How beautiful is this cover? I know one should never judge a book by its cover, but you do feast visually first, don’t you? At least, that’s what my high school creative writing teacher told me and it stuck with me. It’s such a lovely cover; the woman there who is meant to be Belle I would assume looks at us, the readers, almost as if entreating us silently with her gaze to read this book.
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Publish Date: 7th August 2018
Page Count: 384
Category: Historical Fiction | Romance | Literary Fiction
Becoming Belle is a witty and inherently feminist novel about passion and marriage, based on a true story of an unstoppable woman ahead of her time in Victorian London.
In 1887, Isabel Bilton is the eldest of three daughters of a middle-class military family, growing up in a small garrison town. By 1891 she is the Countess of Clancarty, dubbed “the peasant countess” by the press, and a member of the Irish aristocracy. Becoming Belle is the story of the four years in between, of Belle’s rapid ascent and the people that tried to tear her down.
With only her talent, charm, and determination, Isabel moves to London alone at age nineteen, changes her name to Belle, and takes the city by storm, facing unthinkable hardships as she rises to fame. A true bohemian and the star of a dancing double act she performs with her sister, she reigns over The Empire Theatre and The Corinthian Club, where only select society entertains. It is there she falls passionately in love with William, Viscount Dunlo, a young aristocrat. For Belle, her marriage to William is a dream come true, but his ruthless father makes clear he’ll stop at nothing to keep her in her place.
Reimagined by a novelist at the height of her powers, Belle is an unforgettable woman. Set against an absorbing portrait of Victorian London, hers is a timeless rags-to-riches story a la Becky Sharpe.
AMAZON || BARNES & NOBLE || INDIE BOUND || BOOKS-A-MILLION
The author made this little video about it…
Clarissa Reads It All. 
Hi Riss, thanks so much for this. I love the cover too and the Canadian nd UK ones are gorgeous, also, imo (see my Pinterest or Insta for images). That is the actual Belle Bilton on the US cover above. Wan’t she a beauty? And a Victorian feminist to boot 🙂
Thanks again and warm wishes to you from Ireland,
Nuala
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Hello to you in Ireland! ❤
I looked and I think they're equally as beautiful. See? I just can't go with the "don't judge a book by its cover" rule. I love a beautiful cover. She was a beauty! And yay for feminists. I can't wait to read it! ❤
-Riss
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