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Sally-Ann

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The Marchioness's face changed. ... She turned to Ann. "What is your name, dear?"

"Ann."

"Would you mind being Sally for this one afternoon?"

When her boss succumbs to influenza on the day of a high society wedding, perky young Ann Lane, assistant cosmetician at the elegant Maison Pertinax, is urgently called to a Sussex castle to make up the bride, the kind and understanding Lady Mona. Then a bridesmaid falls ill too and threatens the visual effects carefully planned by Cousin Dennis, and Ann (who just happens to be the perfect size) fatefully agrees to impersonate her. She makes a hit-and a considerable impression on the best man, Sir Timothy Munster. Ann slips quietly away at the end of the night, but both Sir Timothy and the glamorous Cora Bolt, who expects to marry him one day, are determined-for very different reasons-to discover her true identity.

Sally-Ann is the second of twelve charming, page-turning romances published under the pseudonym "Susan Scarlett" by none other than beloved children's author and novelist Noel Streatfeild. Out of print for decades, they were rediscovered by Greyladies Books in the early 2010s, and Dean Street Press and Furrowed Middlebrow are delighted now to make all twelve available to a wider audience.

248 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1939

About the author

Susan Scarlett

14 books35 followers
Pseudonym used by the English author Noel Streatfeild for publishing her romance novels.

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5 stars
68 (28%)
4 stars
102 (42%)
3 stars
62 (26%)
2 stars
5 (2%)
1 star
1 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
Profile Image for Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ .
882 reviews767 followers
August 27, 2024
3.5★

I rate different types of books different ways & light romances I rate, to a large extent on enjoyment.

& I did enjoy this Cinderella story very much.

The beautiful Ann Lane works as a makeup artist in an upmarket beauty salon. & because fate can move in mysterious ways, this lower middle class girl ends up as a bridesmaid at a society wedding., where she meets a young man who is handsome & charming. But of course the path of true love can never run smooth...

There is not a great deal of drama in this short novel, but this story of the Lane family, who have moved downwards in society & their struggle to survive with dignity was oddly touching. & I liked the way the parents wanted Ann to have a career. 'Prince Charming' was a nice, personable man.

I liked finding out a bit more about like in 1930s London. The book had a lot of extra touches, not the least being lightly touching on different morals & standards for young women. While Scarlett shows her approval of Ann's choices, there is very little judgement on other women.

A good, light escapist read. I don't think I would go out of my way to acquire another Scarlett book, but if one came my way I would give it a try.

Scarlett also wrote as Noel Streatfeild & I am interested in hunting those books down.



https://wordpress.com/view/carolshess...
Profile Image for Alisha.
1,122 reviews88 followers
August 21, 2022
This was a charming, escapist candy-shop read, as I have a feeling that all of Susan Scarlett's books will be. First published in 1939, newly available from Dean Street Press!

Ann comes from a barely-middle-class family that has come down in the world. She works at a beauty salon and is tasked one day with going out to do the makeup for a high society bride on her wedding day.
Catastrophe strikes when one of the bridesmaids (Sally) gets carted off before the ceremony due to appendicitis. Ann is the only female around who can fit into her dress, and is pressed into service as emergency bridesmaid. The only catch is, she's asked not to tell anyone she's not really Sally (who was a school-friend of the bride that no one else had met before).

And voila! Dressed in the most splendiferous dress she's ever seen, Ann is transformed for one day into a sort of Cinderella. And she almost immediately catches the eye of the best man... which causes one of the other bridesmaids to start sharpening her claws...

This was sweet and funny, and it didn't fall into some of the traps I dislike in romantic books of long-running misunderstandings and manufactured disagreements. Yay! There's also a really wholesome, happy family life serving as the backbone of the story. I'm so looking forward to reading ALL the rest of the Susan Scarlett books.
Having already read Clothes-Pegs, I can say that it seems likely that a number of tropes will be recycled from book to book. So it's probably best not to binge them. But that's okay. They are exactly the kind of delicious confection I like to have in reserve in between other reads.

