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Tales of the City #10
Mona of the Manor
The tenth novel in the beloved Tales of the City series, Armistead Maupin’s best-selling San Francisco saga.
When Mona Ramsey married Lord Teddy Roughton to secure his visa—allowing him to remain in San Francisco to fulfil his wildest dreams—she never imagined she would, by age 48, be the sole owner of Easley House, a romantic country manor in the UK. Now, with her adopted son, Wilfred, Mona has opened Easley’s doors to paying guests to keep her inherited English manor afloat.
As they welcome a married American couple to Easley, Mona and Wilfred discover their new guests’ terrible secret. Instead of focussing on the imminent arrival of old friend Michael Tolliver and matriarch Anna Madrigal, Mona will need to use her considerable charm, willpower and wiles to set things right before Easley’s historic Midsummer ceremony.
Hurdling barriers both social and sexual, Maupin leads the eccentric tenants of Barbary Lane through heartbreak and triumph, through nail-biting terrors and gleeful coincidences in 1980s San Francisco and beyond. The result is a glittering and addictive comedy of manners that continues to beguile new generations of readers.
When Mona Ramsey married Lord Teddy Roughton to secure his visa—allowing him to remain in San Francisco to fulfil his wildest dreams—she never imagined she would, by age 48, be the sole owner of Easley House, a romantic country manor in the UK. Now, with her adopted son, Wilfred, Mona has opened Easley’s doors to paying guests to keep her inherited English manor afloat.
As they welcome a married American couple to Easley, Mona and Wilfred discover their new guests’ terrible secret. Instead of focussing on the imminent arrival of old friend Michael Tolliver and matriarch Anna Madrigal, Mona will need to use her considerable charm, willpower and wiles to set things right before Easley’s historic Midsummer ceremony.
Hurdling barriers both social and sexual, Maupin leads the eccentric tenants of Barbary Lane through heartbreak and triumph, through nail-biting terrors and gleeful coincidences in 1980s San Francisco and beyond. The result is a glittering and addictive comedy of manners that continues to beguile new generations of readers.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 5, 2024
279 people are currently reading
7427 people want to read
About the author
Armistead Maupin
147 books1,969 followersArmistead Maupin was born in Washington, D.C., in 1944 but grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, he served as a naval officer in the Mediterranean and with the River Patrol Force in Vietnam.
Maupin worked as a reporter for a newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina, before being assigned to the San Francisco bureau of the Associated Press in 1971. In 1976 he launched his groundbreaking Tales of the City serial in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Maupin is the author of nine novels, including the six-volume Tales of the City series, Maybe the Moon, The Night Listener and, most recently, Michael Tolliver Lives. Three miniseries starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney were made from the first three Tales novels. The Night Listener became a feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette.
He is currently writing a musical version of Tales of the City with Jason Sellards (aka Jake Shears) and John Garden (aka JJ) of the disco and glam rock-inspired pop group Scissor Sisters. Tales will be directed by Jason Moore (Avenue Q and Shrek).
Maupin lives in San Francisco with his husband, Christopher Turner.
Maupin worked as a reporter for a newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina, before being assigned to the San Francisco bureau of the Associated Press in 1971. In 1976 he launched his groundbreaking Tales of the City serial in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Maupin is the author of nine novels, including the six-volume Tales of the City series, Maybe the Moon, The Night Listener and, most recently, Michael Tolliver Lives. Three miniseries starring Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney were made from the first three Tales novels. The Night Listener became a feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette.
He is currently writing a musical version of Tales of the City with Jason Sellards (aka Jake Shears) and John Garden (aka JJ) of the disco and glam rock-inspired pop group Scissor Sisters. Tales will be directed by Jason Moore (Avenue Q and Shrek).
Maupin lives in San Francisco with his husband, Christopher Turner.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 466 reviews
January 15, 2024
I was in high school when the first Tales of the City was released as a serial in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1976. My little crowd of misfits, who may or may have not known we would grow up to be the people we are, would gather in the locker area before classes started to discuss each day's installment. Regardless of how we identified at the time, having that story and the individuals who peopled it, gave us a sense that not only was it OK that we were who we were—whatever that was— but also that, dammit, we were kind of interesting. Maybe even marginally hip.
