Tommy Wynchester may be a master of disguise but what she cannot disguise is her feelings for Philippa York. It's compounded by the fact that Philippa doesn't even know who Tommy is. Yet when a chance comes to help her crush right a few injustices of the world, Tommy jumps at the chance. Philippa has been forced into a life she hates by her parents, so being included in a Wynchester caper is a breath of fresh air. Plus the more she gets to know Tommy, the more she wants a life she cannot have. We are reading The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley. **The SPOILERS are not in disguise!**
Grab your copy of the book we read today, The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley!
Check out our interview with Erica, in conjunction with the Escondido Library, here!
Want to listen to a certain segment? Here is our outline this week:
0:00 - 14:39: Intro/Author Facts/History Facts
14:39 - 20:33: Synopsis
20:33 - 25:08: Parlour
25:08 - 55:49: General Discussion
We include our synopses as a semi-transcription of the episode in our blog posts. You can learn more about how we compose these by reading this article. As a reminder though, our synopses are FULL of spoilers. Read ahead at your own risk :)
The Perks of Loving a Wallflower Synopsis:
Tommy Wynchester is in love with Philippa York. The only problem is Philippa has no idea Tommy exists.
This is due to the fact that Tommy has only been introduced to Philippa as Great Aunt Wynchester. The doddering old lady who attends her weekly reading circle with her “niece” Chloe, Duchess of Faircliffe. Who also happens to be married to the man Philippa was supposed to marry.
Philippa wishes Chloe no ill will and Tommy enjoys their weekly meetings in Philippa’s parlor. Tommy especially because she’s had a crush on Philippa for months now.
Philippa’s reading circle is her escape from polite society and her mother, in her quest to marry Philippa off to a title, is constantly trying to undermine the endeavor.
It is at during these reading circle’s that we get our mission for this book. Philippa’s friend Demaris had created a cipher from an illuminated manuscript written by one of her ancestors, but her Uncle Captain Northrup went to war and taught the cipher to others - all while claiming it as his own. Now, he’s about to have a viscountcy bestowed upon him for his actions, and Demaris’s work will never be acknowledged. This simply won’t stand for the ladies of the reading circle, and they engage the help of the Wynchesters to expose Northrup for the scoundrel he is.
During the operation, Philippa discovers a letter hidden in her copy of the illuminated manuscript. It appears that there is trouble in the history of these manuscripts - for they were not truly written by the man who claimed authorship, but by his cousin and her lover - two women.
This sets off another quest to uncover the truth and bring justice to the authoresses.
Soon after the operation begins, Tommy meets Philippa as a different character than Aunt Wynchester - Baron Vanderbean - the heir of her “father,” and begins a courtship of her to help with the operation and because her siblings bet that she cannot actually have a normal conversation with Philippa.
Things go surprisingly well, although Philippa’s mother is not interested in a real match with the Baron, as his family is scandalous. But being seen with a Baron will increase Philippa’s chances of finding a more suitable suitor.
However, Tommy soon realizes that she needs to confide in Philippa. Seizing her chance Tommy unveils her secret identity to Philippa in an effort to help her in her quest to get justice for these authoresses.
Philippa is astounded to see Tommy in all her different “characters”. But the ruse of Tommy being the new Baron Vanderbean and acting as suitor seems to be the answer to all of Philippa’s prayers.
She is allowed freedom and adventure without the constraints of society which she loathes. Plus she gets to meet all the Wynchesters and just loves the way the family functions.
While they are running the operation, Philippa begins to get annoyed with Tommy. She wanted to be part of the adventures, something she is never allowed, and yet Tommy is determined to protect her.
Tommy relents and even enjoys having Philippa in on the Wynchester plots.
On Tommy’s part the issue comes when it’s clear Philippa is just as attracted to her as she is to Philippa.
Philippa sees the answer to all of their problems is for her to marry Baron Vanderbean. Her parents will relent and she’ll be free to live her life with Tommy how she wishes. Especially when her mother reveals that she is angling for Philippa to marry Captain Northrup. Besides the fact that Philippa has no interest in him, he is also the man they plan to bring down as justice for Damaris.
Tommy is not okay with the plan to continuously be the Baron. She is not Baron Vanderbean and wishes to live her life as Tommy. She loves her characters but that’s just what they are. If Philippa wants to be with her, she has to choose her.
It takes Philippa a minute but finally she gets it.
Love aside, there is a villain to unmask. Tommy, in an effort to protect Philippa’s reputation, has formulated a plan to have an expose published in all the newspapers in town. However, having learned something from the Wynchesters, Philippa is no longer satisfied with an end that does not leave Captain Northrup publicly humiliated.
She tells Tommy that enough is enough and he is going down in front of all his peers.
So at the ball honoring his “heroism” Philippa asks Northrup to read a note. A note written in the cipher created by Damaris. When he fails to read it, Philippa has Damaris tell the entire crowd what it says and then proceeds to have it verified by Northrup’s commander. Damaris is publicly acknowledged by all at the creator of the cipher and the real authoresses of the illuminated manuscript are revealed as well.
The next day, Philippa is ecstatic until her mother tells her that she is done with all her friends after “ruining”herself at the ball.
With renewed vigor she tells her parents that she is done with their matchmaking shit and that she is going to live with Tommy at the Wynchester’s home.
And they live happily ever after.
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