|
A WOMAN BEYOND PRICE
Reviewed by: Rachel
Hyde, MyShelf.Com The year is 1785 and Sir James Caraddon is a rising star in Pitt's government but there is something missing in his life not supplied by the glamorous widow Lady Susannah Brimley. Spending Christmas with his elderly aunt in Truro he is invited to the 18th birthday party of Charlotte Forbes. Charlotte is about to discover that she is an heiress and that there is a secret about her birth but Sir James initially only sees a simple child barely out of the schoolroom, used to farm life and romping with her cousin. Soon they find that their lives have taken a change for the more adventurous for Charlotte runs away with a theatrical troupe and Sir James runs after her. They are both to discover that there is more to life than pursuing their respective careers. This is a well-paced and lively romance, which is a little far-fetched in some places, but as it is not supposed to be a scholarly tract but a story this is not the worst fault such a book can have. Charlotte is not a simpering miss and Sir James only tries - rather ineffectually - to master her, which pleased me. I love a good romance but not if it contains a hero who behaves like a jerk and a fluttering, fainting and fluffy heroine. I liked the descriptions of life as a travelling theatrical troupe and wish that there had been more but putting a book down and wishing for more of any part of it shows that the author has not drawn the story out. Light and entertaining fare. |