The central character of Mona of the Manor is, no surprise, Mona, a noncomformist, potty-mouthed lesbian who, via a brokered marriage with a Lord who longed to move to San Francisco, has become Lady of a manor. The manor is huge and crumbling, but not so crumbling that emergency evacuations need to be ordered. Mona offers a small B and B service and has generally had enough guests to allow her to manage the kind of bills that can crop up in a home originally built 400+ years ago. Some weekenders = a new water heater. A honeymoon = one more round of patching on the roof. Running the manor with Mona is her adopted son, Wilfred, who grew up in Britain, but is of aboriginal heritage. (For more of Wilfred's story, see Babycakes, the fourth volume in the series.) He's been looking for love, but it's hard going in the countryside where most of the gay men are halves of happy, retired couples.
Maupin is never shy about taking on issues in this series. In Mona of the Manor, Mona and Wilfred share the process of grieving friends who are dying of AIDS, get involved in scheming to protect a woman in a violent marriage, and plan a major Pagan summer solstice party. And more.
You can enter the Tales of the City series anywhere, and Mona of the Manor could be a good place to start since it moves back in time to the middle period of the series, so new readers can pick up a bit of background. To be honest, though, I would suggest reading the full series in order. I can absolutely assure you that time invested in Tales of the City is time very well spent. Oh hell, just ead whichever ones you can get your hands on—stat!
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
The central character of Mona of the Manor is, no surprise, Mona, a noncomformist, potty-mouthed lesbian who, via a brokered marriage with a Lord who longed to move to San Francisco, has become Lady of a manor. The manor is huge and crumbling, but not so crumbling that emergency evacuations need to be ordered. Mona offers a small B and B service and has generally had enough guests to allow her to manage the kind of bills that can crop up in a home originally built 400+ years ago. Some weekenders = a new water heater. A honeymoon = one more round of patching on the roof. Running the manor with Mona is her adopted son, Wilfred, who grew up in Britain, but is of aboriginal heritage. (For more of Wilfred's story, see Babycakes, the fourth volume in the series.) He's been looking for love, but it's hard going in the countryside where most of the gay men are halves of happy, retired couples.
Maupin is never shy about taking on issues in this series. In Mona of the Manor, Mona and Wilfred share the process of grieving friends who are dying of AIDS, get involved in scheming to protect a woman in a violent marriage, and plan a major Pagan summer solstice party. And more.
You can enter the Tales of the City series anywhere, and Mona of the Manor could be a good place to start since it moves back in time to the middle period of the series, so new readers can pick up a bit of background. To be honest, though, I would suggest reading the full series in order. I can absolutely assure you that time invested in Tales of the City is time very well spent. Oh hell, just ead whichever ones you can get your hands on—stat!
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
November 15, 2024
I almost don’t know what to say. I never expected a 10th Tales book. So I made my peace with The Days of Anna Madrigal being the last Tales story. And then whoosh… Armistead releases Mona of the Manor, Book 10 in the Tales of the City series. And here I am having just finished this beautiful new addition already wanting more.
Armistead takes us back in time to the 1990’s when Mona Ramsey lived in an English castle with her adopted son Wilfred, and Micheal Tolliver faces his mortality from HIV. There are a few new characters, a mystery of sorts, and eventually Michael and Mona’s parent, Anna Madrigal make it to England. I laughed, I cried, I want more Tales. I’m so thrilled Armistead gifted us with another story. Such a delight. My feel good book of this year and next!
Thank you Harper and NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy - release date March 5, 2024. Really thank you! In awe.
11/2024: This second time with Mona of the Manor, I listened to the audiobook. Amazing. Delved deep into Maupin's characters - those familiar and others who are new. Such joy revisiting Mona, Wilfred, Michael, and Anna. A perfect book 10 in the Tales series. Glorious.
Armistead takes us back in time to the 1990’s when Mona Ramsey lived in an English castle with her adopted son Wilfred, and Micheal Tolliver faces his mortality from HIV. There are a few new characters, a mystery of sorts, and eventually Michael and Mona’s parent, Anna Madrigal make it to England. I laughed, I cried, I want more Tales. I’m so thrilled Armistead gifted us with another story. Such a delight. My feel good book of this year and next!
