Female Empowerment & The Pennington’s Department Store Series



It’s pretty clear from the Pennington’s tagline line ‘Perfect for the fans of the TV series Mr Selfridge and The Paradise’ where the inspiration for my latest series originated.

I loved these shows, but something was always missing for me - I wanted more from the female characters. I wanted to know more about their hopes, dreams and wishes. More about their lives away from their work. What were their families like? Their histories? Their past pains and failures? Who inspires them? What do they want to change?

All too soon, I’d identified the theme of a brand-new series that I couldn’t wait to get started on and the theme of that series was ‘female empowerment’.

I much prefer writing a series of books rather than single titles because it gives the readers and (and me!) the opportunity to really get to know a big cast of characters and their conflicts. This in turn means I want to write more stories and readers (I hope!) want to read more! There is nothing I like more than having starring characters and using secondary characters to move the protagonists’ journeys forward, to interact and bring them back and forth onstage as the stories and series unfolds.

The first book in the Pennington’s Department Store series (The Mistress of Pennington’s) is about the challenges women faced if they had business ambitions in the early 20th century. The second book (all books can be read stand alone), A Rebel At Pennington’s, is set against the backdrop of women’s suffrage around the time the campaigning neared fever pitch. And the latest, Christmas At Pennington’s (releases Sept 19th) is about how hard it was for women during a divorce in the Edwardian era.
I have so much passion for the strength and sacrifices the women who stood before us made, that every book in this series has been an absolute joy to write. I really hope my passion for the subjects—not to mention the search for true love—comes across in each story and readers love every character’s journey as much as I do.

Happy Reading!
Rachel x

Visit the Pennington’s page on my website for the blurbs & buy links for all the books:

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