Miss Hungerford's Handsome Hero

This is truly one of the best of the 1980s category regencies. As the story alone stands, it would be a five-star. Charlotte Hungerford is a 26-year-old novelist; her hero is 37, a 1st baronet who received his title for leading boats against an attempted French incursion into Bantry Bay during the 1798 Irish revolt. He's half-Irish, half-Chinese, owner of a merchant fleet in the China trade, and a widower with one son. There are many historical references integrated into the story, not all of them, correct, so be alert. Carter accepted the myth that Princess Sophia, daughter of George II, had an illegitimate child named Thomas Garth. In 1812, Ernest duke of Cumberland was not slated to inherit Hanover. He eventually did, but in 1812, although everyone knew it would be split from England if the Prince Regent's daughter Charlotte inherited the throne of England, he still had three living older brothers. Some of the items are quasi-historical. The Countess of Oxford and her "Harleian Miscellany" od children appear in this story as Charlotte Hungerford's sister Helena and the "various Vanes" (she has more recently turned up in Gaelen Foley's mini-series with the countess as the "Hawkscliffe Harlot"). Readers who want sex scenes are out of luck.