Author Talk: Alison Goodman & The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies

Come along and hear bestselling author Alison Goodman discuss her latest novel, The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies. A high society amateur detective at the heart of Regency London users her wits and invisibility as an ‘old maid’ to protect other women in the first of a new and fiercely feminist historical mystery series.

Bookings required.

Book signing after the talk. Books will be available to purchase on the night from our partners, Dymocks Point Cook.

About the book:

Lady Augusta Colebrook, “Gus,” is determinedly unmarried, bored by society life, and tired of being dismissed at the age of forty-two. She and her twin sister, Julia, who is grieving her dead betrothed, need a distraction. One soon presents itself: to rescue their friend’s goddaughter, Caroline, from her violent husband.

The sisters set out to Caroline’s country estate with a plan, but their carriage is accosted by a highwayman. In the scuffle, Gus accidentally shoots and injures the ruffian, only to discover he is Lord Evan Belford, an acquaintance from their past who was charged with murder and exiled to Australia twenty years ago. What follows is a high adventure full of danger, clever improvisation, heart-racing near misses, and a little help from a revived and rather charming Lord Evan.

Back in London, Gus can’t stop thinking about her unlikely (not to mention handsome) comrade-in-arms. She is convinced Lord Evan was falsely accused of murder, and she is going to prove it. She persuades Julia to join her in a quest to help Lord Evan, and others in need—society be damned! And so begins the beguiling secret life and adventures of the Colebrook twins.

About Alison Goodman

Alison is the author of eight novels and her most recent release, The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies, is an adventure/mystery set in the Regency era. It is the first book in The Ill-Mannered Ladies series and was recently long-listed in the 2023 ARA Historical Novel Award.

Her award winning Lady Helen dark fantasy trilogy has been described as ‘Buffy meets Pride and Prejudice’. The first book in the series, The Dark Days Club, was a 2017 CBCA Notable Book for Older Readers, a 2017 Bank Street Library Best Book and an NPR Best Book of 2016. The second book, The Dark Days Pact, won the 2016 Aurealis Award for Best YA Novel. The third and final novel in the series, The Dark Days Deceit, was an Aurealis Award finalist.

Alison is also the author of the New York Times bestselling fantasy duology EON and EONA. Her award winning debut novel, Singing the Dogstar Blues, was first published in 1998 and is still in print, and her very adult thriller, A New Kind of Death, was a Davitt Award finalist under its original title Killing the Rabbit.

Alison can dance a mean contra-dance, has a wardrobe full of historically accurate Regency clothes and will travel a long way for a good High Tea. She lives in Melbourne, Australia and was recently awarded her PhD at the University of Queensland so can now call herself Dr Al.

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