Genevra

From the Cover:When Genevra Kerslake's profligate father died she had to sell the family store to wealthy department store magnate, Matthew Pyrritt. Her cousin Leonara despised men of his class, but Genevra found him attractive. When Leonara's drunken husband attacked Genevra, she decided to accept the job of a shopgirl offered by Pyrritt. And so a sheltered Surrey gentlewoman was thrust into the hurly-burly world of the West End. Times were changing in Edwardian England an Genevra was determined to adapt to whatever challenges fate put in her way....What a wonderful, throughly enjoyable book. The author's marvellous prose enchanted me and the witty reparte of all the characters had me chuckling aloud while I read. Genevra is not a simpering miss and while she has to learn to make her way in the world, the author's recounts her growth in a way that holds true to what I have read of Edwardian times. There is no intrusion of modern manners.Matthew Pyritt, the "jumped-up counter clerk" reminds me, in characterization of Mr. Darcy, had he had a "shop" background.Witty, eloquent and a charming read.Comparible authors: Heyer, Balogh, Mary Jo Putney, or Charlotte Louise Dolan