a chuckle.

Performed by Bessie Carter (Bridgerton, Beecham House, Howard's End).

'A spirited Regency romcom, which tears up the Regency romcom rulebook! If Bridgerton and Fleabag had a book baby, it would be Reputation. I inhaled it in one sitting' Sarra Manning

'I had so much fun reading Reputation. It's a total blast' Louise O'Neill

'The perfect blend of period drama decadence with Mean Girls gossip. Beyond entertaining - high debauchery with a feminist swing' Abigail Mann

User Reviews

Book 4.0
Narration 4.8
4.0
5.0
Reputation is a fun regency romp. It feels a lot like watching a teenage rom-com, transplanted into a historical context, so if historical accuracy and details are your preference I wouldn't recommend this book. Georgiana Ellers spends the first two thirds of the book severely inebriated through both alcohol and drugs, carried along by her new friend group, attending parties that are more out of high school movies than Jane Austen's works, which is somewhat frustrating. But if you can look past the inaccuracies -- which I can -- it's hard to put down. I binged the whole thing over a long weekend. It was fun to compare the characters to those from Mean Girls (Georgiana as Cady, Frances as Regina, Jane as Gretchen and Cecily as Karen). It's reassuringly predictable. You know that Georgiana will make social mistake after mistake until rock bottom, where she realises who her true friends are and makes amends. It reminded me of Emma in that way.

As a historical romance, it was on the weaker side. It isn't deeply historical, which I've already touched on, but neither was the romance well developed. The story was really about Georgiana recognising her true friends, so Thomas Hawksley was definitely of secondary importance. I also felt that through most of the story they weren't well suited, as Georgiana just wanted to party whereas Thomas seemed to have reached adulthood already.

But I've rated it four stars and I stand by that. It's a massively fun book that I found myself excited to get back to whenever I had an opportunity. Sometimes we don't need something serious; we need something to make us smile and laugh.

The narration was good. The narrator is very posh and clipped, but that suits the book.
alexshouldbewriting 19/08/2025
3.0
5.0
SR22 23/07/2024
3.0
5.0
Enjoyable, light and entirely ahistorical. A bit of Bridgerton crossed with Mean Girls, not really historical fiction but fun and with the requisite happy ending. Excellent narration.
akuncedi 23/02/2023
4.0
5.0
Excellent narration perfect for the book! I thought the story itself was fabulous - I loved the historical setting with the more modern plot and would highly recommend and just wish I’d found this sooner! I think the best way of describing it is Jane Austen meets Bridgerton meets Mean Girls and I’d you like any combination of those three you’ll probably enjoy this as well!
alldayreading 23/09/2022
5.0
5.0
AngelaG 23/09/2022
5.0
4.0
Excellent! A good mix between modern ideas and Austen-esque society. Well written in mostly classical style but with subtle modern wording throughout. Narration was well done although voices sometimes mixed up. Highly recommend. Cannot wait for the next one.
curtainshrew 24/07/2022

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