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by Joan Smith Daphne Ingleside has always felt privileged that the black sheep of her family is a black ewe: her Aunt Effie. Divorced, married three times, running through a fortune on the way, she now lives in genteel poverty in London, and Effie has been sent to visit her. Too poor to fund a season for her niece and feeling bored, Effie decides to write her memoirs instead, and finds a publisher for them. But her youth was filled with men falling at her feet and threatening to leave their wives, and other scandalous secrets. People from her past flock to buy her silence, but she just thinks they are repaying their debts! The Duke of St Felix is not amused, and pays the pair a visit... I always feel assured that a book by Regency veteran author Joan Smith is going to be a good tale, and I have never been disappointed yet. Now UK readers have the chance to discover this gem from 1979, a characteristically charming tale that shows her flair. The heroine in this does behave rather foolishly though, and pretending to the Duke that there is blackmail going on does seem a hare-brained scheme to say the least - but it does make for a fun read. There is plenty about high society of the time. Including the most realistic portrayal of Beau Brummell near the end of his reign I have yet encountered, this is worth the price alone. And there are also scenes with the patronesses of Almack's and the rotund Prince of Wales to enjoy and a keen knowledge of the period that shines through. If you like Regencies, this is the sort of thing you signed up for. |
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