A few quotes to give you the tone:

The Savoy to Ann was the place where the dance music on the wireless came from. Though she had often listened to it she had never bothered to wonder what the place was like where it came from. The reality seemed crushingly grand. Ann needed all her ermine and pink tulle to take herself across the lounge...
The attendant in the cloakroom gave her a ticket for her box and coat. Standing before a mirror, she folded the ticket and put it in her bag. There was an odd rather sad little smile on her face as she did it. Ticket one hundred and ten. When the attendant got that back, a dream would be over. Bridesmaid Sally would disappear.
-------------------------------
At the end of dinner they danced.
"Might as well tread the light and fairy," said the hunting young man.
Ann glanced at Timothy. He seemed to be talking to someone across the table. Unwillingly she turned to say "Yes." Timothy caught her wrist.
"Half a second, duckie. This is ours, remember."
"Oh I say--" The hunting young man protested. "Have a heart."
Timothy laughed.
"I have. That's why."
------------------------------


And for some catty comic relief:
[Cora] woke at eleven with a bad hangover. Her mouth tasted like the bottom of a parrot's cage looks.
------------------------
And some shop-girl patter:
"[Sir Timothy's] marvelous. Going the places me and Connie go, we know him quite well by sight. When I saw Ann with him the first time, I said, 'My word, that's a bit of all right, all right."

Note on the text: It could have benefited from another proofreading pass-through. There are a few typos and missed punctuation opportunities, but they're not too egregious, for the most part.
Profile Image for Melindam.
780 reviews363 followers
April 10, 2024
"She looked at Dennis. “Don’t get in an uproar. I’ll be married just the same even if the procession is a bit lop-sided.” The Marchioness was relieved. “That’s splendid of you, dear. I knew you’d be sensible.” “Sensible,” Dennis shrieked. “What about me? This wedding was my piece de resistance.” “Oh, stow it, Dennis,” said Mona. “Piece de resistance my foot.” “You don’t understand, any of you.” Dennis was almost in tears. “This was a work of art. A crescendo in anemones. You must put someone else in Sally’s place. I can’t have my work ruined.” Mona made a despairing shrug to her mother. “Hark at him. You’d think bridesmaids grew in the hedges in Sussex.”

Working class Cinderella gets her upper-class Prince Charming

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A very light and escapist 3 stars. It was entertaining, but I would have preferred a bit more content.
Profile Image for Barb in Maryland.
1,992 reviews160 followers
July 25, 2024
3.5 stars
Charming bit of fluff, with a touch of a Cinderella story about it. Ann is a really lovely young woman, who works in an upscale beauty salon, giving facials and doing make-up.
A twist of fate has her swept into a society wedding, and the notice of a male member of the wedding party. He is smitten, but she knows nothing can come of it.
But, what if...?
There's a 'fairy godmother' of sorts, A Prince Charming (he's actually a mere baronet), and a right nasty Other Woman.
Her family is wonderful. and their lodgers are a treat. Her co-workers are also an interesting group.

If you are looking for a feel-good story, give this one a try.
Profile Image for Gina House.
Author 2 books101 followers
October 2, 2022
4.5🌟 Wonderful, light, and full of family! This is the third Susan Scarlett book I've read and I loved it. Although Babbacombe's and Clothes Pegs were both very good, I think this is my favorite so far. I adored the character of Sally-Ann. She is sweet, thoughtful, intelligent, humble, and down-to-earth. I loved following her Cinderella-esque story to the end.

Once again, it was lovely to have another close, likable family at the center of this story. Sally-Ann's mother and father, as well as her little brother Bunny, are excellent characters. You get such a clear idea of how much they love her and how they want the best for her in life. The family (including the boarders living in their home) all support Sally-Ann (actually named Ann) in her transition from young woman to something more important.

The beauty shop setting in this book was interesting and fun, too. The only thing that was a snag for me during reading was another "mean girl" trope. Reading about that also triggers me a little and I feel like it never has a quite satisfactory turn around or solution. Otherwise, everything about this book was enjoyable.

It was a joy to read this book and I can't wait to read more in the Susan Scarlett/Noel Streatfeild series. Highly recommended!
Profile Image for Marisa.
264 reviews5 followers
July 14, 2024
A sweet and charming Cinderella story with a beautiful main character that will melt your heart, and a Prince Charming worthy of the name. I really enjoyed this Susan Scarlett masterpiece.
Profile Image for Megan.
495 reviews11 followers
October 13, 2022
An excellent Cinderella-esque story. The Prince Charming is actually charming and kind. Cinderella has a loving family and is willing to stand up for herself when needed. And best of all, the story doesn’t rely on unnecessary misunderstandings or lack of communication for it’s conflict.

