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Since her mother’s death more than a year ago, Marianne Daventry has been living in Bath with her grandmother. Her grief-stricken father escaped to France after her mother’s accident, and her beautiful twin sister, Cecily, has been living in London. Marianne misses her family and her home in the country and feels stifled in the town of Bath.
She is pleased to receive an invitation from Lady Caroline, an old friend of her mother’s, to join Cecily at her grand estate, Edenbrooke. Her grandmother also surprises her by telling her before she leaves that she will be the recipient of her considerable fortune when she dies, but only if she can learn to leave her country ways behind and act like an elegant woman of distinction. The trip to Edenbrooke should be a good opportunity for her to observe respectable women and become a proper young lady. That, along with her wealth, should allow her to snag a fine husband.
After a rattling experience on the trip to Edenbrooke, and a detour that introduces her to a dashing man whom she can’t help but like, Marianne finally finds herself at the beautiful, sprawling estate. She also finds herself both pleased and dismayed by a number of unexpected turns of events, not the least of which is having the opportunity to spend a week in the company of a man she comes to call a friend.
Of course, as Marianne’s love story unfolds, there are many misunderstandings and obstacles on the way to that happy ending that is, naturally, inevitable. This novel is patterned after a good old-fashioned Jane Austen romance, so it’s no spoiler to say the heroine ends up happy, and readers are more than pleased to tag along on her journey. This book is a fine addition to the oeuvre of romance novels set in the Regency era that look to emulate Austen.
Rated: None. No language or offensive content. There are a couple of scenes that contain mild, brief violence and there is some talk of kissing.
