Please understand this
is a ‘special full’ review for a lovely anthology of which authors banded together
to raise money for a very worthwhile charity. All the proceeds from this collection
of Georgian and Regency stories will be donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital
for Children.
At RRM we do not
ordinarily review anthologies or boxed sets of books. The time involved to
review individual stories is too much to ask of my reviewers.
#
Reviewed by Suzy.
A Rose by Any Other
by Giselle Marks.
Ms Marks has written a classic abduction
story, full of danger, romance, and intrigue. The Earl of Chisolm is a tad
arrogant and although he’s a man of high principle, he lives life to the full
in discreet manner. Meanwhile, the heroine is pursued by the earl’s nephew, a
young man who causes Rose more grief than pleasure. The earl is thoroughly
disapproving of his nephew’s ambitions to wed Rose, and sparks soon fly when he
sets out to pay Rose money to simply walk away from his nephew. Neither the
earl or his nephew are aware Rose is not as they had imagined – good or bad. Rose has a
past and a future that is going to turn the earl’s previously contented existence
into a living nightmare when Rose goes missing, and his nephew is taught a
lesson in never presume too much too soon. This is a lively and entertaining story.
A
Fateful Connection by Elizabeth Bailey.
Ms Bailey’s story is a delightful ‘chance
encounter’ tale of love at first sight from one set of eyes, and a case of embarrassment
and exposure for another. While Clarice Ryde believes employment at a young
ladies’ academy is more or less in the bag, her aspiration for independence is
soon curtailed and she finds herself on the street with nowhere to go. And Gervais,
Chevalier de Guise, has no home to call his own. He does have friends,
something Clarice doesn’t until Gervais steps across her path. Life can seem oh
so simple when in fact it is far more complicated for both Clarice and Gervais.
Neither is aware of the other’s past. While not all happy endings are devoid of
trial and tribulation along the way, there is a happy ending to this charming tale.
The
Runaway Duchess by Francine Howarth.
Ms Howarth’s story starts after the defeat
of Napoleon at Waterloo when peace across Europe is assured and many British soldiers
have returned home. While young ladies promenade, young officer bucks and
swains dutifully give attention to female assets. But there are young women out
and about in the City of Bath, of whom one aristocratic mother refers to as
trollops. How amusing then that a trollop brings the wrath of his mother upon
Randolph, Viscount Somerton’s head, while for Matjis de Boviere, the trollop
leads to a chance encounter with a lady from his past. The cameos in which the
two cousins, Matjis and Randolph, face embarrassment, wage bets, and conduct
their lives, is highly amusing until a secondary tale of spies and intrigue begins
to unfold. The eventual romance of it all sweeps the reader along, but then
comes a twist in the tale and Matjis is every bit the hero when a secret is
revealed on the very last page. Even with a satisfying end, I think there is more
to this story to come. Perhaps within a second Chocolate House anthology.
Death
at the Chocolate House by Susan Ruth
Ms Ruth gives us a murder mystery
and a vast cast of characters. Some are amusing. Some are erudite. Some are plain
stupid. This is a classic who-dunnit with a touch of Georgian farce. Magic
lantern shows are all the rage in the City of Bath, and the Chocolate House is
hosting one such occasion. With a lady called Fifi, an upright General, and a
hard-nosed detective, Miss Marple and or Sherlock would have felt utterly at
home in this story where a man enters the ladies cloakroom and falls dead at
the feet of the heroine. There are questions. Who is he? Who killed him? Then
comes the added complication of a snowstorm that blows more trouble forth and seals
Bath from the outside world. Under siege within the Chocolate House tempers
frey, hearts flutter, and the mystery surrounding the dead man deepens. It is
solved in time, but even as the story reaches its close a mystery remains
unsolved as a teaser of perhaps more to come. Who can know what the future
holds in store for a reader?
A
Pig-in-a-Poke by Jessica Schira.
Ms Schira gives us a charming young
man of business and a head for figures, and Simon Harper has a second plus
point. He’s gallant and a maiden in distress cannot be ignored. But while Letty
Malleson may sound like a maiden in need of help, she is a force he had not
thought to encounter. Simon soon wonders if he has bit off more than he can
chew. Letty does slowly warm to his kindness and his intervention in her
private affairs becomes acceptable. Unpleasantness involving a business transaction
has left her shaking with rage while fearing for her livelihood. But Simon
proves himself a good mediator, and Letty sees the virtue of good advice.
Between them they set out to uncover truth from lies, but breaking and entering
premises is a crime. What if they get caught in the act? There is that and much
more, and Ms Schira leads the reader into a world of shady deals, and
breath-stopping moments as love blooms and cheeks become flushed. This is a
tale where the author understands all that a pig-in-a-poke entails.
A
Little Chocolate in the Morning by David W. Wilkin.
Mr Wilkin’s character, Charles
Watkins, is young man always with an eye to a pretty face. While his
thoughts are very much his own he dreams of love and romance, but how to
achieve it seems to escape him. He’s a reserved and refined gentleman, an
aristocratic gentleman who has a serious eye to politics and his seat in the upper
House of Parliament. Though what is a seat in the Lords, or the comforts of home,
when his sisters are all married except one, and his mother harangues him over
his responsibilities and the need to beget an heir? Life for Charles is content
enough, or is it? Determined to get his sister wed and off his hands, perhaps
then he can put his mind to the seeking of a comely wife. And then along comes
Lady Caroline. The life Charles has viewed as comfortable and uncomplicated in
a romantic sense, can never be as it was before he set eyes on
Caroline. He must do something, but how and when?