Thanks ever so much to Dean Street Press for providing me with a digital reading copy!
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
1,264 reviews117 followers
August 14, 2022
This was so sweet!! Ann and her family are my favorites! 🥰
Profile Image for Bookworman.
964 reviews120 followers
October 6, 2023
Many, many thanks to my GR friends who made me aware of these delightful books. I had no idea that Noel Streatfeild had written adult books under this pseudonym.

If you're looking for a fluffy, sweet, and silly fairytale kind of story with a G rating, this fits the bill! I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more of these wonderful stories.
Profile Image for Melissa.
459 reviews90 followers
August 28, 2022
An adorable, funny, charming confection that reminded me of a 1930s romantic comedy film so much that I couldn't help mentally casting the 1939 novel with actors of the time. (Maureen O'Sullivan as Ann and David Niven as Timothy, with Gail Patrick as Cora, Terry Kilburn as Bunny, and C. Aubrey Smith as Uncle George. Let's get Mitchell Leisen to direct. Now that's a movie I'd stay up late to watch on TCM!)

I enjoyed this sweet treat and am looking forward to reading the rest of the recently republished romances by Susan Scarlett (a/k/a Noel Streatfeild).
Profile Image for Celebrilomiel.
479 reviews24 followers
October 19, 2022
Sweet and charming. It's just the light, fluffy, whimsical sort of read one wants when one is in the mood for book candy but not something vapid. The characters all felt like real humans, fleshed out with individual personalities and voices; you could generally tell who was talking even when there wasn't a dialogue attribution, and with as many characters as this book contains, that is an impressive feat of craftsmanship. They all had distinct period voices, too, with slang and cultural references that gave a clear sense of place and depth. You could tell that this was written as a contemporary novel, and the language is now a delightful snapshot of its time.

The characters all felt real and authentic, yet the story also had a fairytale-like quality, because it was written as a modern fairytale — a romance, a dream, wish-fulfillment — and that was pleasing too.

A note on the text: Scarlett (Streatfeild) seems attached to fragments and an unorthodox use of commas, which was a bit jarring at first. I wondered if it was a consequence of the adaption of the original book to a new printing, because some of the periods/fragments would have worked far better as commas/complex sentences, and some of the commas/run-ons would have worked better as periods/separate sentences. If the text for the new edition was created by scanning a manuscript or the original book, it is very likely that some punctuation could have gotten muddled by the system. However, the fragments happened often enough that I concluded it was probably a stylistic choice. The idiosyncrasies of the text are easy to forgive, however, and they did not interfere with my reading experience after I got used to them in the first few chapters.
Profile Image for Adrienne.
553 reviews2 followers
August 11, 2022
This one was a little darker than Clothes- Pegs, the only other one I’ve read in this group of recently reprinted books by Noel Streatfield writing as Susan Scarlett. The heroine’s family was in reduced circumstances due to the father losing his business, and her younger brother was seriously ill. But it was still an utterly enchanting read. Aside from the main plot, I really enjoyed the glimpses of the beauty salon in which the heroine worked- the details of what it was like to perform (and receive) beauty treatments, just as I enjoyed the descriptions of the dressmaker’s shop in Clothes-Pegs.
Profile Image for Jessica Langerman.
13 reviews1 follower
June 30, 2023
Charming “Modern” Fairy Tale

Such a fun, sweet read. Perfect for a rainy day when you’d like to escape life in the 21st century for a bit.
Profile Image for Laura.
361 reviews21 followers
December 12, 2023
Light, escapist, not literature, but fun and easy to read.
Profile Image for Jessica Gilmore.
Author 244 books82 followers
August 24, 2022
Thank you, thank you, thank you Dean Street Press for these Noel Streatfeild reissues. A romantic fairy tale with all Streatfeild's usual trademarks, I can't wait to read the rest.
Profile Image for Amanda .
819 reviews13 followers
June 5, 2024
I read my first Susan Scarlett (aka Noel Steatfield) book, Clothes-Pegs, last spring. I bought my next Susan Scarlett right away.

