When your entire life is a stress attack you need some comfort reading and this was great comfort reading. I️ didn’t realize this was written by Sheila Simonson who also wrote one of my very favorite comfort books “Lady Elizabeth’s Comet” until I️ was almost finished even though I️ recognized a lot of similar elements. Totally entertaining but ready Lady Elizabeth’s Comet first - if only for the cover!!

Mid2022. It's the fact that I'm reading this again as a break between some fluffier historical romances... And highlighting favorite lines. Wonderful, wonderful proper British phrasing.


2022 judgement. 1984 was a good year for this author... And for me to truly enjoy her writing and humor.




I was definitely not expecting to love this book, much less put it on my favorite books' list. When I first picked this up, it did not come to me that this was the Sheila Simonson of the Clanross' and company. It is based in about the same time, and you can tell by the quiet strength that characterizes all of Simson's writing, but o how different this was from the other three I've read from her!
There is a certain levity, a certain spirit that this book has that her Clanross ones did not. While I liked Bar sinister, etc etc, the ponderous ways were a little hard to get and as dry as toast. I love the quietness and feeling of the books tho.

But this... this is probably the most reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice goodness that I've read. No other regency as arisen that thought in me.

Not much happens in the way that there is no sinister plot or mystery that needs to be worked out. But o! how much happens with the people! Not only did I actually like Jane, but I loved Julian and his humor, his seriousness, his kindness. How he wormed his way into his family's heart should be noted. He applied certain principles that worked. Now, is family...what wonderful brats! In Simonson's own style, I could totally see future stories of this lot grown up. I especially loved Vincent, because with his situation, how easy it could be for people to give hi, up as loss and worthless. There was so much more to him, and his relationships with his half siblings and brother were great to read about.

So, although the fact that there was more to romance in this story, that aspect was not neglected. If you ever feel that regency is known for a bit of shallow 'love', you would love how Simonson uses the passage of time and communication to show us how things lie. Because of the reputation a lot of regencies have, this would be more categorized as a historical fiction, with mention of the war and etc.

Would you believe that I laughed, cried and rejoiced with the events of this book and was most happy to put it down, just so I may read it again soon.
My only problem at times was deciphering what Simonson wasn't writing, like the emotions between certain actions (like during the guitar scene), but that was easily solved by using my imagination and the great overall writing of the author.

I would recommend to everyone who enjoyed the powerful observations bestowed by Austen in Pride and Prejudice this wonderful book!

Julian Stretton was shipped off to live with his grandparents at a very young age. Years later, while recovering from being badly wounded at Waterloo, he recieves word that his father and older brother have died within weeks of each other. He is now Lord Meriden. He has seven younger siblings to take care of, and a histrionic step-mother to deal with tactfully. Luckily, he also has the assistance of the children's cousin, Jane Ash.

There isn't much of a plot to this story; it is entirely about the characters and their interactions with each other. But we get rather more nuanced moments than in Heyer, for instance. Heyer mastered all the details of the Regency, but somehow her Society always seemed like a role-playing game, with specific slots for each person. The step-mother is classic--always retiring to her rooms and using her tears as weapons. But then, while talking about her manipulative hypochondria, Jane says, "Five stillbirths" and Julian, about to say something cutting, stills. Or Will, who nurses Julian back to health but gets stiff and angry when Julian becoms a lord. Not everything is as cut and dried as in Heyer. Class is not the determiner of character--the lower class doesn't have country wisdom; the upper class isn't naturally prettier and smarter. Simonson is clearly aware of some of the darker aspects of the Regency period--she understands where the money comes from, for instance.

The characters are wonderfully drawn, and their relationships are no less engaging. Julian is kind and empathic with his new-found family, and most of the plot is about his rehabilitation of them. But when thinking about why she fell in love with him, Jane realizes it was not his kind actions or way with children--it was his sharp tongue and sarcastic quotations. What a terrible person I am! she thinks, yet the reader utterly understands. His proposal is one of my favorites--the scene is so perfectly described.

Now that I've read one of her regencys, I absolutely must track down Simonson's others.