The Washington Post
Penny Vincenzi's No Angel is a rich bonbon of a book. Readers who devour sagas and love romance will find every page irresistible. And as for others? Well, you might feel a little undernourished, but still I'm betting that you can't help but gorge yourself on at least some of its guilty pleasures. — Caroline Leavitt
Publishers Weekly
Bestselling British author Vincenzi follows the tumultuous lives of London's Lytton family through the early 20th century in her first novel to be published in the U.S. At the story's center is Lady Celia Beckenham, a strong-willed, blue-blooded beauty who forces her parents to bless her marriage to the lower-ranking Oliver Lytton, employed in the "rough world of publishing," by getting pregnant. Taking her maternal duties in stride (her ugly baby, Giles, is initially "something of a disappointment"), Celia talks her way into an editorial position at Lyttons Publishing House, and quickly proves herself a fast learner with a head full of successful ideas. As years pass and more children arrive, Celia becomes known for her editorial skills and her familial devotion. But when Oliver returns after four years of fighting in WWI, her perfect world begins to crumble he is dismayed by the books Lyttons has published under Celia's and his sister LM's guidance, and he has lost all desire for his wife. Celia seeks comfort in the arms of a handsome new author, and as she falls into an all-consuming affair, she begins to contemplate leaving Oliver: "She would have to go; go with Sebastian. Anything else was madness. She explored the decision for a few minutes, waiting for uncertainty to return. It didn't." But as Celia struggles to make her life-altering decision, events around her cause her to see herself and her family in a new light and to ponder what her life would be like if she weren't a Lytton. Through life and death, exuberance and sorrow, honor and disgrace, Vincenzi perfectly captures the intricacies of her characters and creates plots captivating enough to keep readers eyes' glued to this long and hearty saga. (Oct.) Forecast: Vincenzi has sold more than 3.5 million copies overseas, and Overlook is giving this title a big push with a 75,000 first printing and solid ad dollars; handselling to those looking to curl up with a happier doorstopper than last year's excellent but dark Crimson Petal and the White should also help. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
In the tradition of Barbara Taylor Bradford, popular British novelist Vincenzi writes a family saga starring Celia Lytton, a smart, ambitious woman working against stereotype during World War I. In the opening scene, when the reader finds out Celia has purposely gotten pregnant so that her aristocratic parents will let her marry Oliver Lytton, the reader knows that this is a woman who gets her way. Vincenzi takes us through 20 years in Celia's life, using historical moments as background and introducing us to wonderful supporting characters, such as her strong-willed sister-in-law, LM, and her outspoken mother, the Countess of Beckenham. All of the novel's characters are three-dimensional, and the story enthralls us as it takes us through not only the emotional life of the Lyttons but also the wheeling and dealing of their publishing house. This entertaining novel is recommended for most fiction collections. [BOMC and Literary Guild selections; see "Must-Reads for Fall," p. 40.-Ed.]-Marianne Fitzgerald, Charlotte Mecklenburg Sch. Dist., NC Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A first US appearance for British Vincenzi. (Overlook will also be publishing two of her previous novels: Something Dangerous and Into Temptation.) Celia, headstrong daughter of aristocratic Edwardian parents, makes the breakfast kippers spin in their silver chafing dish when she decides to marry . . . out of her class. The object of her affections is tall, blond, handsome Oliver Lytton, the offspring of a distinguished London publisher and a rather louche actress, long since decamped. Celia's outraged father points out that the man can't even ride a horse. Her practical mother adds that marriage is a business (but neglects to mention that she has been carrying on a clandestine affair for years with a friend of the family's). But Celia must and will have her way, and so she and Oliver marry, with only the family and a few loyal servants in attendance. Not the lavish society wedding Lady Beckenham had hoped for, but there's no time to waste-and Celia is delivered of Giles, a robust if ugly-looking infant, a mere six months after the ceremony. Yet there is trouble ahead, and ere long, a silver candlestick will be hurled at the nursery door. Celia is profoundly bored by the unchanging routine of motherhood, and she wants to work. Oliver demurs. "I want you to be in our home, taking care of our son, not out in the rough world of publishing." Then a collection of Queen Victoria's letters proves a temptation too powerful to resist, and Celia offers an utterly brilliant suggestion: Shall they publish a simultaneous biography? Lo, a dazzling career begins within the hallowed and fusty walls of Lyttons as our Celia swans it through the ensuing years of tremendous social upheaval, WWI, decorousinfidelity with a sexy author, and other proliferating subplots too numerous to count. Studiously avoiding latent snobbery, Vincenzi rounds out this baggy saga with a few working-class characters, whose hearts are in the right place even if their aitches are not. Overlong and overwrought, though not without a certain veddy British charm. First printing of 75,000; $50,000 ad/promo