Thank you Harper and NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy - release date March 5, 2024. Really thank you! In awe.
11/2024: This second time with Mona of the Manor, I listened to the audiobook. Amazing. Delved deep into Maupin's characters - those familiar and others who are new. Such joy revisiting Mona, Wilfred, Michael, and Anna. A perfect book 10 in the Tales series. Glorious.
April 29, 2024
For the most recent entries into Armistead Maupin's long-running Tales of the City books, I've waxed poetic about their elegiac tones and how they're a fitting end to the series...and then the author has gone and pumped out yet another. I'm not falling for it this time, Mr. Maupin.
Mona of the Manor is a bit of an oddball among the Tales in that it's a flashback to the younger days of its cast that takes place in the first half of the nineteen-nineties, designed to be inserted between Sure of You and Michael Tolliver Lives! It's also set well out of the city, deep in the English countryside, where Mona Ramsey has become lady of a crumbling manor with her 'logical' son, Wilfred. And while it's as sweet and comforting as anything Maupin has written, it's also the slightest of the Tales—insignificant by design, as nothing that happens within can upset or affect the existing series.
If anything, this latest volume in the series reminded me of a late-career Fannie Flagg novel, in which even somewhat complex subplots get jettisoned in favor of a simple, linear narrative. If there's literary foreshadowing, it's for something that'll happen a scant page and a half later. Although Maupin doesn't shy away from some of the darker elements of his previous work—there's violence in this one, just as in earlier Tales—he's not as subtle an author as he used to be.
When Wilfred very nearly hooks up with a masked celebrity in Mona of the Manor, for example, an in-the-know local supplies a casual hint to the pop star's identity. A younger Maupin would've been content to let the matter drop after the veiled allusion. After all, in Further Tales of the City, Mouse visited the home of a closeted celebrity known only as ____ ______ and trusted the canny reader to figure out his name. In this volume, though, after the hint, Maupin not only has the local provide the (now-deceased) celebrity's name, but there's a lengthy discussion about why a famous musician might want to remain in the closet. The author then makes Wilfred repeat the entire tale of how they met, twice, in the following chapter and a half. It's about as delicate as a pneumatic sledgehammer.
While the character of Anna Madrigal has been an evolving argument for trans dignity since the 1970s, it feels as if Maupin's anxiety over current LGBTQ issues has caused him wade into the faux trans restroom issue with awkward results. The quarrels Mona has over trans rights with her postmistress girlfriend are a Trans 101 level of basic that break no new ground; I'm not even sure that the word 'transphobic,' which appears several times in Mona's interior monologues, was in widespread use in the first half of the nineties, much less the word 'trans.' Anachronisms aside—Maupin's intentions are good, but the execution in this particular volume seems scattershot, especially after nine other volumes of revolutionary writing about LGBTQ issues.
Mona of the Manor felt like a warm hug from characters I've grown with over the decades. It's also a swift read. I simply consider it the most lightweight and inconsequential of any of the Tales.
Mona of the Manor is a bit of an oddball among the Tales in that it's a flashback to the younger days of its cast that takes place in the first half of the nineteen-nineties, designed to be inserted between Sure of You and Michael Tolliver Lives! It's also set well out of the city, deep in the English countryside, where Mona Ramsey has become lady of a crumbling manor with her 'logical' son, Wilfred. And while it's as sweet and comforting as anything Maupin has written, it's also the slightest of the Tales—insignificant by design, as nothing that happens within can upset or affect the existing series.
If anything, this latest volume in the series reminded me of a late-career Fannie Flagg novel, in which even somewhat complex subplots get jettisoned in favor of a simple, linear narrative. If there's literary foreshadowing, it's for something that'll happen a scant page and a half later. Although Maupin doesn't shy away from some of the darker elements of his previous work—there's violence in this one, just as in earlier Tales—he's not as subtle an author as he used to be.
