Possibly only a three star in some ways, but I was in the mood to overlook its flaws and just enjoy the romp. Nothing special, in a lot of ways, but a good comfort read.
Here’s the premise: It’s almost Christmas, and Colonel Nick Morgan is returning from the wars to his uncle’s home. His uncle is elderly, frail and a bit gaga, and Nick is his heir presumptive. Soon he’ll inherit, so what he needs is a wife, right? And who better than his childhood friend, the rather lovely Jane Ramsey. The ladies of the house are confident that’s what he’ll do. Jane herself isn’t so sure. Even so, it’s a shock when Nick turns up with a very lovely and very immature future wife on his arm. Aurelia is the daughter of a brewer, very rich, very spoilt, very town-bred and entirely unsuitable for country boy Nick.
At first, he makes allowances for her and assumes they’ll learn to accommodate each other’s wishes, but when her vulgar relatives arrive, and he sees Jane being the focus of attention from two other men, he begins to realise he’s made a dreadful mistake. The way he contrives to escape his now unwanted betrothal with his honour intact (because a gentleman does not jilt a lady) is certainly creative, and I’m not going to spoil the surprise by saying anything about it. In fact, this is just about the only surprise in the entire book, since everything else is telegraphed in very large letters. There are also a fair sprinkling of anachronisms and the like – Aurelia is called a fiancee throughout, for instance, a term not in use at this time.
Despite all of this, the book is a lot of fun, Nick’s little plan is clever and there are some very entertaining characters, like the slightly potty uncle, the vulgar relations and the indolent friend who half-heartedly courts Jane. An enjoyable if not outstanding read. Four stars.
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