1841. Welcome to Wickenshire and its society families, who love to concern themselves with the private business of their close neighbours, especially when it comes to marriage and money. The current hot topic is the marriage of Mr Hurst, who everyone expected to be asking for the hand of Miss Amelia Ashpoint - including her father.

Instead Mr Hurst does something very unexpected by marrying an impoverished widow with three young children, who definitely does not fit the neighbourhood gossips' idea of a suitable Wickenshire bride. However, Amelia is anything but disappointed, as she has no intention of marrying anyone...

Channelling her love of a rollicking classic tome, Katie Lumsden's second glorious book turns from the Gothic vibes of her debut, The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, to celebrate a lighter shade of Victorian novel - with a modern twist.

The style is highly engaging. Lumsden fills her pages with romance, family foibles, the glamour of balls and entertainments, and all the gossip that comes with them. If you are a Jane Austen fan, as I am, you will find much to delight you in the interactions that go on in public and behind close doors. You will certainly recognise many of the sorts of characters that make up this sprawling cast, and the light touch of well-wielded wit and wisdom is pure Austen. For me, the Victorian loveliness of the setting also evokes the sweeping family epics of Elizabeth Gaskell, and at times, the humour and sharp social commentary of Anthony Trollope. All of which is rather wonderful.

Lumsden revels in dissecting what goes on beneath the surface of her characters' obsessions with money, class and the marriage market, especially when it comes to the secrets that almost everyone seems to have - secrets that they are not shy about engaging in a little deception to keep hidden. The bones of their dilemmas give her the fodder she needs to bring in more modern topics, such as sexuality, and I really enjoyed how she does this perfectly in keeping with the feel of the novel.

This was such fun, with just the right mix of charm, comedy, melancholy, and absurdity to make the pages fly. Fingers crossed for more Wickenshire from Katie Lumsden, as this kind of novel really suits her writing style.