Bloomsbury Wives Like Us The perfect holiday read.

by Plum Sykes

Bloomsbury Wives Like Us The perfect holiday read ABISBOOK Bloomsbury.

368 pages, Paperback

Published June 5, 2025

About the author

Victoria Rowland, known professionally as Plum Sykes, is an English-born fashion journalist, novelist, and socialite. Born in London in 1969 and raised in Sevenoaks, Kent, she was nicknamed “Plum” after the Victoria plum. She attended Oxford University’s Worcester College, graduating in modern history. Sykes began her career at British Vogue in 1993 as a fashion assistant, later becoming a contributing editor for American Vogue under Anna Wintour. She quickly became a prominent figure on New York’s social scene, often described as an “It girl.”
Sykes is best known for her bestselling chick lit novels Bergdorf Blondes (2004) and The Debutante Divorcée (2006), which portray the glamorous world of New York fashion and society. These works reflect her insider perspective on the “chic lit” genre and have been compared to Sex and the City.
In 2005, she married British entrepreneur Toby Rowland at her family’s ancestral home, wearing a dress by Alexander McQueen, with whom she had a close creative relationship.
Sykes has also been open about her personal struggles, including a three-year battle with anxiety disorder and agoraphobia following the birth of her children. She detailed her recovery in a 2012 Vogue article, crediting an anxiety treatment program for helping her return to a full social and professional life.