When Wilfred very nearly hooks up with a masked celebrity in Mona of the Manor, for example, an in-the-know local supplies a casual hint to the pop star's identity. A younger Maupin would've been content to let the matter drop after the veiled allusion. After all, in Further Tales of the City, Mouse visited the home of a closeted celebrity known only as ____ ______ and trusted the canny reader to figure out his name. In this volume, though, after the hint, Maupin not only has the local provide the (now-deceased) celebrity's name, but there's a lengthy discussion about why a famous musician might want to remain in the closet. The author then makes Wilfred repeat the entire tale of how they met, twice, in the following chapter and a half. It's about as delicate as a pneumatic sledgehammer.
While the character of Anna Madrigal has been an evolving argument for trans dignity since the 1970s, it feels as if Maupin's anxiety over current LGBTQ issues has caused him wade into the faux trans restroom issue with awkward results. The quarrels Mona has over trans rights with her postmistress girlfriend are a Trans 101 level of basic that break no new ground; I'm not even sure that the word 'transphobic,' which appears several times in Mona's interior monologues, was in widespread use in the first half of the nineties, much less the word 'trans.' Anachronisms aside—Maupin's intentions are good, but the execution in this particular volume seems scattershot, especially after nine other volumes of revolutionary writing about LGBTQ issues.
Mona of the Manor felt like a warm hug from characters I've grown with over the decades. It's also a swift read. I simply consider it the most lightweight and inconsequential of any of the Tales.
September 2, 2025
2025 - Nothing has changed, I loved this book and I loved this series.
2024 - Revisiting the past can be tricky, but here we step back in time to meet with Mona, but not at Barbary Lane but at Easley, the English country house that's her home.
Packed with equal amounts of trademark Maupin laughter, drama and tragedy I devoured this book in two glorious sittings.
Excellent!
2024 - Revisiting the past can be tricky, but here we step back in time to meet with Mona, but not at Barbary Lane but at Easley, the English country house that's her home.
Packed with equal amounts of trademark Maupin laughter, drama and tragedy I devoured this book in two glorious sittings.
Excellent!
May 25, 2025
est ce que ce tome était nécessaire ? non. est ce que j'ai chialé et passé un excellent moment ? OUI.
le roman se passe dans les années 90, a peu près au milieu du reste de la série. c'est doux, nostalgique et engagé. comme d'hab Armistead Maupin prend un ou deux sujets qu'il se plaît a dérouler et discuter : ici le deuil des personnes décédées du SIDA, les violences conjugales et la transphobie. c'est sur ce point d'ailleurs un très beau doigt d'honneur à JKR.
bref, le problème maintenant c'est que je veux relire toutes les Chroniques
le roman se passe dans les années 90, a peu près au milieu du reste de la série. c'est doux, nostalgique et engagé. comme d'hab Armistead Maupin prend un ou deux sujets qu'il se plaît a dérouler et discuter : ici le deuil des personnes décédées du SIDA, les violences conjugales et la transphobie. c'est sur ce point d'ailleurs un très beau doigt d'honneur à JKR.
bref, le problème maintenant c'est que je veux relire toutes les Chroniques
March 29, 2024
It was so good to be back in this world ... review will follow soon.
June 1, 2024
Oof. I'm gonna be real honest - I only finished this because a) it was very short, and b) my allegiance to the series. One of the least egregious things about this was the amount of typos/dropped words/missed quotes, so...
I was texting with a friend about this, as he'd read it. At that point I was 70% in and I said, "I'm 70% through - I don't care for it!" He wrote back that he found it to be good comfort food, and also it was very short. And I reiterated the above - very short is why I was going to finish. Some of it was exactly the comfort food I'd been expecting. But not nearly enough. I don't know why he didn't stop with the last book, which was a much better conclusion. The biggest problem (in a series of them), was that it was SO preachy. And much of it was preachy about issues that are extremely relevant...in 2024. Some of the conversations in this book do not feel like conversations people would be having (to this degree) in 1992. I was taken out of the book many times because of this. And not just the spirit of the conversations - the verbiage. It felt like AM did absolutely zero research (or refresher) on what people were talking about at that time. And further, these conversations felt so glaringly stuck in. There was no organic way in. Just, "now I'm gonna hit you with some Big Lessons." The other big problem was that it was missing the trademark of the TotC novels - the intersecting stories. That's where the books are at their best and most fun.
As I said at the top - oof.
