Adventure. Mystery. Romance.
Julia Wychwood has led the life of an invalid for as long as she can remember. Her parents, obsessed with tonics and bedrest and bloodletting, refuse to let her live a normal life, and whenever her social anxiety causes her to seek solitude and a good book, she must then contend with the unsavory remedies of the family doctor….
This set of three Victorian novellas were loosely connected by their seasonal setting and the fact that they are romances, but other than that, they felt very distinct in atmosphere and theme….
Evelyn Maltravers has come to London aware that she can only afford to have one season and that she needs to make the most of it. While she would easily be outshone in the ballroom, her best asset is her horsewomanship (pretend that that’s a word). To accentuate her equestrian skills, she needs a riding habit with style and panache. She needs a riding habit to die for. She needs a riding habit made by London’s most up-and-coming tailor, Ahmad Malik….
A writer for her aunt’s Marriage Gazette, Miss Amelie Hampton is a hopeless romantic who has fallen for one of the newspaper’s clients, Mr. Harold Radcliffe (or should I say, Mr. Dashing?). When police detective Michael Baker approaches Amelie about an investigation on Mr. Radcliffe, Amelie agrees to go undercover to help him in order to clear Mr. Radcliffe’s name. But the closer she gets to her dashing suitor, the more questions are unearthed…
Lord Farnsworth is sentimental about one thing–the house that belonged to his mother. But when bankruptcy threatens, he comes up with a plan of assured brilliance: he will sell the estate to the charming young lady who wants it, and then charm her into marrying him so he can have it back. What follows is a wooing of horrific lengths and hilarious proportions….
See my review and book club questions for Fair as a Star by Mimi Matthews, a “short but perfect novella” set in the Victorian Era.
A lady’s companion ought to blend in with her surroundings, but it’s impossible for Clara Hartwright to remain invisible. Forced … More
Have any of you started your Christmas reading yet?
Here are three novellas centered around a Victorian Christmastide…
Ever since her father’s death, Laura Hayes has been forced to shoulder the burden of her invalid brother and the … More
Miss Elizabeth Black runs a proper school for middle class Victorian girls and writes proper novels approved by the proper … More
Rosanne E. Lortz 