Mona of the Manor

A Novel (Tales of the City, Book 10)

By: Armistead Maupin

Narrated by: Mara Wilson

Narrated by Mara Wilson

“Maupin is one of America’s finest storytellers.”—Neil Gaiman

Set in the early 1990s, the long-awaited tenth novel in Armistead Maupin’s beloved and enduring Tales of the City series follows the adventures of Mona Ramsey, now the widowed Lady of a glorious old manor in Britain’s golden Cotswolds, and her fabulous adopted son Wilfred, as they come to the aid of an American visitor with a troubling secret.

When Mona Ramsey married Lord Teddy Roughton to secure his visa—allowing him to remain in San Francisco to fulfill his wildest dreams—she never imagined she would, by age 48, be the sole owner of Easley House, Teddy’s grand, romantic country manor in the UK. She also didn't imagine that she’d need to open the manor’s doors to paying guests to afford the electric bill and repair the leaking roof. Yet somehow she and her young friend Wilfred—whom guests assume is serving as Easley’s charming-but-clumsy butler—and the loopy old gardener Mr. Hargis, are making it work.

This delicate equilibrium is upended when Americans Rhonda and Ernie Blaylock arrive for a weekend vacation at Easley, and Wilfred stumbles onto their terrible secret. Now, instead of being able to focus on the imminent arrival of her old friend Michael Tolliver and beloved parent Anna Madrigal, Mona will need to focus all of her considerable charm, willpower, and wiles—and the help of Wilfred and Mona’s girlfriend Poppy, the town’s postmistress and local calligraphy whiz—to set things right before the Midsummer ceremony when the whole town will descend on Easley’s historic grounds.

©2024 Armistead Maupin (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

THE GREAT ARMISTEAD DID IT AGAIN!

This was a wonderful story with an excellent reader. I hope there will be many more sequels with our friends from Barbary lane!

He just keeps getting better!

I love the early Tales, but he just becomes a better and better writer, as the years speed by, now beginning to blur with their rapid rush. Okay, getting older has not prevented me from remaining dreadful, but his skill continues to improve. Thank you so much for the gift of your fine work, sir!

Nice to “see”old friends again.

Cute story of our old friends. Nice to know they are still going strong.Looking forward to the next chapter.

Worth it if you are a fan!

I freaking loved it it was so good to get the perspective of a big chunk of the story that we thought was missing.

Spending time catching up with old friends.

I especially like the love and respect exhibited amongst the characters whilst dealing with ignorance and horrors experienced in their lives. Unfortunately true to reality, but they roll with it.

loved Monas life in UK

This was a fun way to get a load of Mona's life post Barbary Lane. I enjoyed it thoroughly

I love spending time with old friends

from the moment I was introduced to the menagerie on Barbary Lane, I was obsessed. Enthralled. in LOVE.

I'VE

Going through the motions

The length of this book is telling. Maupin’s heart clearly wasn’t in this one. Having killed off Mona and Anna previously, he has to go back in time to tell this story. This is not his forte. He does best work when he can use Michael as his alter ego in the current moment. This story is as two-dimensional as all memories. It is the first time I’ve been disappointed with a Tales of the City novel.

Mixed feelings

It was nice to spend time with old friends, but the narration included probably the worst English accents I've ever heard. If Dick Van Dyk had a child with the Artful Dodger and went for a cor blimey tea and biscuits with Keanu in Dracula. Excruciating.

Too Short

We need more stories!! What happened next?? More about Michael and Wilfred. And more, much more., about Anna