I was texting with a friend about this, as he'd read it. At that point I was 70% in and I said, "I'm 70% through - I don't care for it!" He wrote back that he found it to be good comfort food, and also it was very short. And I reiterated the above - very short is why I was going to finish. Some of it was exactly the comfort food I'd been expecting. But not nearly enough. I don't know why he didn't stop with the last book, which was a much better conclusion. The biggest problem (in a series of them), was that it was SO preachy. And much of it was preachy about issues that are extremely relevant...in 2024. Some of the conversations in this book do not feel like conversations people would be having (to this degree) in 1992. I was taken out of the book many times because of this. And not just the spirit of the conversations - the verbiage. It felt like AM did absolutely zero research (or refresher) on what people were talking about at that time. And further, these conversations felt so glaringly stuck in. There was no organic way in. Just, "now I'm gonna hit you with some Big Lessons." The other big problem was that it was missing the trademark of the TotC novels - the intersecting stories. That's where the books are at their best and most fun.
As I said at the top - oof.
June 17, 2024
I am brand new to Tales of the City and I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't this! I was, however, enraptured by the queer, loud, and hilarious characters and the depth of exploration into being queer and understanding and loving those who are.
unfinished
May 3, 2024I read the first 30 pages. It seemed fun enough, if edgy for the sake of it (every main character is queer; crass speech). I encountered many more typos than I expected for a published book, including missing articles and quotation marks. Ultimately, I think you have to be invested in this series and its characters, whereas I had only ever read the first book, Tales of the City, and it didn’t captivate me.
October 15, 2023
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
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
February 14, 2024
I loved it. It’s like a comfort read with some favorite characters from Tales of the City. I read it in one day. Thanks to Harper Books/Harper Collins Publishers and a book fairy for the ARC.
October 19, 2023
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.
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.
March 19, 2024
I didn't realize how much I would relish a Mona-centered Tale. Sure, I look forward to any Tale of the City, but it was so lovely to hear her voice again.
April 7, 2024
Like meeting an old friend again after many years and realizing nothing had changed.
March 15, 2024
This book wasn’t horrible but just a simple, easy book about Mona. After all, it is #10 in a series and is the last. Of course it had to be read. I loved Tales of the City and all the follow up books over the past 30 years. Brings up great memories. Thanks Armistead Maupin for giving us such great characters and their stories.
March 11, 2024
I've loved the world of Tales of the City since I encountered it my late teens. Armistead Maupin is the only author I always buy in hardback because I can't wait to read the latest installment. I ALWAYS gallop through them, and this one was no exception. I've always loved Mona; something about her reminds me of myself, somehow. I'm glad we got to see her being happy.
I'm sorry that you weren't here to read it, Liz.
I'm sorry that you weren't here to read it, Liz.
August 9, 2024
4/10. I loved everything in the Tales of the City series that has gone before this novel, which had none of the heart of the others. I've been looking forward to it since it was announced, but so underwhelmed to have the finished product and make my way through.
February 22, 2024
I won this book through the Goodreads giveaway program - thank you!
A different kind of book for sure - for me, that is.
A continuation of the series 'Tales of the City' by Mr. Maupin. (And the only one I've read!)
The story of a group of friends, centered in San Fran, up and into the 1990's. Some of the earlier stories were serialized in magazines, etc., but eventually became novels. This book's a rather short one, focusing on Mona, who's inherited a rather rundown manor in England through marriage. (Her husband's gone to live in CA and is deceased.) Mona has a huge collection of friends, including a young man she's adopted, and they're working to hold the manor together with the help of occasional boarders/guests. There's a lot of humor here - and sex - but the real strength of the story is in the interplay of the characters, with Mona leading the charge. She's got strong opinions, is unabashedly liberal, yet can find the good in almost anybody...
ALMOST anybody.
The plot here is rather thin: Mona helps a guest out of a dreadful predicament, but most of the book is about people being people - interacting, loving and hating, and finding their way through a difficult world. (Yep, it is difficult, esp. for some.)
Entertaining. A swift read with some intriguing characters and smart dialogue.
Four stars.
A different kind of book for sure - for me, that is.
A continuation of the series 'Tales of the City' by Mr. Maupin. (And the only one I've read!)
