School for Manners #05: Animating Maria

The Tribble sisters operate a "School for Manners" in London, specializing in turning out "difficult" girls so they can go out to society and make good matches. When they see Miss Maria Kendall, they wonder why she needs to come to them, as she is beautiful, well-mannered, and accomplished. But one look at her unbelievably vulgar mushroom parents, and they see why she needs their touch to make her acceptable to snobby London society. Soon after Maria's arrival in London, Amy Tribble's outrageous meddling results in Maria's agreeing to marry the cold and arrogant Duke of Berham in a marriage of convenience. However, as soon as the duke meets with Maria's vulgar parents, he offers to pay the Tribbles to do all they can to break up the engagement. Meanwhile, Maria and the duke are constantly at each other's throats (because of an earlier incident at an inn on the road to London, in which they insulted each other.) But soon, they begin to find out that they have much in common, and neither one really wants to break it off... Chesney's characterization, while on the superficial side, is always interesting and *different*, and she doesn't hesitate to reveal flaws in her characters. Berham is cold and uptight, but he has radical, realistic views on social reform. He's a powerful duke, but he's never been a womanizer and still has hopes for romance in his life. He's piqued and bothered by Maria's indifference--Maria, a rich cit's daughter who is the only one to have stirred his soul, and who tends to wander off into dreams and fantasies because she's had to cope with harsh, bullying parents. Then there's Maria, who stands up to the duke without losing her dignity. The Tribble sisters are also fleshed out, as are members of the servant class. Chesney has quite a bawdy sense of humor, and it shines through in the antics of the Tribbles and the Kendalls. Animating Maria is a fun regency romp that will leave a smile on your face. The rest of the "School for Manners" series is also quite good, but I thought this one is the best in terms of characterization and plot.

As a result of the outrageous antics of the incorrigible Miss Amy Tribble, the unlikely pair of Maria Kendell and the Duke of Berham settled for a marriage of convenience to suit their equally unromantic goals - for her, freedom from bullying parents, and for him, a marriageable wife to bear him an heir. Why then were the two otherwise sensible cohorts devising to disengage themselves from a practical engagement, and even more troubling was, why the other became so hurt when they discovered their fiancé/e's intent? This volume of the School for Manners series is the most entertaining for its hilarious characters such as Maria's companion and vulgar parents or the Duke's unconventional mother. Amy and Effy, naturally, are funny as ever. Maria escapes the harshness of her reality by reveling in dreams of adventure and romance until discovering that real life can be even more fantastic when an arrogant, self absorbed duke experiences agonizing heartache over an indifferent young lady of inferior class. The uptight Duke is rattled by shock, then guilt, condescension, pique, and finally passion by the unsuspecting, unlikely heroine. Though the ending is naturally predictable, the amusing characters and entertaining plot Chesney crafts is worth the read. This book is one of the best in the very good series.