Sir Sham

Marion Devon's Regency Romances should be on the "buy" list of any traditional Regency Romance fan. Her work is on par with such Regency notables are Marion Chesney, Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh and Patricia Veryan. Sir Sham is no exception. This charming tale surround two vicars daughters, Lucy and Camilla, and their romantic and comedic adventures when a nabob, Mr. More and his sarcastic friend Mr. Drury come to Sussex. For a shorter Regency (185 pages), Sir Sham ifs filled with enough fun, romance, and adventure to please any Regency fan. 4 stars-recommended.

This is a delightful romance by Marian Devon (of whose work I have read little). At the beginning, we witness two daughters of the vicar going reluctantly to play music for their grand relations. The vicar's daughters are not good enough for dinner, but acceptable as unpaid entertainment. So Miss Haydon (Lucy Haydon) fumes about the situation through the evening, and contrives a way to bring her younger sister Camilla to the notice of the very eligible guest of the evening Mr Carnaby More, who has recently inherited an estate. While Lucy's aunt Lady Tilney is the usual dragon, Lucy can understand her desperation to marry her daughter off suitably. Lucy's cousins Ada and Nigel (Lord Tilney) are very nice - no wicked cousins here. There is a wealth of secondary characters who make the book come alive, from Lady Tilney herself and the gentle absent-minded Reverend Tilney and his socially astute wife (present only at the end of the book) to several smugglers. Lucy is happy to see Mr Carnaby More taking an interest in her sister, but is less pleased with his friend Mr Jerrold Drury's comments about the relationship or for that matter with Mr Drury's increasing interest in herself. Why does Mr Drury accompany her to her pupil's and why is he so patient with a small boy (from kite-flying to sea-bathing)? Lucy puzzles that out, as tensions rise within their small gentry circle, and as Mr Drury displays an unhealthy interest in smugglers. Is he a Preventative (a Customs officer) in disguise? And are his insinuations about an old friend to be believed? If you are looking for a dark gloomy book filled with high drama this is not it. There is plenty of wry humor, including Lucy's disastrous attempt at seabathing. There are a couple of scenes in the graveyard and the pulpit that combine some drama with romance and mild sexual tension. There is the wonderful ending, where a proposal of marriage is received distinctly casually. Read the book.Rating = 4.9Recommended = Very highly.