The story of a group of friends, centered in San Fran, up and into the 1990's. Some of the earlier stories were serialized in magazines, etc., but eventually became novels. This book's a rather short one, focusing on Mona, who's inherited a rather rundown manor in England through marriage. (Her husband's gone to live in CA and is deceased.) Mona has a huge collection of friends, including a young man she's adopted, and they're working to hold the manor together with the help of occasional boarders/guests. There's a lot of humor here - and sex - but the real strength of the story is in the interplay of the characters, with Mona leading the charge. She's got strong opinions, is unabashedly liberal, yet can find the good in almost anybody...
ALMOST anybody.
The plot here is rather thin: Mona helps a guest out of a dreadful predicament, but most of the book is about people being people - interacting, loving and hating, and finding their way through a difficult world. (Yep, it is difficult, esp. for some.)
Entertaining. A swift read with some intriguing characters and smart dialogue.
Four stars.
July 8, 2024
Десять лет назад Армистед Мопед написал девятый роман «Городских историй» — The Days of Anna Madrigal, — который должен был стать последним в серии. Центральная фигура саги, матриарх Анна Мадригал из идиллической квир-коммуны на Барбари-лейн, доживает до глубокой старости и умирает в кругу друзей, а вместе с ней завершается и серия. Но все эти годы Мопина беспокоила лакуна в саге: между шестой (Sure of You, 1989) и седьмой (Michael Tolliver Lives, 2007) прошло почти двадцать лет. В шестой книге один из центральных персонажей, Майкл Толливер, узнает о своем ВИЧ-позитивном статусе, что тогда было равносильно смертельному приговору. По словам автора, он совершенно не хотел писать книгу, где гей умирает в конце. Только много лет спустя, когда появились новые лекарства, Мопин вернулся к своим героям, чтобы чевствовать тех, кто выжил. Вот только судьба Моны Рамси, другого персонажа саги, так и осталась непроработанной где-то в девяностых. В новой книге Мопин оборачивается назад и рассказывает, что происходило с ней в те годы.
Мона, нонкомформистка и общительная лесбиянка, заключает брак по расчету с британским лордом, мечтавшим переехать в Сан-Франциско, и становится леди английского поместья. Поместье огромное, старинное и медленно разрушается, и чтобы найти деньги на ремонт, Мона сдает комнаты гостям. Вместе с Моной поместьем управляет ее приемный сын Уилфред, который уже отчаялся найти любовь в сельской местности, где живут одни пенсионеры. В начале романа в особняке останавливается семейная пара американских туристов, и скоро Мона понимает, что жену нужно спасать от мужа, который ее избивает.
Мопин никогда не стеснялся поднимать острые темы в «Городских историях» — так, он первым в американской литературе в 1982 году написал об эпидемии ВИЧ. В «Моне из поместья» острота приглушена историей, но и здесь посреди криминального сюжета и отсылок к поп-культуре 90-х Мона и Уилфред скорбят по друзьям, умирающим от СПИДа, разрабатывают план по спасению женщины, спорят с прото-ТЭРФками и организуют языческий праздник летнего солнцестояния посреди англиканской деревни.
Стилистически новый роман похож скорее на раннего Мопина — с преобладающими диалогами, остросюжетными поворотами и удобными совпадениями, — чем продолжает его романы десятилетней давности, где он полагался на пространные описательные абзацы и внутренние монологи персонажей. Юмористические сцены пасторальной жизни будто перенеслись со страниц Вудхауса, а сильное влияние «Я захватываю замок» Доди Смит (элегичного романа про эксцентричную семью в старом разваливающемся особняке) подтверждал и сам Мопин.
В целом, «Мона из поместья» — это и умело сделанный фансервис для поклонников «Городских историй», который не меняет канона, но углубляет персонажа Моны, и в то же время добрый, занимательный, читабельный роман о «логической семье» и жизни в удовольствие.
Мона, нонкомформистка и общительная лесбиянка, заключает брак по расчету с британским лордом, мечтавшим переехать в Сан-Франциско, и становится леди английского поместья. Поместье огромное, старинное и медленно разрушается, и чтобы найти деньги на ремонт, Мона сдает комнаты гостям. Вместе с Моной поместьем управляет ее приемный сын Уилфред, который уже отчаялся найти любовь в сельской местности, где живут одни пенсионеры. В начале романа в особняке останавливается семейная пара американских туристов, и скоро Мона понимает, что жену нужно спасать от мужа, который ее избивает.
Мопин никогда не стеснялся поднимать острые темы в «Городских историях» — так, он первым в американской литературе в 1982 году написал об эпидемии ВИЧ. В «Моне из поместья» острота приглушена историей, но и здесь посреди криминального сюжета и отсылок к поп-культуре 90-х Мона и Уилфред скорбят по друзьям, умирающим от СПИДа, разрабатывают план по спасению женщины, спорят с прото-ТЭРФками и организуют языческий праздник летнего солнцестояния посреди англиканской деревни.
Стилистически новый роман похож скорее на раннего Мопина — с преобладающими диалогами, остросюжетными поворотами и удобными совпадениями, — чем продолжает его романы десятилетней давности, где он полагался на пространные описательные абзацы и внутренние монологи персонажей. Юмористические сцены пасторальной жизни будто перенеслись со страниц Вудхауса, а сильное влияние «Я захватываю замок» Доди Смит (элегичного романа про эксцентричную семью в старом разваливающемся особняке) подтверждал и сам Мопин.
В целом, «Мона из поместья» — это и умело сделанный фансервис для поклонников «Городских историй», который не меняет канона, но углубляет персонажа Моны, и в то же время добрый, занимательный, читабельный роман о «логической семье» и жизни в удовольствие.
April 12, 2024
My only complaint is that Mona of the Manor was too short! Armistead Maupin has stayed true to these characters for decades, even with some long stops and starts, and that is what makes them so special. Mona, Michael, and Anna are just as wise, silly, and loving as ever, and even though this is the first Tales of the City book in a decade, written out of order (it takes place in the early 90s, whereas The Days of Anna Madrigal takes place in the early 00s) and 50 years after the first.
Let that sink in - 50 years! - and there is such heart to these characters that this new installment fits in seamlessly with the rest of the series. There is a reason that I, a gay man who came of age in the 2000s and only started reading these books about a decade ago, relates to them so deeply. These characters and the heart and soul that is the basis for their queer, logical family is timeless.
There's an interesting bit that certainly aims to combat present-day transphobia that is running rampant in (and out) of this country. I'm not sure if there are some anachronisms in these scenes, but I appreciated their inclusion nonetheless. As one of (if not the) first books with such a wide audience to have a trans character, you can tell Maupin feels a responsibility to the community.
Delightfully queer, unapologetically frank, and wickedly funny and honest - I'm so glad to have another Tales book and an answer to the question, "Whatever happened to Mona?"
Let that sink in - 50 years! - and there is such heart to these characters that this new installment fits in seamlessly with the rest of the series. There is a reason that I, a gay man who came of age in the 2000s and only started reading these books about a decade ago, relates to them so deeply. These characters and the heart and soul that is the basis for their queer, logical family is timeless.
There's an interesting bit that certainly aims to combat present-day transphobia that is running rampant in (and out) of this country. I'm not sure if there are some anachronisms in these scenes, but I appreciated their inclusion nonetheless. As one of (if not the) first books with such a wide audience to have a trans character, you can tell Maupin feels a responsibility to the community.
Delightfully queer, unapologetically frank, and wickedly funny and honest - I'm so glad to have another Tales book and an answer to the question, "Whatever happened to Mona?"
March 20, 2024
This is definitely written for the fans. If you're not a Tales of the City die hard, it might be a bit like watching a Bravo reunion special for a reality show you never watched. I suspect nostalgia would more than compensate for the technical shortcomings of this book.
It deals with a lot of heavy topics, and I wasn't truly satisfied with its handling of them. Specifically the persistent domestic assault situation and the transphobic postmistress. They both left me wanting either more or much less.
It deals with a lot of heavy topics, and I wasn't truly satisfied with its handling of them. Specifically the persistent domestic assault situation and the transphobic postmistress. They both left me wanting either more or much less.
September 28, 2024
2.5 - A bit of a “nothing” book where not much happened. Big topics were thrown in (TW domestic violence) around racism, sexuality, religion, loss and transphobia and none of them were really dealt with or explored properly and the writing just felt super sloppy and jagged. All of that being said, it was cosy and ended nicely and does have some really sweet moments around found family.
