The Marrying Game

"The Marrying Game," by Kate Saunders, is a seriocomic novel set in contemporary England. It features the four Hasty sisters and their mother, Rose, who are living in not-so-genteel poverty. The family was devastated when Rose's husband, Rufus Hasty, whom the family affectionately nicknamed "The Zed," killed himself one day without even leaving a note. Now the ladies are desperately seeking a way to retain their beloved ancestral home, Melismate, which has been in the family for generations. Unfortunately, the Hasty family is almost penniless. Two of the sisters come up with the idea of convincing rich men to fall in love with them, a scheme that they call "The Marrying Game."On this lighthearted note, the novel gets under way, and before too long, the Hasty women cast their spell. Besides being utterly gorgeous young ladies, Rufa, Nancy, Selena, and Lydia are fascinating and charming individuals. Saunders makes each character come brilliantly alive. Rufa, who is an extraordinary chef, is the most vulnerable, since her father's death hit her the hardest. Selena is bookish but rebellious. Nancy is voluptuous and a bit wild. Lydia has already endured a failed marriage and she is the mother of a precocious and adorable little girl named Linnet.Saunders works her magic on many levels. On the one hand, "The Marrying Game" is a comic bedroom farce, with various characters falling in and out of love constantly. Saunders gets serious, however, when she describes the touching devotion of the Hasty sisters to one another. In addition, Saunders sensitively explores the difficulty of carrying on after suffering the loss of a loved one. Saunders has Jane Austen's psychological insight and attention to detail, Louisa May Alcott's understanding of family dynamics, and Elinor Lipman's zaniness and saucy irreverence. Yet, Saunders is not just a pale imitation of other novelists. She has her own original voice, and "The Marrying Game" is a wonderful comedy of manners that has a great deal to say about life and love.

The four Hasty girls--Rufa, Nancy, Lydia and Selena--are the most loveable young women to appear in a novel since Jo March and her sisters in 'Little Women.' Yes, they want to fall in love and get married, but much more than that, they want to help each other and save their family home. It was because these sisters cared so much about each other that I cared so much about them. I loved this book the way that I loved the story of another eccentric English family, 'I Capture The Castle.'

I loved this novel! From the very first page, when the four impoverished Hasty sisters (like the March sisters in LITTLE WOMEN) are sitting by the fire on Christmas Eve trying to contrive some Christmas presents, I had to know what would happen to them. The basic premise of the book-that two of the girls set out to find rich husbands so that they can save their ancestral home-quickly turns into something much less predictable and more satisfying. The whole Hasty family is quirky and lovable, and I never wanted the story to end.

In England, the four Hasty sisters are stunned by the suicide death of their larger than life father, affectionately known as the Zed. Perhaps as shocking is how much he lived above his income, which included keeping the foursome in opulence. Now the siblings face monstrous debts that require they sell their beloved home, Melismate.In a desperate effort to avoid losing their family home, the oldest sister Rufa insists that she and beautiful sister, Nancy the tease, must find wealthy spouses; thus she sets up the rules of THE MARRYING GAME. Lydia is exempt because she still loves her ex-husband and is raising a young child. Also off the hook is the youngest Selena who still attends school. Although the Hasty women seek affluence in London, the three oldest soon will need to decide between love and money.This relationship drama is fun to read due to the four sisters and several males who enter their spheres of lives. The story line is character driven so fans that prefer action and suspense need to journey elsewhere. However readers, who value highly in depth looks at people struggling to save a way of life will want to join the keenly written THE MARRYING GAME.Harriet Klausner