A Christina Dudley book is always a joy to read, that goes without saying, and this one was no different, but it has one major negative about it, which dragged it down to four stars for me.

Here’s the premise: widowed Sarah Barstow still grieves for her dead sailor husband, but at least she has her little son Sebastian (Bash) to console her, and she has a comfortable home with her husband’s family, under the benevolent patronage of their relation, Lord Dere. But when her husband’s best friend, Horace Langworthy, arrives on her doorstep, armed with her husband’s instruction to ensure that Sarah and Bash are well looked after, even to the extent of marrying Sarah, the even tenor of her life is upended. Horace’s proposal is duly made and just as duly rejected with extreme prejudice, even though he’s still heartbroken that the woman he loved and with whom he had an understanding, has jilted him during the two years he was away.

From then on, since Horace decides fr his own reasons to stay in the neighbourhood a bit longer, the two circle warily round each other and begin to appreciate the good qualities in each other. In particular, they both come to understand what it was that the dead Sebastian valued and loved in them. And so they inch towards valuing and loving each other too. I love these slow burn romances, and this is as good as they come.

Of course, the author’s great skill is in depicting large, rambustious families, full of personality and the usual disagreements, but also fiercely loyal, and the Barstows are a classic of the type. This series also has perhaps my favourite of all the characters, the mild-mannered Lord Dere, who meekly allows himself to be manipulated by his redoubtable sister-in-law, but who has a wonderfully soft heart. He acts as the fairy godfather of the series, stepping in to rescue our hapless heroes and heroines when they get into too much of a mess. Here he seems to be more proactive than previously, indulging in a spot of match-making.

As expected from Dudley, the book is beautifully written, laugh out loud funny in parts, and with the usual convoluted muddle to ensnare the main characters, beautifully resolved, and the romance is lovely. So why only four stars? Because with a romance, I expect the hero and heroine to be together at the end, not separated for months and years on end. I can see the logic behind it, it was consistent with the characters themselves and it’s perfectly true to the era, so rationally I can’t fault it, but the irrational part of me ended up rather grumpy about it. So four stars it is.

Another amusing and charming tale from Christina Dudley, the first in a new series following the impoverished Barstow family, their elderly and kindly benefactor and the various characters whose paths cross with them.

Here’s the premise: the Barstow family has, through the death of the father and son, fallen on hard times. Eldest daughter Adela, in desperation, contacts a distant relation, Lord Dere, who offers them a cottage on his estate, but as they prepare to move, second daughter Jane elopes with a roguish man who they fear might not even marry her. As they squeeze themselves into Iffley Cottage, three adults and four children, not to mention a dog and a newly acquired kitten, they agree that nothing must be mentioned of Jane’s predicament, only that she is married, lest Lord Dere think better of his offer to such a disreputable family. But it turns out it’s not Lord Dere who must be appeased at all costs, but his niece by marriage, the widowed Mrs Markham Dere, who has insinuated herself and her son, now heir to the barony, into the baron’s seat, Perryfield, and there rules all before her, including the rather timid baron.

Into this awkward situation comes Mr Gerard Weatherill, the newly recruited tutor for Master Peter Dere, even more impoverished than the Barstows, and with secrets of his own to keep hidden, lest he lose his position. And it doesn’t help that the tutor and the practical eldest daughter have the hots for each other right from the start. Nothing can come of a match between two people who haven’t a bean between them, and besides, Adela has a cunning plan to ensure that they aren’t turfed out when all those messy secrets emerge, as they inevitably will. She’s going to marry the elderly but kindly baron, and keep Mrs Markham Dere in her place for ever.

Of course, this works about as well as you might expect, at least until Adela hears what has actually happened to Jane and her new (but feckless) husband, and grows so desperate that she throws caution to the wind.

There’s so much to love about this book, but especially the characters. The Barstows are a wonderful collection, from baby Sebastian (or Bash) to bouncy young son Gordy to 15-year-old Frances who actually manages to inveigle her way into Mrs Markham Dere’s good books in support of Adela’s hopes. I assume that most of the family will get their own book in time. But there’s also Mrs Markham Dere herself, a gloriously not quite over the top character, and the absolutely lovely baron, who surely deserves his happy ever after at least as much of some of the others.

So why only four stars? A couple of things niggled at me. One is the number of times Adela contrived to trip or fall over or otherwise end up entangled with one or other of the two men, the one she’d fallen in love with and the one she’d grimly decided to marry for her family’s sake. A certain amount of that is fine, and mostly it was very funny, but after a while it did get a bit old, and I’d have liked some variation.

