Happily Ever After (60 page)

It was good to know some things didn’t change, and that Felicity still loved a long, pointless story. Elle listening politely to an anecdote about the time Felicity had told Carmen Callil how she should be running Virago, and then smiled politely, turning on her computer, and opening the post in her in-box. There was a large manila envelope, already opened. She tipped the contents out. A postcard was on top, a Veronese print, and written in looping, large handwriting:

You haven’t given me your new address, so I’m forwarding on your post to Aphra Books. Good luck, my dear. Be well. Gray

She smiled. She hadn’t quite forgiven Gray yet, for wearing his injured pride like a cloak around New York that caused people to look at Elle, in the couple of months she spent back there, through narrowed eyes. “She went crazy,” she heard someone at a book launch say, a few days before she flew back. “He had a hard time with her, you know. She’s still very young. Poor Gray,” whereas poor Gray had, in fact, hooked up with Jessica,
a fellow lecturer and widow, less than two weeks after his split with Elle. It had taken her under an hour to pack her things up in the loft, and move into a hotel, after she’d broken up with him.

“This wasn’t ever your home,” he’d said, matter-of-factly.

“It was,” she’d told him. “It was. It’s just it’s not anymore.”

Leaving Gray and leaving Jane Street sent her New York ranking plummeting so drastically that, by the time she flew back to London, just before Christmas, she was free of almost any guilt. They’d told Elizabeth Forsyte she’d had a breakdown. When Elle heard, she was furious, then she shrugged and smiled. Perhaps she had. Was it insane, to hand your notice in on a job like that, leave behind that life, to come back to London in the depths of winter, to do a job she employed other people to do?

Maybe, maybe not. Caryn got Courtney to courier her things over to the Midtown hotel where she was staying, on her final day, and sign a release form.

“I’m only moving to a tiny start-up,” Elle had told her boss, exasperated. “I just want to read something good, edit some books for once, do it all over again. I’m not defecting to our rivals, you know.”

“I know, but you can’t be too careful,” Caryn replied. She was almost uninterested. She patted Elle on the back. “It’s business. We’re gonna miss you. Come back when you’ve got whatever it is outta your system.”

The package of post from the States was mundane stuff: renewal reminders on her subscriptions, invitations to come shop at Dean & Deluca or extend her credit on her Bloomingdale’s card. She pushed it to one side and turned to the rest of the in-box. There were several cards from agents and other publishers welcoming her to Aphra Books. The last one was a picture of Sherlock Holmes smoking a pipe. It said:

By the time you get this, paper will probably be obsolete. So treasure this and good luck. We can’t wait to see you for supper tonight. Lots of love, Tom and Dora xx

Elle smiled, took out the old paperback copy of
Venetia
from her handbag, and propped it up on the windowsill next to the card. She opened the window, smelling the fresh air, and spun joyfully round on her chair, her hands clutching the armrests. Spring was on its way.

I’d like to say a special thank-you to Jane Morpeth for hiring me all those years ago and believing in me. She is my real-life heroine, a brilliant boss and a lovely person, and I miss working with her every single day.

Massive thanks to Nikki Barrow, Auriol Bishop, Lindsey Evans, Abigail Hanna, and Tora Orde-Powlett for the wine-soaked memories of the good old days, and for the good old days themselves. Also to Lance Fitzgerald, Georgina Moore, Rebecca Folland, Sophie Linton, and Roland Philipps for their help. Especially thanks to Chris for the plot rehearsals and for everything, basically.

Big
muchas gracias
to everyone at Curtis Brown, especially Melissa Pimentel, Alice Lutyens, Lucia Rae, and OF COURSE Jonathan Lloyd.

And thanks to everyone at HarperCollins, especially Kate Elton, Thalia Suzuma, Kate Stephenson, and the one and only Elinor Fewster. Special thanks to Liz Dawson, I am very lucky to have you on my side. Lastly to my editor, Lynne Drew, who has put up with me for many years, taught me so much, and is very great, and that is why this book is for you, with my love.

GALLERY READERS GROUP GUIDE

Harriet Evans

At twenty-two, Eleanor Bee is sure about three things: she wants to move to London to become a literary superstar, she wants to be able to afford to buy a coffee and croissant every morning, and she doesn’t believe in happy endings. She saw what divorce did to her parents, especially her mother. “Happily ever after” is fine on the last page of a book, but it just doesn’t happen in real life.

Elle moves to London. She gets a job at Bluebird Books, a charmingly old-fashioned publisher. She falls out of pubs, wears too-short skirts, makes a lot of mistakes, and feels like she’s going nowhere. And then, out of the blue, she falls in love. That’s when she realizes just how much growing up she has to do.

