A weird book – a sort of (but not quite) ghost is sent to rescue a wastrel earl from his wicked ways. The element of fantasy is certainly different, even if the theme of the rake’s redemption is an old one. But very readable, so long as you can suspend all critical faculties and just let it flow past.
Here’s the premise: Lucinda Faire is about to be pushed into one of those horrible old-enough-to-be-her-grandfather marriages so beloved of Regency authors. Her father keeps her a virtual prisoner at home, so when she manages to meet a halfway plausible and attractive young man, she instantly agrees to elope with him. He, of course, turns out to be a fortune-hunting rogue, and he’s not even planning to marry her. She deals with him and sets off for home, but an accident sees her unconscious and on the point of death. Her parents, lovely people, are quite happy to let her die. But at the pearly gates, they don’t quite know whether to send her to heaven (she’s young and very innocent) or hell (she eloped, silly girl). So she is given a test – redeem one sinner and she’ll get to heaven, and they even tell her the specific sinner they have in mind – Lord Stanford, or Kerry, a licentious, gambling, drunken thorough waste of space.
Right, I know, plausibility is not this book’s strong suit. But as I say, if you just go with the flow, it’s all very entertaining. Lucinda comes upon his lordship on the point of blowing his brains out, having lost absolutely everything. Needless to say, her appearance gives him the shock of his life, and this is one of the clever conceits of the book – Lucinda’s appearance matches his current state of virtue. So initially, she looks like one of the brothel women he’s so fond of, with a revealing dress, bare feet and her hair tumbled about her shoulders. Every time she manages to persuade him to do something ‘good’, she acquires slightly more modest clothing.
The book then proceeds on entirely predictable lines. The earl gradually is induced to become a virtuous man, Lucinda becomes increasingly modestly dressed and the two contrive to fall in love. The ending requires a complete shutdown of every critical faculty, and my historical accuracy meter blew a fuse at the idea of marrying an unconscious woman (there has to be some smidgen of consent involved, surely?), but a resounding happy ending for all that. Too implausible for five stars, but a very entertaining four stars.
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