Pandora nicknamed Dora is linked to Pandora's box. She is orphaned when her parents dig collapses and narrowly misses dying herself. Dora is saved by Dr. Hamilton who keeps an interest in her life. Dora's new life is with her uncle Hezekiah, he takes over her parents antique shop and runs it into the ground, using Dora as an unpaid and poorly treated servant. Her only escape is through designing and making jewelry which she sells through an old friend of her parents.
Hezekiah has an ancient vase delivered secretly to his basement, is the vase really cursed? Is Dora the only one who senses its secrets? A young bookbinder Edward gets involved in uncovering the secrets of the vase, he too has a secret past which haunts him. Will they solve the secrets between them, overcome misunderstandings and triumph over evil?
Well written and past paced, background upbringing of characters is sketchy,

I absolutely could not put this book down.

The story opens with a treasure being retrieved and dives straight into the plot. The story is so intricate and woven in such a way that the reader is drawn in from the first chapter. The pace is steady and I felt at no point bored of the details described by the author, and yet they managed to paint such a vivid picture in every scene.

The narrative switches between Dora, her uncle and Edward. Usually this style of narrative can be distracting for me, but in this instance each person telling their tale brought something important to the plot. There are many supporting characters besides our three narrators and each of them are developed throughout the plot of the novel. There is not one single character in this book that felt like filler. Every one of them was important and real to the storyline. Of course, not all of them were described in significant detail but they were all introduced and given a back story that made me feel like this tale actually happened.

The way the story unravels is so cleverly done, the reader does not quite realise how they missed the signs. The are a few different subplots but they all tie together and it is done seamlessly.

Overall I loved this book and would read again.

Review based on an ARC provided by the publishers.

Pandora "Dora" Blake's parents were killed in an accident twelve years ago. Her uncle took charge of Dora and of the antiquarian shop Dora's parents built and has nearly run it to the ground. Dora knows her uncle is hiding something and eventually finds Greek antiquities in the cellar. She enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a book binder and antiquarian scholar, to find out whether the items are genuine. Soon they discover that the large vase Dora found has more in store than helping Edward to achieve an academic future and Dora to restore her parents' shop to its former glory.

Pandora is a historical novel set in Georgian time. It's a mystery novel as much as a historical novel.. The writing is good. The descriptions of London and the characters are vivid. The three POV give each of the three characters their own voice.

At times, though, the use of anachronistic words took me out of the story, but that might have been rectified before publishing.

3.5 Stars

I adored this book! It was so quick-moving, engaging, and the characters were delightful. I loved Dora! At times, it did feel a little disjointed and this probably comes from the story coming from several ideas (as the author says in the Author's note)

This... was an interesting one. It was definitely a compelling read, more and more so as it went along; the historical setting was delightfully detailed (disturbingly graphic at times, even); the writing itself was good; and Dora was easy to root for!

However - I'm not sure I can quite say I loved it. One one level, I think this book was just trying to do too much. The Author's Note says it was born out of several separate ideas that Susan Stokes-Chapman decided to put together, and I think it shows. This book is over 400 pages - it's not short - so it really shouldn't feel rushed or underdeveloped! But, several of the elements felt oddly disjointed or abrupt.

The romance, in particular, felt incredibly rushed and came totally out of nowhere: I spent almost the whole book convinced they were just going to end up as friends, and would have been completely satisfied with that - so the last-minute escalation (and a steep escalation at that) that showed up with no warning at all threw me completely off, which is not what you want at the 92%-mark!

Edward's backstory, while alluded to vaguely at several points, also felt underdeveloped and like it was just glossed over, shoehorned in at the end just for the sake of it, without the appropriate weight for the subject matter. I also felt quite removed from Edward himself, and couldn't fully get behind his perspective, and most of the side characters were pretty one-note too.

Either the historical thread of black markets and antiquities and advances in science and anthropology in the Georgian era, or the speculative element around the mystery of the box and whether or not myths and Greek gods actually exist, could have been really interesting - but neither one is developed enough to be really substantice, and unfortunately I think both are let down by the number of other things happening in the periphery. The ambiguity of the ending also feels more 'unfinished' than 'deliberate choice'.

CW: murder; blood and gore; grief; death of a pet; trauma; flashbacks to abuse; references to forced prostitution

This wasn’t quite the book I was expecting it to be. I think I was expecting more fantastical mystery but this was more historical mystery.

I liked the character of Pandora but I felt like I had read her before. The ending didn’t feel to do her justice, I wanted to know more about her jewellery - but that was not explored.

The final section felt very rushed and felt like the pacing was a little off throughout.

Good read but not a great read.

I absolutely loved this book! I love green mythology and any & all retellings and Pandora was pretty brilliant! Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this book, beautiful and so well written I shall be purchasing a physical copy for myself!

I chose to download this book because the cover is absolutely gorgeous and I love reading historical fiction with a touch of gothic.

Some doors are kept locked for a reason...

The story is set in London in 1799. Aspiring jewellery artist Dora Blake is the daughter of well-respected archaeologists who died when she was only a child. She lives above the shop of antiquities that used to be theirs but is now owned by her uncle. Her uncle is only interested in making money and doesn't care if his stock is genuine or not. Dora can only watch as the reputation of her parents' shop sinks lower and lower, until one day a mysterious vase arrives from overseas, which her uncle hides away in the basement. Intrigued by his secrecy, Dora investigates the origins of the vase with the help of her new friend Edward, an antiquarian scholar - who has his own reasons for offering his services. Will the vase help Dora restore her family name? Or are some mysteries better left unsolved?

Pandora is a beautifully written historical mystery/adventure story. Dora is a fabulous heroine, determined to change her fate. Georgian London is vibrantly brought to life, the Greek myth of Pandora dances through the story, there's even a touch of romance. And I absolutely loved Hermes the magpie!

One of my favourite reads of 2021, I'd recommend Pandora to anyone who loves cracking good historical fiction.

Thank you to Susan Stokes-Chapman and Vintage/Random House for my copy of this book, which I requested via NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Ancient Greek mythology meets London during the Age of Enlightenment. What is there not to love?! Dora and Edward are fantastic characters. Hezekiah the perfect villain. I loved everything about this story: the concept, the plot, the history, the characters, the budding romance, the exploration of class differences, the darker undertones in places. Fabulous book!

Review 🏺🏺🏺🏺🏺

Pandora is a great historical fiction novel, set in London 1799.
Dora lost her parents and lives with her uncle now for necessity,her father use to manage the shop and at that time all was vibrant, original and full of high society customers looking to acquire exquisite pieces. Her jewellery designs are her hope of restoring the shop to its former glory!! Dora decides to join forces with Edward, that like her, struggles to be accepted in this big city.
It will all start to make sense when a rare Greek object comes to the shop and alters the direction of their destiny, revealing connections with Dora's family history.

I loved reading this book, the author incorporated Greek mythology elements making it very compelling and very difficult to stop reading!!!

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for my review copy of this book.

Pandora Blake lives with her uncle Hezekiah above the family's antique business. During the time her parents traded in antiquities the business was successful, and honourable, however, their untimely demise brought the business, and Dora, into the guardianship of Hezekiah. Realising that her uncle is less than scrupulous in his business dealings, Dora enlists the help of a young book binder, Edward Lawrence, whose own interest in antiquities is exactly what Dora needs to help her to restore the family business to its former glory.

What then follows is an atmospheric and beautifully detailed historical novel which opens up the world of Greek mythology and the dreaded secrets of Pandora's Box. The Georgian world of 1799 comes alive, from the mean dispirited streets of London, to the gloomy shop basement filled with boxes of precious antiquities, there is never a moment when we are not fully in the moment with Dora and Edward as they go about setting right the terrible wrongs which have been done, and of the sinister evil which lurks within the world they uncover.

Beautifully written and impeccably researched, Pandora not only brings to life a worthy heroine in Dora, and not forgetting then glorious, Hermes, but it also paints a wonderful picture of Georgian England with all its colourful eccentricities. Pandora is a commendable debut by a talented new writer of historical fiction.

I have started reading more historical fiction over the past year and Pandora is a cracker.
Set in Georgian London, Dora Blake has dreams of rich ladies commissioning her jewellery designs, but for now she is stuck working in her uncles shop: Blakes Emporium for Exotic Antiquities. A place of some repute in the past, Hezekiah Blake has run it into the ground following the tragic death of Dora's parents.
Being a strong woman, Dora is determined to better herself, so when a Hezekiah takes delivery of a mysterious package and hides it away in the basement, Dora along with Hermes her pet Magpie and new acquaintance Edward Lawrence are intrigued. But are some mysteries best left alone? A trail of bad luck seems to be following the package, instead of a chance to move on, could this end up ruining Dora's life?
I really fell for the characters in Pandora, Dora being my favourite (I used to design jewellery myself many moons ago!) although I think Edwards friend Cornelius grew on me throughout the novel. The descriptions of the settings, smells and objects had me picturing the scenes clearly all the way through and I liked the link to the Pandora myth throughout. I loved the thought of having a pet Magpie and felt a little bit jealous of Dora there!
I'd thoroughly recommend Pandora for a bit of mystery and intrigue.

I was immediately drawn by the beautiful cover of this book and quickly found that Pandora is the perfect blend of Historical Fiction, Greek Myth and Mystery. All the things I love in a book.

The author brings the Georgian world to life with vivid descriptions of dress and smells. I really felt like I was walking the cobble streets alongside the characters.

I found the historical details and mythology well researched and most of the events were very believable.

I would definitely recommend this to lovers of historical fiction who are looking for something with a twist.

Wonderfully written and rich in atmosphere and historic detail, Pandora was a delight to the senses and a brilliant story that weaves historical fiction and Greek mythology together. Set in Georgian London we meet our main protagonist Pandora, known as Dora, as she is forced to live in the cramp flat above her parent’s old shop of antiquities, now being run into the ground by her uncle.

Daughter of archaeologist parents who were sadly killed in a dig accident some years previous, she longs to be a jewellery designer and to have her designs made so they can be worn by the rich women of London. Gathering inspiration for her designs, she spends as much time as possible in her bedroom with her feathered companion, a magpie named Hermes, drawing up her ideas. Her room is also her escape from her Uncle and his supposedly house keeper Lottie, whom neither she gets on with.

Her parents shop was once talk of the town with gorgeous finds and items on sale, but her Uncle seems to have taken the business to a shop of fakes to be purchase by rich people who know nothing of antiques. His growing anxiousness over a recent arrival at the docks however, is starting to cause concern with the household and attracts attention, so when one Edward Lawrence, a young man desperate for acceptance into the Society of Antiquaries, is given a tip off to seek out Pandora and this mysterious new arrival, the two of them see it as a chance for them to use it to enable their dreams. What they ‘open’ however is not a box of delights but trouble and danger, and leaves them both not knowing who they can trust.

I found this a story rich in period details, from the wet cobbled streets mudding Dora’s skirts, and the stench of the docks to lavish parties in opulent town houses. The story of Dora and Edward grabbed me from the off and the ever growing selfish determination of the Uncle utterly engaging. The mystery and thriller type story of their involvement with the vase was captivating, with the story of Dora’s parents always tantalisingly in the background. The story behind the vase is only slightly touched on but give the whole book that wonderful mythical feel. This debut novel will be a delight to historical fiction fans and I will be recommending this one over the coming weeks.

A wonderful piece of historical fiction, set in Georgian London, about a young woman (Dora) and an ancient vase that depicts the story of Pandora. With tons of atmosphere and very strong characters, this is a fantastic read. It depicts London in all it's gory glory during Georgian times and provides a fascinating look in to the antiquities trade at the time. A real treat of a book.

Mythology combined with historical fiction? Bring it on!

It is 1799. Dora lives with her uncle above her parents' antique shop. They have passed away and her uncle has inherited the shop. He, sadly, is not up to the mark of handling the shop. It is going down the drain right before Dora's eyes.

Then, her uncle gets a Greek pithos under mysterious circumstances. It could get the store back on track. But Dora does not trust him. Instead, she contacts Edward Lawrence, a bookbinder who wants an entry into the Society of Antiquities. Together, they have to work out the mystery surrounding the pithos before Dora's uncle sells it off.

WHAT I LIKED:
🤩 The setting - 1799 London is lovely to know. Combined with mythology, the setting is a unique and interesting one.
🤩 The lead characters - Both Dora and Edward were well-written. They were relatable and when faced with difficulties (as they do often) reacted according to the time.
🤩 The plot - Amazing
🤩 The language - Very simple and accessible
🤩 Other characters - All characters are a shade of grey, as humans usually are. I loved this.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
😕 Too many references - There were too many Greek references and soon it became too much of a good thing. Overall, I think some editing needs to be done.

MY THOUGHTS:
An amazing historical fiction book with a healthy sprinkling of mythology. Read it on a winter afternoon.

MY RATING: 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK for the ARC.

When she was a child, Dora's parents were killed while exploring a Greek ruin in search of antiquities, and she was taken in by her uncle, who over the years has done the bare minimum to raise her but never to care for her, while simultaneously running her parents' formerly impressive antiquities shop into the ground by selling fakes and forgeries. This is why it is so surprising when one day her uncle receives a delivery of a Grecian vase, which he hides in the cellar and refuses to let her see. Pandora's curiosity is piqued and she determines to find out more about it.

I enjoyed the Georgian London setting of this book, it felt very rich in detail, particularly of the grimmer elements of poverty, dirt and crime. There was a satisfying hint of a supernatural element without the story ever straying into the realm of fantasy, and my only complaint was that the ending felt very sudden and a bit abrupt - I would have liked perhaps just another chapter to wrap everything up.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this book, as this is one of my favourite genres. Unfortunately it just didn't grasp me.. I don't think it was the book itself, as the premise of Pandora really gripped me. Maybe I was just in slump mode . I'm sure Pandora will be a big hit with other readers, so don't be discouraged by my review.

In the last years of the eighteenth century, a man dives to a wreck off the Scilly Isles to recover from the freezing water a crate marked only with an X. In London, put-upon Dora Blake yearns to be taken seriously as a jewellery designer so she can get away from her profligate uncle. Edward Lawrence, haunted by a distressing past, is desperate to gain admittance to the Society of Antiquities. Susan Stokes-Chapman really captures the atmosphere of the crowded smelly streets of the old City of London.
I read an extract of this book last year and although six months had passed before I picked up this full version, it didn’t take long at all to recall the characters and setting as they are so vividly drawn. And it continues as strongly as it started.
Dora is instantly likeable; kept in her uncle’s house as little more than a servant, her only friend seems to be her pet magpie, Hermes. A shipment of goods including a huge vase has arrived at the family antiques shop, but it’s being kept hidden in the cellar. Having been properly schooled by Natalie Haynes, I know that the Pandora of myth had not a box but a jar. Could the Greek vase here allude to that receptacle of indescribable evils? How is Dora’s destiny linked to it?
I really enjoyed this story, to the extent that I’d love to revisit these characters – they’re really interesting, with full backstories and intriguing relationships. There’s even a cameo from Sir William Hamilton and the delightful Emma. There are so many strands to the story, and it could equally well be described as historical fiction, mystery thriller or whodunnit. Highly recommended.

Mysterious, classical and well written.
I loved this tale set in Georgian London but linked to the travels of the Grand Tour and the Greek antiquities that were so famed for bringing back (of course the Elgin Marbles still remain a stain on this world)
The main character of Dora (Pandora) Blake is wonderful and her desire to use her skills in drawing and designing wonderful jewellery add to the strength of her character particularly against her evil uncle Hezekiah who became her 'guardian' when her parents died at a dig in Greece when Dora was a young child.
The settings of the book are excellent - The Blake Emporium for Exotic Antiquities (which he has turned into a black market hovel of stolen items and forgeries, the lovely homes of the rich such as Lady Latimer and Mr Ashmole (which introduces us to his 'love' Edward). These are set against the rough and downtrodden docks where the shipment of the majestic (and again stolen) Greek vase/pithos begins this tale of deception, revenge and a possible curse from centuries past linked to the tale of Pandora's Box.
There are villains (beyond Hezekiah (the Coombe brothers) but readers may feel more pity for them than hatred as the plot develops.
I liked the link to the Society of Antiquities (a real organisation at its height in Georgian London) and learnt a lot more about Greek items, myths and language.
However the best character is Hermes the magpie. What a star and a wonderful link to the whole story.
Hope to read more from this author