The other issue I had was Adela, who has basically entrapped the baron into a betrothal, and then hangs onto him for grim death, even though their marriage would make a lot of people very unhappy. I really, really wanted her to come to her senses, confess all to the baron and throw herself on his mercy, but she never did, right to the (not very bitter) end, when the happy ending is magicked into being with a wave of a well-manicured hand. It was all a bit deus ex machina, and although I didn’t like that Adela wasn’t told what was happening until the very last minute, I kind of felt she deserved all that anxiety, frankly.

As always, a beautifully written and highly literate book. Five stars and I can’t wait for the next in the series.

Oh, the joy of a new Christina Dudley book! Sadly this is the last of the Ellsworth Assortment series, following the romantic adventures of a father who married four times and had the eponymous assortment of children. This features the youngest daughter, Beatrice, the sensitive one of the family, and is a charming wrap-up of the series.

Here’s the premise: Beatrice Ellsworth looks to be set for contented spinsterhood. She’s happy not venturing too far from home, helping her older siblings with their growing families and not finding a man to suit her from the limited selection around Winchester. Her family conspire to arrange a trip to the seaside for her, to unfashionable Bognor, in the hope that a change of scene will inspire a change of heart. Their plans succeed beyond their wildest dreams, for on a sea bathing expedition, an accident with the bathing machine leaves Beatrice trapped underwater. Happily, another bather comes to her rescue, and even more happily he turns out to be a handsome and personable young man. The Ellsworths immediately draw him into their sphere and stand back to allow love to develop.

Which it does, but there’s a teeny, tiny problem – John Clayton, the aforementioned personable young man is already engaged. He’s a canal engineer, and when his mentor in that career died two years before, he left John everything – his business, and his daughter and the fortune she’s inherited. All John has to do is to marry her. At the time, it seemed like a great idea. Now, meeting Beatrice and being instantly smitten, he sees the flaws in the arrangement. But John is an honourable man, so he tells the Ellsworths that he’s engaged, which is just as well, for his betrothed, Priscilla, arrives in Bognor on a surprise visit.

Beatrice accepts that John is not for her, but she doesn’t have the temperament to shake off her disappointment easily. To distract her from her woes, she’s shipped off to London with a family with a daughter of her own age, who’s been torn from the highly unsuitable arms of a groom, and is also to be distracted by London entertainments (and hopefully find a more suitable husband). Now, Marjorie is a real piece of work, and I’d bet that most of us know someone just like her. She’s either Beatrice’s very, very best friend or her mortal enemy, with no point in between. Everything that goes against Marjorie’s own wishes is Beatrice’s fault, and she’s completely and utterly selfish and irrational. And also very funny, it has to be said. And while she’s busily falling for another swain almost as unsuitable as the groom, Beatrice is struggling to overcome her feelings for John Clayton, who pops up everywhere (even at Almack’s, which I felt was a bit of a stretch, but never mind). He’s trying to drum up investors for his canal, while his betrothed is beginning to realise that he’s just as canal-obsessed as her father ever was.

The ending brought no surprises at all, but that’s not a criticism. It means that no unRegency-like rabbits were pulled out of hats to get John out of his betrothal. I did want to box his ears, mind you, at that long-drawn-out proposal. There comes a point when explanations can wait and the couple just need to fall into each other’s arms and enjoy a long, toe-tingling kiss. There was one surprise, though – Mr Rotherwood, who wandered onstage from the previous series, a delightful appearance (once I’d worked out who he was and why his story sounded so familiar!).

This is a quieter book than some of the earlier ones of the series, but that’s entirely in keeping with Beatrice’s quieter nature, so that’s not a criticism either. There’s a smattering of Americanisms but it’s so beautifully written in other ways and I was enjoying the book so much that I didn’t care. In some ways, the previous book, with its stronger emphasis on the glorious Ellsworth family, would have made a more resounding series finale (wouldn’t we all love to be part of a big, rumbustious, affectionate family like the Ellsworths?). Still, this was a wonderful read. A very worthy five stars and I commend the whole series to anyone looking for a literate, intelligent and witty read with a true grasp of the Regency.

Every Christina Dudley book is a joy to read, and this is no exception. I’ve been looking forward to Minta’s story since she first appeared in the background of her eldest sister’s story, shooting arrows with her bosom friend Aggie, and generally getting up to all sorts of hoydenish mayhem. How was she ever going to turn into a heroine? I couldn’t wait to find out.

