Novel 302: Amy Levy, The Romance of a Shop (1888)
Four sisters, nearly bankrupt at the death of their father, set up a photography shop.
Amy Levy (1861-1889) wrote only three novels before her early death by suicide. This level-headed, good-natured account of four young women’s struggle against adversity would not lead one to expect such a fate for its author.
“Miss Levy’s story is bright and fresh; there is a dash of originality in the idea and plenty of spirit in its execution”; it is “told with both humour and pathos.” Athenaeum, October 27, 1888
“There is a quality of ‘liveness’ in the book, a faculty of dialogue, and some scraps and bits of character drawing here and there, which carry the reader pleasantly through for the present, and give good promise for the future.” Academy, November 19, 1888
Download this fortnight’s novel:
https://archive.org/details/romanceofshop00levy
If the British Library’s online collection ever returns, you will also find it here: