What do you think?
Rate this book
Tales of London #3
Leading Lady
Book 3 of Tales of London is set in the fascinating world of the London theatre at the close of the nineteenth century. Wardrobe mistress Bethia Rayborn incites the wrath of Muriel Pearce Holt, the new leading lady at London's Royal Court Theatre. Muriel plots revenge, but in scheming to steal Bethia's true love, she may lose the truest love she has ever known.
508 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2004
37 people are currently reading
366 people want to read
About the author
Lawana Blackwell
25 books390 followersLawana Blackwell is a full-time writer with 10 published novels, including the bestselling Gresham Chronicles series. She and her husband have three grown sons and live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
December 17, 2024
A truly wonderful ending to the trilogy. I highly recommend the excellent review of this book at https://www.forewordreviews.com/revie...
September 4, 2012
Leading Lady (Tales of London Series #3)
by Lawana Blackwell
I think this is the best of the 3 books . Lawana Blackwell, has focused on the villains in this book far more then she has in the other 2 books in her Tales of London Series . I think that has makes this a far better story . Like the other books she gets a bit preachy at times , but it is Christian fiction . It is a nice coming of age story , that the reader should enjoy .
by Lawana Blackwell
I think this is the best of the 3 books . Lawana Blackwell, has focused on the villains in this book far more then she has in the other 2 books in her Tales of London Series . I think that has makes this a far better story . Like the other books she gets a bit preachy at times , but it is Christian fiction . It is a nice coming of age story , that the reader should enjoy .
November 30, 2008
Fun historical fiction w/religious overtones. I found a clean series of books and am reading all of Lawana Blackwell's books. Read all my reviews of her books and all my reviews to see how varied my choices are.
June 8, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. I even stayed up late to finish it. I was surprised that one of the main characters wasn't introduced until 150 pages in, but it worked out well.
June 29, 2015
Great book!
I love reading a good story with depth. This author knows how to bring life to her characters. She understands human emotion which is a complex task.
I love reading a good story with depth. This author knows how to bring life to her characters. She understands human emotion which is a complex task.
February 3, 2019
Wonderful plot and characters. Revenge, conspiracies, forgiveness, pain, love. I also enjoy the follow-up about the last book's story. One of my favorites in this genre.
July 19, 2017
Another great series! I read Gresham a couple summers ago and while awaiting some faves releases at the end of the year and beginning of next decided to revisit one I discovered in a Kindle freebie and have become a fave. I had #1, like Gresham, in my freebies and it was the hook. Once again I'm sad to see it come to an end, especially when I still have more summer. 😩
June 3, 2022
An interesting look into the world of London theater, woven throughout with Lawana Blackwell’s trademark threads of faith. I really enjoyed the layers of this story. And I love any author brave even to kill off her villains or erase unworthy characters. A standing ovation for Blackwell’s happy ending!
August 28, 2018
Started out very slow for me. The story line with Daniel was not interesting for me. While necessary in order to set the rest of the tale, I lost interest. After he is no longer in the picture, the story picked up and became interesting for me.
November 11, 2016
All have been delightful.
The third book in the second series is as good as all the rest. People are multidimensional. They have real reactions and learn. Wonderful
The third book in the second series is as good as all the rest. People are multidimensional. They have real reactions and learn. Wonderful
May 9, 2017
A wonderful book of intrigue, revenge, love, forgiveness, friendship and family.
April 19, 2018
The London theater! What fun. Good story, lots of characters, but it all weaves together, of course. I'm really enjoying this author.
June 22, 2018
Like her characters.
September 5, 2019
Another beautiful story!
I so enjoy any book by this author! Her attention to detail makes for a rich & interesting story every time.
I so enjoy any book by this author! Her attention to detail makes for a rich & interesting story every time.
November 14, 2021
Great characters. Many unsuspecting twists and turns along the way.
February 16, 2017
Last in the Trilogy,
As always, a pleasure to read Ms Blackwell’s books as they are well-written and edited. The dialogue and settings are authentic for Victorian London, and even though written in American English which is usually a put-off for me, with this author’s skilled hand I barely noticed it.
This book should be Jewel’s story but, in fact is less about Jewel than her paternal cousin, Bethia, and maternal cousin, Muriel. Jewel and her husband, Grady McGuire, manage the Royal Court Theatre which includes managing temperamental actors. Bethia is studying at Girton College and working as Wardrobe Mistress during the holidays. Muriel is a very wealthy widow with a three-year old daughter. When Jewel and Grady’s leading lady becomes pregnant and retires, Muriel pays an exorbitant amount of money for acting lessons from her, then auditions for the main female part of the next play. The McGuire’s don’t want to hire her, but her acting abilities surpass those of any other available actresses.
Muriel is not a nice person, nor is one of her twin brothers. They are selfish and greedy, think only of themselves and Muriel especially, hates. Specifically, she hates Bethia and, to a lesser degree, hates Jewel’s sister, Catherine. She hates her neighbours; as I said, she hates. Definitely not a nice person, but a very talented actress, after all, she has been acting on and off for most of her life.
Given that, this could be a depressing book, but it is far from that. It gives an intriguing insight into London’s theatres, actors, actresses and the theatre-goers of the late 19th century. It is also a story of family, relationships, and ultimately that actions have consequences.
I have read this book at least twice and will probably read it again in the future. It hasn’t yet found its way into my “Favourites” folder, but it is close.
As always, a pleasure to read Ms Blackwell’s books as they are well-written and edited. The dialogue and settings are authentic for Victorian London, and even though written in American English which is usually a put-off for me, with this author’s skilled hand I barely noticed it.
This book should be Jewel’s story but, in fact is less about Jewel than her paternal cousin, Bethia, and maternal cousin, Muriel. Jewel and her husband, Grady McGuire, manage the Royal Court Theatre which includes managing temperamental actors. Bethia is studying at Girton College and working as Wardrobe Mistress during the holidays. Muriel is a very wealthy widow with a three-year old daughter. When Jewel and Grady’s leading lady becomes pregnant and retires, Muriel pays an exorbitant amount of money for acting lessons from her, then auditions for the main female part of the next play. The McGuire’s don’t want to hire her, but her acting abilities surpass those of any other available actresses.
Muriel is not a nice person, nor is one of her twin brothers. They are selfish and greedy, think only of themselves and Muriel especially, hates. Specifically, she hates Bethia and, to a lesser degree, hates Jewel’s sister, Catherine. She hates her neighbours; as I said, she hates. Definitely not a nice person, but a very talented actress, after all, she has been acting on and off for most of her life.
Given that, this could be a depressing book, but it is far from that. It gives an intriguing insight into London’s theatres, actors, actresses and the theatre-goers of the late 19th century. It is also a story of family, relationships, and ultimately that actions have consequences.
I have read this book at least twice and will probably read it again in the future. It hasn’t yet found its way into my “Favourites” folder, but it is close.
October 6, 2012
This particular story shows how you can fall in love when you are very young with someone who also is very young, and then when you both become adults, you may lack some of the qualities that you are looking for in an adult partner. Bethia, who was a child in the last book, had been in love with Guy and her father had even helped pay for his school and music lessons. Bethia always assumed they would marry one day so she never even worried about courting or being officially engaged. Thankfully before they could get married though, Guy was put in a position that challenged his true character. After grieving the loss of a long-standing understanding, Bethia was able to see the Lord working to bring her a man of total allegiance to his faith and obedience to His Lord.
Muriel, a character who had never been taught restraint or tolerance, marries Lord Holt after breaking up his questionable relationship with a woman whom he rain away with earlier. He dies, leaving her with plenty of money, but no real idea how to raise their baby or manage a home. Her idleness breeds contempt, she tries to focus on an occupation, but in the end she loses the town's respect. Near the end of the story, she repents after allowing her Rector Brother to talk with her about Christ.
This has been an enjoyable series and I like the twists and turns that Lawana incorporates into her stories.
Muriel, a character who had never been taught restraint or tolerance, marries Lord Holt after breaking up his questionable relationship with a woman whom he rain away with earlier. He dies, leaving her with plenty of money, but no real idea how to raise their baby or manage a home. Her idleness breeds contempt, she tries to focus on an occupation, but in the end she loses the town's respect. Near the end of the story, she repents after allowing her Rector Brother to talk with her about Christ.
This has been an enjoyable series and I like the twists and turns that Lawana incorporates into her stories.
March 30, 2014
I loved the setting of much of this book -- the stage. Actors / performance / stage presence are such fascinating topics. I enjoyed that many of the characters of the last book were still here -- more grown-up and it was fun to see how things turned out. Nothing is ever written in stone, and this book demonstrated how people change and what may seem right one time, isn't necessarily right at another date.
July 9, 2008
I enjoyed this last book in the Tales of London series. Unlike books one and two; however, there was quite a jump between two and three. I was surprised that most of the characters in the other two books didn't play larger roles in this one. It was a light, easy read, and I noticed that the category for these books is historical fiction. Here I thought they were romance novels.
November 20, 2015
This was not my favorite series...this and the previous stories I didn't enjoy the characters or the storyline at all. :/ This one she has two male suitors (one who practically is stalking her) only to end up with a third man?! It was dragged out romances and the spirtual messages weren't strong enough.
July 14, 2010
This was lame! Too much dialogue of trivial stuff and I would have fallen asleep even if I was in the same room with these characters. Some interesting history but I would not recommend this book as a good read!
October 5, 2011
A little far-fetched with the whole revenge theme going on. Then adding Noah and Jude out of nowhere when all the characters were set in place was a little confusing.
I liked it, however, I prefer the first two books in the series. I also liked the ending.
I liked it, however, I prefer the first two books in the series. I also liked the ending.
May 16, 2016
In my opinion, this was the best book in the series. The synopsis did not interest me, but I found the book to be much better than I thought it would be. Unfortunately, it was still plagued with some typos, especially quotes being attributed to the wrong characters.
July 30, 2008
This was amaizing. The characters are very well developed and I just couldn't put it down.
December 9, 2009
A sweet love story.
Read
October 26, 2010A nice easy read with a happy ending. Nothing earthshattering, but that's not what I was looking for.
April 8, 2013
I wrote a review for this book for ForeWord when I was a book reviewer there. The review is at: https://www.forewordreviews.com/revie...
Carolina
Carolina
December 29, 2019
Her story stories are wonderful
I always re read them when I need something peaceful and uplifting. This series is one to enjoy over and over
I always re read them when I need something peaceful and uplifting. This series is one to enjoy over and over
January 27, 2017
Enjoyable
I love the interactions with God in all of Iwana Blackwell books. The description of facial expressions to the fold of material is fun to imagine.
I love the interactions with God in all of Iwana Blackwell books. The description of facial expressions to the fold of material is fun to imagine.
May 30, 2019
Unfinished
I feel this story is unfinished, so I hope the next novel in the series will bring this story to a final conclusion. I will then review it, but not this time around.
I feel this story is unfinished, so I hope the next novel in the series will bring this story to a final conclusion. I will then review it, but not this time around.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews