The Invention of Sophie Carter by Samantha Hastings
(Swoon Reads)
Publication date: July 14th 2020
Genres: Historical Romance, Young Adult
Identical twin sisters take turns swapping places over the course of a summer in order to pursue their secret ambitions in Samantha Hastings’ Victorian YA romance.
1851. Bounced from one begrudging relative to another their whole lives, orphaned identical twins Sophie and Mariah Carter have always relied on each other for love and support, even though the sisters couldn’t be more different.
Brash Sophie wants to be an inventor, and demure Mariah wants to be an artist. Both long to visit London for the summer—Sophie to see the Queen’s Great Exhibition and Mariah to study the world’s finest collection of paintings. But when their cantankerous aunt answers their letter pleading for a place to stay, she insists she only has time and room to spare for one of them.
So, Mariah and Sophie hatch a clever scheme: They will travel to London together and take turns playing the part of “Sophie”.
At first the plan runs like clockwork. But as the girls avoid getting caught by increasingly narrow margins and two handsome gentlemen—both of whom think they’re falling in love with the real Sophie Carter—enter the equation, the sisters find they don’t have the situation quite as under control as they thought.
With all sorts of delightful Parent Trap-style identical twin hijinks, The Invention of Sophie Carter is the perfect light-and-sweet palate cleanser.
10
Cool Things About the Great Exhibition of 1851 That You Didn’t Know
1. The
Exhibition had the first public toilets. They were called “Monkey
Closets” and cost one penny to use.
2. The largest
diamond in the world, the Koh-i-noor diamond, was on display. But it
wasn’t cut well so it didn’t sparkle and was a bit of
disappointment to most viewers.
3. The
Exhibition was housed in a building called the Crystal Palace, which
was made up of glass and iron. It was built to encase two already
existing trees without harming them.
4. Queen
Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, and Henry Cole were the
creators of the Exhibition.
5. There were
over 100,000 objects on display and an official catalogue by Messrs.
Spicer and Clowes.
6. The largest
exhibit was a hydraulic press. Each tube weighed 1,144 tons; but it
was operated by only one man.
7. Messrs.
Schweppes sold refreshments: 60,698 cottage loaves, 68,428 pound
cakes, 934,691 bath buns, 1,046 gallons of pickles, and 33 tons of
hams.
8. No alcohol
was allowed, so they sold 33,432 quarts of milk; and 1,092,337
bottles of Schweppes’ soda water, lemonade, and ginger.
9. 6 million
people visited the Great Exhibition (6,039,195 to be precise).
10. Queen
Victoria opened the Exhibition and wrote in her diary that it had,
‘every conceivable invention’.
Author Bio
Samantha Hastings has degrees from Brigham Young University, the University of Reading (Berkshire, England), and the University of North Texas. She met her husband in a turkey sandwich line. They live in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she spends most of her time reading, eating popcorn, and chasing her kids. She is the author of THE LAST WORD, THE INVENTION OF SOPHIE CARTER, and A ROYAL CHRISTMAS QUANDARY.
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