Like Clothes-Pegs, this book was good for what it was, which is something light and frothy. I think these books are perfect palate cleansers between heavier reads, which is not to denigrate her books in any way. This is the type of book to read when you are not looking too closely at the plot for holes or inconsistencies but are just looking for a feel good book that's like a warm hug.

I don't think I liked this book quite as much as I liked Clothes-Pegs, perhaps because Clothes-Pegs dealt with the modeling industry and this book was adjacent with the cosmetology industry and it wasn't different enough for me. However, Scarlett has several other books published in the Furrowed Middlebrow line and the characters' backgrounds and experiences vary more widely. So I will definitely be reading more Scarlett books in the future.
Profile Image for Beth Bonini.
1,350 reviews300 followers
January 31, 2023
2.5 stars

This is a sweet, likeable book and yet it failed to win me over. Maybe I’m just being a spoilsport, or maybe I’m just not susceptible to love stories at the moment.

It’s a Cinderella story set in 1930s London. Ann Lane is a young woman working as a cosmetician at the Maison Pertinax. Her family has fallen on hard times; her father, formerly a chemist, has had to give up his business and the family takes in boarders to pay the bills. Ann is brave, plucky, uncomplaining and straight as an arrow. She is also pretty and just the right slim size to fit - well, not the glass slipper, but a blue bridesmaid dress. As an unexpected bridesmaid in a high society wedding, she catches the eye of Sir Timothy - the best man, and the heir to the Munster soap flakes fortune. (I think that Susan Scarlett, aka Noel Streatfeild, got a kick out of that frothy, sudsy connotation.)

It’s all fairly predictable, so read it - if you like this sort of thing - for the setting and dialogue, and not the inevitable denouement.
Profile Image for Sini H.
13 reviews1 follower
February 14, 2023
A delicious fairy-tale, but the realistic descriptions of contemporary everyday life are the best part. Class divisions seem to have been staggeringly strong still at that time. The description of a young woman's alcoholism was rather good, though brief.

The hero talks a bit irritatingly at times, but apparently he's not as bad as might seem to a modern reader at first. The author helpfully makes a point through Ann's mother, that a very jesting way of talking was fashionable. Still the comments on plain women by Timothy and Mona were a bit much.

This work is more complete than Clothes-Pegs, which seemed to lack material at times.
Profile Image for Pgchuis.
2,178 reviews30 followers
May 1, 2023
I borrowed this without realizing it was Noel Streatfeild writing under another name. It was a pleasant-enough read, although quite simply written and a little dated. The heroine was sensible and resourceful until the storyline required her to become annoyingly self-denying and dramatic. The hero patronized her lovingly (yuk!) and the class distinctions which were part of the plot troubled me a bit even at the end.
859 reviews4 followers
December 17, 2023
Un altro delizioso romanzo di Susan Scarlett, senza pretese di alta letteratura, ma scritto con grande eleganza. Quanto mi piacciono i suoi dialoghi, caratterizzati dello slang giovanile della prima metà del novecento, tra umorismo e disincanto... ci ritrovo un po' del mio buon vecchio Wodehouse.
E la società inglese, con l'incrinarsi delle caste, e il primo rimescolarsi delle classi sociali, fornisce alla storia un affascinante background.
Profile Image for Elsi.
189 reviews9 followers
January 29, 2023
A light-hearted Cinderella sort of book. Author is pen name for Noel Streatfeild, who wrote Ballet Shoes, a long-time favorite of mine. The story is just sweet and simple and charming and uplifting. I can understand why this and others under this pseudonym were popular in wartime and post-war austerity Britain.
Profile Image for Leonie.
901 reviews6 followers
June 5, 2023
If you want an absolutely delightful Cinderella pre-war romance, this it. It’s a quick read and I felt all warm and happy at the end. A fairytale? Yes, but suspend disbelief (and 21stC understanding) and just indulge…
Profile Image for Misti.
1,072 reviews65 followers
September 4, 2023
Super cute, old fashioned romance. I admit some of the slang and other vocabulary went over my head but I love reading old books that were written during the time they take place. There’s a feeling of time and place there that modern authors just can’t replicate.
Profile Image for Jackie.
218 reviews
August 17, 2024
This was charming and held my interest. Not much drama, and , but this is still a good story with interesting characters. I will read more by this author.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews

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