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MY REVIEW

The Barstow family returns in the second installment of Lord Dere’s Dependents. Now two years into the future, this book features the second daughter Jane, repentant widow of Roger Merritt, who keeps to the family cottage in guilt and shame for her foolish past. But when a new curate and his sister arrive in the village, Jane finds herself attracted to a man who is the absolute opposite of her late husband. It’s clear that the curate Philip Egerton considers her a charity case, however, and one whom proper young ladies ought not to associate with.

Mr. Egerton is himself interested in a young, innocent, golden-haired heiress–not a brazen woman whose husband would die in prison at the Fleet. As a rake with a wandering eye enters their rural society, however, Mr. Egerton finds himself oddly possessive and protective of Jane Merritt. And Jane, cast back into society, tries her best to fend off illicit attention, cease her own self-flagellation, and somehow convince Mr. Egerton that she is worthy to be his wife.

True to form, this book features delightfully outrageous characters, an original and memorable plot, and dialogue designed to keep you giggling. Will other readers enjoy it? Here’s the catch: if you’re wanting to read a romance to get a new book boyfriend, this book is NOT it. (Philip Egerton–and I say this affectionately–is pretty much THE WORST.) But if you like a witty historical drama, replete with literary allusions, rife with ridiculous situations, and yet thoughtfully examining human nature, then this book is for you.

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Father and daughter Mr. and Miss Cottrell were as alike as two peas, if one pea were male and thirty years older.

-Mrs. Merritt’s Remorse by Christina Dudley

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