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5-27-24: My 15th finished book of 2024! Number 10 in the Tales of the City series. And what a surprise to have a new book with this cast of characters. I‘ve been reading this series since o found it as a teen in the 90s and I‘ve re-read it often. Barbary Lane in San Francisco in the 70s was an immediate draw for me. This one takes place in England at Mona‘s Easley House. It‘s the 90s and some of my favorites like Anna and Michael return. 💖

The tenth in the Tales of the City series is set in 1993 in England, where Mona landed as Lord Teddy‘s mail-order bride and takes in paying guests to cover the costs of owning a large manor house. An enjoyable romp that captures the feel of Maupin‘s earlier books, with rotating viewpoints, a cast of queer characters, improbable events, some serious issues, and a satisfying conclusion.

Wilfred: And over yonder is the bluebell wood. They come back every year to that woodland & some folks reckon they‘ve done that for the past 300 years.
Anna: Really? How do you know such things?
Wilfred: By living here. Easley‘s a great teacher. She taught me everything I know.
Michael: So it‘s a she?
Mona: She is now. Mama don‘t allow no patriarchy round here.

Sharing a love of reading: two booktubers connect in person and laugh a lot! Bookstores, books—including the tagged novel—and visiting the beautiful city of Victoria in my latest booktube video:

https://youtu.be/IyDcb4rcUuo

After The Days of Anna Madrigal it feels a bit redundant to be going back in time with the Tales of the City characters, and I don‘t think there‘s anything here that really adds to my understanding of them, but I enjoyed spending time with Mona in her English life. It was also a salient reminder of the early 1990‘s and the dark days of the AIDS epidemic.

Mona of the Manor is Mona Ramsey, the daughter of Anna Madrigal. After the death of her husband, Lord Teddy Roughton, Mona becomes the Lady of the Easley House in the U.K. and she overseas it with her adopted son, Wilfred, and a Gardner, Mr. Hargis.

Rhonda and Ernie visit Easley House as well as Anna and Michael Tolliver, a friend of Mona‘s and a love interest for Wilfred. Something happens with the American couple.