Miss Milton Speaks Her Mind

This book is a classic example of why I love Carla Kelly's work so much. With a very small number of exceptions, her books are touching, heartfelt romances which have me hooked from start to finish. Although her books are set in the Regency period, don't look for balls and fancy dresses and simpering debutantes from Kelly. She writes about real people, and usually those whose lives have been touched by hardship in some way. In this book, Jane Milton is the archetypal poor relation, taken in by her relatives many years ago and whose only joy is in taking care of her nephew, the Marquess's heir and the son of the man we suspect that Jane may have loved. However, there is stigma attached to the boy, since he may not actually be his father's son.Jane has a friend: Scipio, a mill-owner who owns the land bordering her grandfather's home. Because he's in trade, he's not acceptable; yet he's the only person who understands Jane's situation, and who is kind to Andrew. He offers to tutor Andrew when bullying at school makes the boy miserable, and this leads to a deepening of friendship between Jane and Scipio.But Jane has some dark, painful secrets, which keep her awake at night. Scipio also seems to have a secret buried in his past, and although the two become closer over time, the weight of their respective shameful secrets seems to keep them apart...This book made me cry in several places, notably Christmas Eve in the church, and the part about Jane's mother's headstone; those sections were so poignant, and so powerfully written, that I'd defy anyone to read them with a dry eye. They're typical of Kelly's skill. There are also some lovely characters in the book: Kelly's wonderful at creating secondary characters. There's Andrew, for a start; then the butler - who, if it hadn't been for Scipio, I'd have been yelling at Jane to elope with! And there's Scipio's sister and brother-in-law; all very well drawn and sympathetic.I agree with the reader from Bethesda that there were some sloppy editing errors and also an obvious error in relation to English inheritance law. That's a shame, and the latter point also somewhat spoils Kelly's outcome. Nevertheless, the power of the book itself, the way it's written, and the way in which I felt drawn in to the lives of Jane and Scipio and their families, meant that the errors didn't jolt me out of the story in the way a lesser writer's work might have done.Thoroughly recommended, if you can get your hands on a copy!

This book was supposed to be Carla Kelly's last Regency (for all kinds of reasons) but fortunately, she has changed her mind. This book - and a short story "The Three Kings" - remind me why I appreciate her work, although I admit to having read little of her backlist as yet. Carla Kelly specializes in unusual stories, with the settings well-researched. This book is certainly unusual, in that the heroine is a poor relation who is taken for granted by her rich relations but the hero is not a young aristocrat but rather a mill-owner (i.e. an early industrialist). We also read a lot about the heroine's state of mind which others call a depression (and I have to agree). What I admire about this book is plenty. First, the unusual choice of hero - a commoner and a middle-class person who is well over the typical age, being about 45. (The heroine is about 30). Second, the elements of mystery about both the heroine and hero's backgrounds, although the heroine's background is mostly revealed midway through the book. Carla Kelly keeps dropping these tantalizing hints that we follow eagerly. First we learn that Jane has been called home to help with the new baby Andrew, leaving us with the impression that this is the first time that she has seen her rich relations. We learn the truth, that she has been at Denby for about 20 years, but has been far from appreciated by her relations. We also learn about several terrible tragedies in her past. Through these flashbacks (as recalled by the heroine, and in conversation with the hero and with a rather unusual butler), we begin to understand why the heroine Jane can describe herself as someone who keeps secrets. There is certainly at least one potentially explosive family secret, namely the paternity of the young heir Andrew who has to be one of the most likeable children I have seen in any Regency romance. But, as we learn, there is yet another secret lurking in the wings...The descriptions of the marvellous winter holiday that Jane (our heroine) and her charge Andrew enjoy with the hero and his family are alone worth reading this novel for. Where else but in a Carla Kelly would you find a house guest who takes over the planning of a magnificent dinner and gets introduced to two luminaries of the age? And young Andrew's preoccupation with the mills and the machinery is just so realistic... as is his delight in finding a friend of his age. Some caveats. First, as one other reader has pointed out, the hero is referred to constantly as "the mill-owner". This does get irritating, unless we are meant to understand that this is the way that Jane thinks of him. Secondly, we get relatively little about the hero's own background, beginning with the reason for his rather startling name Scipio (the name of a famous Roman commander). It is appropriate given his interest in Latin and Roman civilization, but there is no hint of why his parents (his father being a pig-farmer in Yorkshire at some point) would

This is an incredibly complex story dealing with a number of issues not usually found in Regency romances. This is definitely not a "fluff" Regency and not something to read if you're looking to perk up your day.It is, however, a wonderful story of two very unique individuals who finally discover each other after years of being friends and sharing in the growth of a little boy. The hero is very different from your typical "macho yet tender" guy. He's a mill owner who is of the "common touch" yet is far more progressive and compassionate than those who are considered "better than" he is. He is also a bit older than the heroine and has a somewhat shady past as is discovered in the book. The heroine is an on the shelf spinster who is dependent on the goodwill of her rather shabby relatives. These relatives take shameless advantage of her good nature and leave her in some rather dire straights that lead to the crux of the heroine's crisis. Dealing with this crisis is one of the cornerstones of the plot in this book. I highly recommend this if you like something a bit more on the serious side and that is complex and deep.

I truly enjoyed this book, as I have all of Carla Kelly's books. She is the author who first introduced me to the genre, and I've been hooked ever since. I loved the hero and heroine in this book! The approach she takes to her characters is unique, in my opinion. Ms. Kelly showed great sensitivity in dealing with the heroine's depression, and I like the fact that she didn't take shortcuts with the healing process. I especially enjoyed the complexity of the plot lines and characterizations. I am alredy looking forward to the next one she writes! I have found that I would always like to meet her characters.