Ten years later, Elle’s life has changed in ways she could never have predicted. Because no matter where you go and how much you try to run away, the past has a funny way of catching up with you, and “happily ever after” can come in all shapes and sizes.

1.
Happily Ever After
begins with a Jane Austen quote. Why do you think Harriet Evans selected this quote? How does the quote set the tone for this novel?

2. What did you learn about Elle in the 1988 prologue? Did seeing her as a child help you understand her and her relationships with her family members as a young adult?

3. Elle has failed at an important job interview. She’s living on a friend’s couch, and her prospects look bleak. Just when she’s about to give up, she accidentally finds an advertisement for the perfect job mis-posted in the newspaper’s vacation section. Why do you think the author had Elle notice a misplaced ad? What effect does this have on Elle and on what follows?

4. Elle’s meeting with the great Felicity Sassoon (starting on
page 58
) is a success. But readers later learn that it had an unexpected result. Why did Rory react the way he did? How would you have responded if you were in Elle’s shoes?

5. On
page 66
, Elle’s brother, Rhodes, now living in the United States, visits her. How has their relationship changed since childhood? How is it the same? Does their relationship remind you of any in your own life?

6. Several bits of news are revealed during Elle’s family meeting starting on
page 95
. Which is the most shocking to Elle? Which one surprised you the most? Discuss your impressions of this meeting and its effect on Elle and her family members.

7. What troubles Elle the most about her relationship with Rory? Did you find that you could relate to Elle? If so, in what ways? Would you have made the same choices in dealing with Rory? Why or why not?

8. Elle must simultaneously deal with the drama of her family, her workplace, and her romantic relationships. Did any one of these intermingled aspects of her life intrigue you more than another? Explain which facet of her life you found most interesting.

9. Elle becomes obsessed with the writing of Georgette Heyer. Have you read any of her books? What overlapping themes do you see between her stories and Elle’s story?

10. A number of books mentioned throughout the novel show women finding independence on their own. The author references
Forever Amber, I Capture the Castle
,
Jane Eyre, The Best of Everything,
and
Bridget Jones’s Diary
. What other books cover similar ground? What other overarching themes do you see throughout these books?

11. Elle seems to find a new version of herself in New York. Why do you think this is so? What does Elle find in New York? What does she give up?

12. Throughout
Happily Ever After
, Rhodes’s wife, Melissa, is viewed with suspicion. Starting on
pages 305
, when Melissa finally confesses why the big wedding was canceled, readers also learn more about Melissa’s relationship with Elle’s mother. How did Elle’s view of Melissa change? Did your perspective of Melissa also change? If so, how?

13. What do you think prompted Elle to sleep with Tom after years of restraint? If things had turned out differently with Elle’s mother, do you think things may have been different between Elle and Tom? Why or why not?

14. By September 2008, we see Elle engaged to an American writer in New York City—someone we’ve not met before. What do you think attracted her to him? What, ultimately, pulled her away from him?

15. At the end of the novel, Elle, Rhodes, their father, Melissa, and Elle’s new fiancé, Gray, have dinner together. This seems to be the first time the family’s “dirt” is openly displayed and discussed. What do you think each member of the family took away from the dinner?

16. Throughout this book, there are lots of references to the chick-lit genre and fairy tales, including the title itself. Why do you think the author chose to include so many? What would you say is the relationship between chick-lit and fairy tales? Do you think that chick-lit could be considered fairy tales for adults?

1. To learn more about Harriet Evans and her previous novels, visit her website at
www.harriet-evans.com
. Browse Harriet’s “Favorite Things,” follow her blog, and be sure to read her biography to find out more about her own background in publishing. Do you see any connections between the author’s real life and the themes of
Happily Ever After
? Discuss what you discovered about Harriet Evans with your book club members.

2. Early in the novel, Felicity recommends a book to Elle. More than a decade later, Elle brings it up and thanks Felicity. “Isn’t that why one lends a good book?” Felicity asks. “Isn’t it wonderful to know you’ve passed something good on?” Think about the books you’ve most loved, the ones that have stayed with you over the years. Talk about your favorite books with your discussion group. Have everyone in your group offer their own recommendation to pass “something good” on.

3. Elle’s version of “happily ever after” focuses on her relationship, employment, location, and proximity to family. What is your own version of “happily ever after”? How can you work to make it become a reality? Discuss what it means to be happy. Did you learn anything from your fellow book club members?