Miss Seldon's Suitors

I almost didn't buy this book since I hadn't really enjoyed the last few Jeanne Savery Regency novels. But in the end, I'm glad that I did as "Miss Seldon's Suitors" turned out to be a truly charming and delightful read, and is, I think, one of the authour's best efforts yet.Miss Matilda 'Matty' Seldon finds herself in dire straits indeed when an unscrupulous person pretending to be her cousin, steals her meager inheritance and leaves her penniless and stranded in a village where she knows virtually no one. Fortunately for Matty, the vicar of the village comes to her rescue and brings her plight to the attention of Lady Wilmington and a Miss Abigail Abernathy. It is the vicar's hope that the very respectable Lady Wilmington will take pity on Matty and offer her employment and a refuge. Unfortunately (for the vicar) it is not Lady Wilmington who is moved by Matty's circumstances but the very eccentric Miss Abernathy, and she offers Matty a temporary home. Miss Abernathyhas a plan: to try and untangle Matty's affairs and to also promote a match between Matty and a good friend of hers, Charles North. But even the best of plans go slightly awry when unexpected elements come into play. Two of Miss Abernathy's nephews come for a visit, and both seem to have fallen under Matty's spell. Suddenly, kind and sensible Matty Seldon has not one but four suitors, when even the shallow and toadying vicar begins to court her. For any young woman who had thought to remain a spinster all her life, such a surfeit of suitors would be enough to turn anyone's head. But for Matty, there can be only one man for her -- if only she were more worthy of such an excellent and worthy gentleman...I really enjoyed this novel even though things did get a little bogged down in the middle romance wise. Used to thinking of herself as a village vicar's sensible daughter, and not really rating her worth very high, Matty finds it difficult indeed to believe that the gentleman she's fallen for (I'm not going to say which one so as to not spoil things) would actually return her feelings. And since the gentleman concerned has decided that a long and slow courtship where both parties would get to know each other intimately (character-wise) would be best, that whole bit of the novel does take a while to unwind and get resolved. Fortunately, there are other plot gambits to keep things humming, like the episodes that involve the Mr. Collins (from Austen's "Pride and Prejudice")-like vicar -- Jeanne Savery's splendid portrayal of this character will definitely amuse -- and the subplot involving Miss Abernathy's nephews. Also brilliantly done was the portrayal of the intriguing Miss Abernathy. Who is this woman, and what is her story? We learn some of her history but since there are going to be a few more books in this series, I'm sure that there is still a lot more to learn, and I'm really looking forward to that! Best of all however was the portrayal of Matty and her young man and their roman