The Riddle of the Shipwrecked Spinster

Okay for those not aware. The Riddle series is part of the Regency period. In traditional Patricia Veryan style she's decided to throw a curve. I noticed right away this was a Georgian Romance, not a regency. I have though, read the other Georgian series, which for those not aware, is The League of Jeweled Men series, (not to be confused with The League of Frighted Men by Rex Stout).This is the story of Piers, Perry's twin brother. Those who have read The League of Jeweled Men know, that Perry lost in his leg during the Jacobite rebellion, his twin saved him and helped him not to lose his mind, and with his cohorts that he met during his book uncovered the leader and no more League.This book is just absolutely wonderful. For those who have not read any of her Georgian series, find them and read them. Patricia Veryan knows how to write in any time frame. Piers takes center stage in this book, falling in love with Mary Westerman, but told he has to marry Cordelia Stanbury. Of course he ends up marrying Cordelia but how he (and Florian, who is a riddle himself, also from Sir Perry's book) get there is the Riddle. There's also a riddle about Mary Westerman and of course the woman he's sent to marry, but to tell that story would ruin it. Get the book, even if it's Georgian. Then if so inclined get her other books from the Georgian period. In the hardback copy, there is a list of her books starting with most recent till I presume the first.I can't say enough about this book. Don't let it bother you that this is not a continuation of the Riddle series, because it is. It's a riddle why she put this in the middle of her regency series. Maybe it's a prequel. Who cares. Just sit back and let the Georgian time take you away.

This book is wonderful but not part of the Riddle series. The previous 3 "Riddle" books are all related but this one is the continuation of another series. I was disappointed because this is the first series of hers I have read, and NOW I've inadvertently read a book from another series out of order. (WHICH I HATE) Veryan is definitely a must read but keep in mind that this book will not continue the Regency Saga of the other 3 "Riddle" books...

Patricia Veryan doesn't know how to write a bad book. She is a master at plots and characterizations, and her latest effort is up to her usual excellent standards. She is adept at keeping the reader guessing about the villain until the last page, and in the meantime, she creates people that the reader cares about, all the while infusing her novels with a wry humor that makes them a joy to read. My advice: Read this, and anything else by her that you can get your hands on. You won't be disappointed.

Cordelia Stansbury was absolutely mortified! Her mother trapped Gervaise Valerian, one of the ton's most notorious rakes, in a compromising situation with her just so she could force him to marry her poor spinster daughter. Gervaise was seething with justifiable rage, and Cordelia wanted to sink through the floor. There was no way she was going to let her mother get away with this, even if she had loved Gervaise ever since she was a little girl. She would simply disappear. This comedic romance of double identities, undercover actions and the snobbishness of the English aristocracy is absolutely delightful. The cast of characters can get a little confusing at times, but Ms. Veryan pulls it all together at the end.

No one can write a swashbuckling historical novel complete with treasonous plots and daring adventure, power mad villains, and honourable men and women caught in the middle of all these intrigues, quite like Patricia Veryan. And "The Riddle of The Shipwrecked Spinster" lives up to Veryan's reputation for brilliantly writing such dos making this novel a highly entertaining and enjoyable read. (The novel also sees the resurfacing of several characters form the Jewelled Men and the Golden series -- the Jewelled Men was a series dealing with a few aristrocats hungry for power and with plans to do away with the royal family; while the Golden series deals with the Jocobite Rebellion and its sympathizers. Some events from these book are alluded to with very little explaination.)All of London is agog when the shrewish Mrs. Regina Stansbury successfully traps the very fashionable, rich and dashing Gervaise Valerian into proposing marriage to her plain and plump daughter, Cordelia. But they are even more astonished when within days of the 'engagement' it is learnt that Cordelia has left England to in order to seek her father's consent for her marriage to Valerian. And then news breaks that the ship she was on foundered off the Cape of Good Hope. Everyone expects that poor Cordelia died along with everyone else. However a year later she resurfaces, sound of limb and mind, but with a slightly tarnished reputation for having spent a whole year alone on an island with 'cannibals'. Everyone expects Valerian to do the right thing and marry Cordelia anyway, but Valerian refuses. In order to restore the family name, Valerian's uncle, General Lord Nugent Cranford, blackmails his other nephew, Piers Crandford, to marry Cordelia instead. Piers needs his uncle's consent in order to apply for a bank loan so that he can buy his twin brother an estate as a wedding present. Angry and reluctant but seeing no way out of this dilemma, Piers presents himself at the Stansbury house in order to offer for Cordelia. Instead of finding the shy mouse everyone has led him to believe Cordelia is, Piers instead meets a very haughty young woman, who laughs at his propsal. Piers is in a bind: Cordelia won't have him, but his uncle will not allow him to withdraw to his estate, ordering him to court Cordelia until she says 'yes.' On top of it all not only is his estate suddenly plagued by a series of inexplicable disasters that could spell foreclosure; but a wily enquiry agent on the lookout for Jacobite sympathizers seems to be on the hunt for an old family friend! Piers soon finds himself being stretched thin trying to woo, protect and defend.I'm quite an ardent Patricia Veryan fan, and while I don't always agree with all her plot resolutions, I have always enjoyed reading her novels. Her heroes and heroines are a cut above what you will find in most historical romance novels: they are almost always incredibly brave, honourable and loyal -- soldiering on alone, even when their friends a