Marrying Harriet

I keep expecting a clinker among Marion Chesney's (M.C. Beaton's) books, but after reading dozens, I haven't found one. In this novel we travel back to London during the Regency, a favorite period for the so-called romance writers. There are crossing sweepers, clearing the horse manure off intersections--and a sooty smog that settles over the city in winter. We enter coffee shop and fancy salon and even a brothel for the upper class in smooth transition. The stories in all romances, Regency or modern, are much the same; a young woman in search of a husband meets a wealthy often titled man, sparks fly, all seems lost and then, voila, we have a marriage. The idea is a bit stale, but the writing and characters that get us there are what make the Chesney books sing. In fact, one might compare them to love songs: the lyrics may be very similar, but it is the singing voice that entertains us, not the motif. In this case, prim Harriet, with no dowry, meets a wealthy war hero profligate lord who rescues a cat from a tree for her. They form a pact after a time: she will try to find an appropriate wife for him, and he will help her find husbands for the dowagers who have all but adopted her. Guess what happens. The characters are all marvelous, whether high or low born. Chesney has a wonderful feel for details of era. Whether she is accurate or not, I know not, but she is convincing. The writing is intelligent, interspersed with wry humor, a la Jane Austen, but with a touch more of grit and naughtiness. I'll keep reading these until I come upon the clinker. It may take awhile because Chesney has written a good many books, and I hope I never find the bad one.

The Tribble sisters do it again! With their last charge Harriet Brown, Amy and Effy Tribble try to put Lord Charles Marsham and Miss Brown together as much as possible to make them fall in love and get married and once again the Tribbles would be praised for their wonderful success in matchmaking. But what the Tribbles don't know is that Harriet isn't at all concerned for her own success in marriage but is trying to find suitable husbands for the Tribbles themselves! Harriet and Lord Charles join forces for this quest but while doing so they find that the Tribble sisters arn't the only ones who want to be loved.