‘A beautifully written story’ - Donna Rauch, Barnes & Noble
'A fun read … The actors’ chapters often present intriguing setups… good plotlines.' Kirkus Reviews
‘… Readers will be immediately drawn into the story, and will find it hard to leave until the dramatic conclusion.’ - Manic Readers
‘You’ll love this book.’ - Jean Dean, WRVC Radio
‘…Captivating… a real page turner, trust me.’ - Mary Jones, WDRC Radio
This award-winning novel, perfect for theatre lovers and Downton Abbey enthusiasts, is set in Yorkshire, England, in 1885. Bertha Roundtree, wife of Anthony Roundtree, dies in childbirth, leaving her infant daughter Elisa behind.
Once wealthy, the Roundtree family is destitute after Anthony gambled away its fortune.
Anthony Roundtree is a cruel man.
He has no interest in his infant daughter, leaving her to be raised by his spinster sister Lillian, a rather simple woman with no dowry and no prospects, and a cruel governess.
Anthony is determined to turn Elisa into a lady, and marry her off to Sir John Garingham, who wants the tomboy Elisa turned into the perfect lady – no matter what it takes.
But the betrothal goes awry when Elisa develops a mind of her own, a passion for her art teacher, and an obsession with the theatre.
And her youthful vigour is about to lead into a glamourous world with a dark underbelly…
Filled with the history of the British theatre and allusions to Shakespeare, Not From the Stars is the first in the His Majesty’s Theatre series about the lives of the actors and academics who lived in the repressive days of Edwardian England, but refused to be stifled.