Here’s the premise: Minta’s best friend Aggie has traitorously fallen for rakish Francis Taplin, but Minta knows he’s only looking to restore the family’s fortunes after his own expensive lifestyle has brought them perilously close to ruin. How can she save Aggie from him? She turns to Francis’s friendly stepbrother, Nicholas Carlisle, for aid. Between them, they come up with a cunning plan — Minta will turn herself into the sort of young lady that will draw Francis’s attention away from Aggie. When that fails to distract him sufficiently, they use his rivalry with Nicholas to good effect – Nicholas will pretend to court Minta. But Minta hasn’t taken into account that her efforts will look like the ultimate betrayal to Aggie, and neither of them have considered how hard it will be to maintain a pretend courtship that they’d both like to be real. Especially when they can’t tell each other the truth.

Dudley specialises in these complicated webs of deceit, but she does it so cleverly and then untangles them so elegantly that the reader can only watch in admiration. I love the humour, too, which often made me laugh out loud, especially Minta wrestling with The Bosom. And yet there are tiny vignettes that are so moving they make me want to cry. Minta’s newest stepmother, for instance, who reads the proposal letter from Nicholas to Minta, and is swept with emotion because she, for many years a spinster and then with a very pragmatic marriage of convenience, has never received anything one tenth as romantic.

Of course, everything sorts itself out in the end, and nobody does anything wildly stupid. I was rather amused by Francis’s solution to his trials, Minta and Nicholas get their happy ending, and both Tyrone and little sister Bea became more interesting in this book. I see that Tyrone is next up for a romance, and perhaps we’ll see Bea in a starring role after that.

Some quotes that caught my eye:

‘Great guns! Where did Aggie get that bosom? Has she had it all along?’

‘Not everything is a love story.’ ‘That only means you have not read to the end.’

A terrific book on a multitude of levels. I highly recommend it, but if you’re new to the author, start with The Naturalist and enjoy her entire repertoire. Five stars.

The only thing better than a Christina Dudley book is another Christina Dudley book, and for the first time in my life, I marked the release date of this book in my calendar so I’d remember to download it straight away. I thought Tempted By Folly was superb, but this second book in the series is just as good, lacking only the element of surprise at the endearingly oddball Ellsworth family. With practical Florence safely married off, it’s sparky sister Lily next up, and she’s already decided who she’s going to marry – Mr Gilbert Wright, handsome, rich and dashing. He’s not very bright, but that just means he’ll be easier to manage. But she certainly doesn’t want to tie herself down just yet, because now that Florence is gone and Lily is the Miss Ellsworth and no longer in mourning for their last-but-one stepmother, she’s absolutely ready to have a good time and flirt outrageously and be courted by all the young men of the district.

Except there’s one who isn’t interested at all. Simon Kenner, the new curate of St Eadburh’s, is as clever as his cousin Gilbert Wright is dim, and sparks immediately fly between him and Lily. For those who like a lot of banter between the romantic leads, this may be right up your alley, because these two are sparring almost from the off. They’re both sharp-tongued, but Simon, at least, is usually more circumspect with his ripostes. He can’t quite understand why Lily Ellsworth somehow brings out the worst in him, horrifying his nice sister, Sophie, and causing him to repeatedly bend his steps towards Hollowgate to apologise to Lily, only to fall into another spat with her. Lily, meanwhile, is very put out to find that the annoying curate is capable of tying her in all sorts of knots, when she’s normally so much in command.

And now you would probably be thinking – I know how this is going to go, but you’d be wrong. This is a Christina Dudley book, which means that nothing happens quite the way you’d expect. I love the way she gradually ties the characters into more and more tangled knots, only to spring them free at the very last moment with a seemingly impossible twist. I’m not going to spoil the surprise by telling you anything more about it, but both Lily and Simon have to make some adjustments and grow up (yes, and suffer a bit!) before they get to their happy ever after.

I liked that the new stepmother is sensible enough to offer some wisdom to Lily, unlike some of Mr Ellsworth’s previous choices, and I was happy to see that nice Sophie is too smart to have her heart broken. It was also fun to have a little glimpse into the clerical world of Winchester Cathedral (with its echoes of Barchester Chronicles). A wonderful, intelligent and very funny read, with the inevitable five stars.

And I absolutely cannot wait to read Minta’s story. Another one to mark on the calendar.