The Story

Arabella is the oldest daughter in a large family, living in the country. Her family cannot afford much as far as guaranteeing good marriages for all of the girls in the family, but luckily Arabella has a rich and benevolent godmother in London who has offered to bring her out into society (and hopefully find her a suitable husband).

Unfortunately, on Arabella’s way to her godmother’s place, her carriage breaks down. While waiting for it to be fixed, Arabella meets Mr. Beaumaris, a rich bachelor who is constantly being chased by women who are only interested in fortune. Arabella, overhearing Mr. Beaumaris claim that he believes she made up the story about her carriage breaking down, in a rage decides to pretend that she is an heiress. Little does she know that her story will follow her to London, and soon every fortune hunter in town is after her.

The Review

I’m so happy that I started reading Heyer’s regency books! There are so many wonderful books that she’s written that I’ve never read before and I am totally loving them!

I think what I liked most about this book was the fact that it was very much a Cinderella story, and I know I’m not the only person who loves love stories that have a little bit of Cinderella in it.

I will admit that it took me a few chapters to get into the book – basically, once she got on the road towards London, it started getting exciting. The moment she told Mr. Beaumaris that she was a rich heiress, I knew I would love this book. Before that point in time, I really wasn’t sure I would actually LIKE the character of Arabella – she seemed to not have much of a personality, but the impulsive streak that was shown at that moment was just brilliant.

The rest of the characters were amusing as well – especially Mr. Beaumaris, who had a very large mischievous streak. He once wore a dandelion in his button-hole for three days just to see if any of his “followers” would think this was going to be a new trend and do it for themselves. While he doesn’t believe Arabella’s story about being an heiress, he decides to play along and see if he can make her all-the-rage in London for the season she is there. It was a lot of fun to know that he didn’t take everything too seriously, and that he was a bit more trouble than everyone in town seemed to think.

At a couple of points, the book did remind me a little bit of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park – Mr. Beaumaris was Henry Crawford as I wish Henry Crawford could have been. At one point, Mr. Beaumaris mentioned that he was going to make Arabella fall in love with him, and that was exactly what Henry Crawford had meant to do with Fanny Price.

While the plot of the book was predictable, it was a nice diversion from real-life for the time being.

The Bottom Line

I’m so thoroughly enjoying making my way through Heyer’s regency books, and this was definitely an awesome addition to my growing Heyer library. Will be coming back to reread this book from time to time. Highly recommended.

Other Reviews

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