The Bargain Bride

This is yet one more interesting/engaging novel from Barbara Metzger. If you enjoy reading her Regency novels, then you WILL also enjoy this one! A+++++++++

Barbara Metzger is the queen of the comical regency - she has been writing them for many years and nearly always with the assurance of a seasoned hand. She has a clever and polished style of writing that is always a joy to read and an ability to create scenarios that are funny but poignant and populated by a range of cleverly drawn characters. In this story, we have a comical though sometimes painful dissection of an arranged marriage of convenience. This marriage is set up for the usual reasons of advancement and money and will cross quite serious class divides. However, our heroine, the daughter of a rich and ambitious cit, has taken umbrage at being kept waiting for 13 years and is ready to kick over the traces. Our hero, originally the younger son, finds himself inheriting his father's title and, suddenly, his life needs to undergo some serious change - no longer in the Army, no longer living the life of a young buck in London, he needs to set up his nursery with a willing wife. There are the usual coterie of oddball servants and relatives in this one; watch out for Marcel, her grandpa's valet, and a pretty unusual pug dog who needs the kiss of life every now and then. Add in some annoying stepsisters, a bit of a mystery and an abduction and you have one of the author's funny and harum scarum set-ups. I particularly liked the homage to the late Edith Layton that appears in the chapter headings purporting to be from a tome on arranged marriages; some terrific one-liners here - worth the price of the book in my view. I really liked this and had several hours of real reading pleasure. Highly recommended to her fans but also to those who like regencies, like comedy and appreciate talented, well crafted prose.

Jane Austen was a genius, a spinster living in an isolated country village (all country villages were isolated in her day) and writing knowingly of affairs of the heart. She probably would be astonished to learn that she created a genre. Author Barbara Metzger has a few advantages that Miss Austen did not, including a historic overview. For a good number of years, Metzger has been crafting clever romantic tales set in the period when Jane Austen had lived. She writes authoritatively about the era, so much so that one has to remember that Barbara Metzger had not been born at that time. (Not by several centuries.) As with her last few books, Metzger's work continues to mature. THE BARGAIN BRIDE is her best romp yet, with all the requisite elements: A reluctant bride whose father barters her dowry for the title of wife to an impoverished nobleman -- an impoverished nobleman who is the classic alpha male that every woman wants and every man wants to be. Yet are they a good fit for one another? This is the conflict that must be resolved. In typical Metzger fashion, their differences are explored with great humor. The chapter beginnings, ruminations on the theme of arranged marriage -- most marriages in that era were arranged -- never fail to amuse. And, typical of Metzger, there also is an endearing dog as a character. THE BARGAIN BRIDE is the perfect Regency romance. It has every component that makes one of these novels charming. Don't miss it!

Their fathers arranged their marriage when she was thirteen and he was about to go fight against Napoleon. However, Persephone Goldthwaite has spent half her life waiting to tie the knot with Viscount Kendall Westmoreland. Both want to end their betrothal so he goes see her serendipitously to gain her concurrence. However, West changes his mind upon meeting the beautiful effervescent Penny. Her father suggests Penny marry her stepbrother Nigel, son of his second wife. Instead West invokes the agreement, but his former lover and her odious step-sibling have other abduction plans for the pair that ignores West and Penny falling in love. THE BARGAIN BRIDE is a humorous Regency romance filled with an eccentric cast that seems to have escaped from bedlam as their chaotic antics are fun to follow; but centered and owned by the lead couple. Fans will relish this fine historical as the battle for who marries Penny shapes into a zany free for all in which Penny must determine whom she can trust with her life. Topped by citations from the chronicles of "By Arrangement" heading each chapter, this is an amusing entertaining tale with a suspense subplot enhancing the jocularity; as Barbara Metzger is at the top of her game. Harriet Klausner