Everyone else in my book club group said that it was “Fine. Cosy and fine”. My life isn’t changed but I’m not sad I read it.
Everyone else in my book club group said that it was “Fine. Cosy and fine”. My life isn’t changed but I’m not sad I read it.
March 9, 2024
More tales of the city is always a good thing.
April 1, 2024
A totally sentimental and based on pure emotion 5-star review. I've been reading 'Tales of the City' novels for probably around 30 years and have had so much affection for these characters and these stories that it is always feels like such a gift when Armistead Maupin gives us one more of these novels (and it's really hard to believe it has been 10 years since the last one, 'The Days of Anna Madrigal'!). Much like Maupin himself these days, this novel finds Mona living in England in the 1990s and running a country manor and B&B with her adoptive son. I have to admit I really don't remember if we/readers already knew Mona was doing this in past 'Tales' novels, but honestly it doesn't matter as Maupin just works his magic and serendipity, that nothing is ever a surprise or seems out of place. There's fun new characters and the typical mysteries and odd occurrences with Maupin tackling some serious issues along the way in his own special way.
I can't imagine anyone reading this one standalone and not having any of the history or connection with these characters -- guessing it would all seem pretty silly/trite. But I am fairly confident that anyone who has loved this series as much as I have would not welcome this latest addition. Now to wonder if or when we'll see another, and when/if there is I know I'll be there for it. Tho maybe I'll not have to whip through it so quickly (feels like I read this one in only a few sittings).
I can't imagine anyone reading this one standalone and not having any of the history or connection with these characters -- guessing it would all seem pretty silly/trite. But I am fairly confident that anyone who has loved this series as much as I have would not welcome this latest addition. Now to wonder if or when we'll see another, and when/if there is I know I'll be there for it. Tho maybe I'll not have to whip through it so quickly (feels like I read this one in only a few sittings).
Read
July 30, 202510 whole books!! I discovered Tales of the City from the 2019 Netflix show when I was out only to myself. I found it again in a bookstore with many cats. Later, on the way home from the Seattle pride parade, I made my whole group stop so I could pick up the rest of the books. It took me a few years but I’m done with them!!
The series, although a bit absurd and a little dated is a delightful queer time capsule. Maupin gave Barbary Lane a personality, filled it with life, and moved us all right into an apartment in it.
My favorite was Michael Tolliver Lives. I can’t even imagineeeeee waiting for it in real time. While it tied up major series-wide loose ends, it was mostly just about how long life is and how much time there is to make new choices.
The series, although a bit absurd and a little dated is a delightful queer time capsule. Maupin gave Barbary Lane a personality, filled it with life, and moved us all right into an apartment in it.
My favorite was Michael Tolliver Lives. I can’t even imagineeeeee waiting for it in real time. While it tied up major series-wide loose ends, it was mostly just about how long life is and how much time there is to make new choices.
September 22, 2025
4.5 ~ Thank you Mr Maupin for this wonderful addition to the Tales of the City series. This was a cute and lovely coda (albeit not chronologically since it technically goes back to the middle of the timeline). Mona finally received her due diligence. The book & dialogue is sharp, fast, witty, and soapy — everything Maupin is good at. It perfectly blends nostalgia and irony, since the audience knows what came before, and what comes after the book. There were some flaws (plot holes and a hard to believe conclusion — but I can look past that in the excuse of soap operas). There are also several punctuation errors. My rating is probably biased, since Tales of the City is my favorite series. I can’t wait to circle back and re-read them all again.
April 29, 2024
It was a delight to return to the characters of Barbary Lane - albeit with this novel set in England where Maupin now resides having attained British citizenship. The tenth novel in the Tales of the City series does not disappoint - it is filled with the same fun loving and intriguing characters who find themselves caught up in a world of quirky mischief synonymous with this author.
November 4, 2025
So lovely to dive back into Armistead Maupin’s world. Having read all the Tales of the City books back in the day, it felt very nostalgic reacquainting myself with his characters. Funny, moving and just a lovely read.
May 17, 2024
I’ve loved all of these tales. Old favourites, comfort reading.
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