Of Paupers and Peers

Fans of the traditional Regency will love this novel, full of sparkle, wit, and yet genuine historical detail as the protagonists struggle with money worries and their place in the world. The romance builds nicely to the happily ever after, and I liked the rivalry between the sisters being resolved at last. It is very like the recently published At Last Comes Love by Balogh, older sister finally getting her chance at love compared to the more glamorous younger sister. I've loved this author ever since Weaver Takes a Wife, and she continues to deliver great stories with interesting characters and excellent dialogue.

If you haven't read a really good Regency romance lately, then treat yourself to this one. Yes, it has the seemingly obligatory duke and an amnesia aspect, but these are simply minor plot devices in a well crafted, beautifully written story. I always enjoy a convincing plot and pacing that keeps me involved from page to page--and this book has both. But it also has wonderful, multi-dimensional characters who engaged me from the moment I met them. I encourage any Regency lover to buy this book, or borrow it from their library. My copy is going to my daughter and then directly to my keeper shelf to eventually be reread and enjoyed again.

Sheri Cobb South has done it again. She truly understands the Regency era with its "feel" and had written a captivating tale. Just when you think it is possibly clicheed - the "in cognito" duke with amnesia - it takes new turns and twists. I am so glad to see the genre so well presented.

Unassuming, hardworking, underpaid curate and sometime tutor James Weatherly was resigned to his lot in life of genteel poverty until approached by a solicitor informing him he was the heir to a dukedom of Montford. Unfortunately, traveling by stage on the road to claiming his inheritance he was later set upon by footpads, beaten severely and lost his memory and any identifying papers. Margaret Darrington after having waited long enough to meet up with the new tutor she'd hired to teach her brother, set off for home when she discovered James on the road. Seeing his scattered books and his shabby dress she incorrectly assumes he is Mr. Fanshawe, her errant tutor and brings him to her home. Having lost his memory James goes along with her feeling that perhaps he is Mr. Fanshawe, for being a tutor seemed to feel right. As time went by, Margaret couldn't help but notice after the bruises faded, Mr. Fanshawe was both pleasing in looks and personality. After disabusing James of any hope of a winning her beautiful sister Amanda's hand (in whom Margaret planned a brilliant match to save the family) Margaret knows Amanda would be the only one who could attract a wealthy suitor, perhaps even the new Duke of Montford not knowing that true Duke was her very own dear Mr. Fanshawe. *** Rejoice good people, all rumors about Regency being dead should be put aside! If OF PAUPERS AND PEERS is any example of the brilliance of that genre, it is alive and flourishing exceedingly well as evidenced from this superlative offering from Ms. Sherri Cobb Smith! Oh what a perfectly splendid reading experience! Smith's grasp of the genre is evident in the well-written story using dialogs utilizing the cant of the period and moving the reader right into Ms. Jane Austen's England. She engages your emotions with appealing characters that will all become endearingly real and memorable. James was a tremendously appealing character who was brilliantly created with a self-deprecating wit regarding his looks and especially his elevated status. Margaret is the strong head of the family, not by choice but by circumstance, and in her determination to see her younger brother have a future, she pins all her hopes on the one asset the family has left - her beautiful younger sister Amanda. She has been the family savior for so long she has forgotten that she is just as lovely and desirable herself. The impromptu moonlight serenade, and secondary characters including Margaret's feather-brained aunt all blended together to enhance some lovely memorable scenes that made for a delightful story. I totally loved this book and it will find a permanent place on my `keeper' bookshelf, right alongside Jane Austen. Marilyn Rondeau, RIO - Reviewers International Organization

The London solicitor searches the College of Arms tome for four months to determine who inherits the wealth and title of the Duke of Montford, whose previous occupant died with no offspring. Finally having to go back a century to a family estrangement, the attorney determines that Fairfield Curator James Weatherly is the new Duke. James is stunned to learn he inherited two million acres in Surrey and other properties. James travels to the prime seat of Montford stopping at an inn where he intercedes in a dispute, but by doing so he shows he is carrying a lot of money. On the final leg of his journey, two thugs accost him, take his cash, and leave him unconscious from a blow to the head. Margaret Darrington finds the bewildered injured James and assumes he is the tutor Mr. Fanshawe she hired to teach her fourteen year old brother Philip. She finds the teacher quite attractive, but is unhappy he seems to desire her beautiful eighteen years old sisters Amanda. With encouragement from her wacky Aunt Hattie and as he begins to recover his memory, James knows he loves one of the siblings, the one he considers the adult not the teen. OF PAUPERS AND PEERS is an interesting Regency romance starring two likable protagonists and a solid honorable secondary cast. Margaret the lioness protects her siblings and her aunt, but also is jealous of her sister for the first time as she assumes Mr. Fanshawe is like every other male who fawns over the beautiful angelic Amanda. Fans will appreciate this fine historical as the lead male begins to regain his memory he knows whether he is Fanshawe or Weatherly he is in love. Harriet Klausner