The Bridal Season [Mass Market Paperback]

Connie Brockway (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 2001

With the dazzling storytelling that has become her trademark, acclaimed author Connie Brockway sweeps readers to Victorian England—a glittering world of titled society and scandalous secrets—in the enchanting tale of a woman who commits the most startling indiscretion of all: She falls in love.
 
Letty Potts, a petty schemer by necessity, has decided to go straight. But after narrowly escaping the wrath of her partner in crime, she finds herself at Paddington Station with nothing but the gown she’s wearing and another woman’s train ticket clutched in her hand. Masquerading as the redoubtable “Lady Agatha” of Whyte Wedding Celebrations, Letty arrives in the backwater burg of Little Bidewell, where she is to arrange the nuptials of a young society bride.

Amid the dizzying whirl of pre-wedding festivities, nobody suspects Letty’s secret—except Sir Elliot March. A war hero who has forsworn love, Elliot senses something decidedly amiss about this outspoken young woman, yet she awakens in him a passionate yearning he’d thought was lost forever. Soon, though, a desperate deception embroils them both in a web of scandal and danger as Letty’s past catches up with her, threatening not only her life but Elliot’s—and their love.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Music hall performer Letty Potts is the original sow's ear who turns herself into a silk purse. Burned out of her rooming house by her unscrupulous ex-boyfriend Nick Sparkle, Letty needs to get out of London--and fast. Opportunity presents itself in the form of a train ticket to Little Bidewell discarded by Lady Agatha Whyte, society wedding planner. Upon her arrival, Letty is mistaken for Lady Agatha by the Bigglesworth family who have hired her to make their daughter's wedding the event of the decade. Never one to let good fortune slip by her, Letty utilizes her acting talent to pass as a duke's daughter forced to earn a living as a wedding coordinator. Thoroughly enmeshed in prewedding preparations, Letty finds herself unable to hurt the Bigglesworths who have welcomed her--as Lady Agatha--so graciously and who need her so much. However, when it turns out that the Bigglesworths' neighbor, the oh-so-handsome, unquestionably honorable, and all too eligible Sir Elliot March, is also the local magistrate, Letty figures it's time to get out of Dodge, uh, Little Bidewell. The larcenous Letty is utterly astonished by her overwhelming attraction to the serious--and seriously sexy--Elliot. He, too, seems completely astounded by Letty's natural sensuality, which leaves Elliot prone to behave in a most ungentlemanly manner. To further complicate matters, who should appear in Little Bidewell but the notorious Nick Sparkle, who believes Letty's working a con and wants in on the take. When the jig is up and Letty must face the music, it is left to Elliot to investigate and possibly prosecute the woman he has fallen in love with and wants to marry. Will two such different people, from such disparate places in society, be able to close the gap that exists everywhere but in their hearts? Read Connie Brockway's delicious frolic of a novel, The Bridal Season, to find out! --Alison Trinkle

From Booklist

Attempting to elude her occasional partner in crime, Nick Sparkle, music hall performer Letty Potts found freedom at the Paddington train station in the form of a ticket to Little Bidewell originally purchased by Lady Agatha Whyte, a wedding coordinator hired by the Bigglesworth family. Upon arriving in Little Bidewell, Letty is immediately mistaken by the Bigglesworths for Lady Agatha, and before she realizes what's happening, Letty finds herself masquerading as a high-society wedding consultant. At first no one, not even the delectably handsome local magistrate, Sir Elliot March, suspects Letty's secret, but the longer Letty stays in Little Bidewell, the greater the chance she has of not only hurting the Bigglesworths but also of falling in love with Elliot. This frothy literary confection sparkles with insouciant charm. Characters, setting, and plot are all handled with perfect aplomb by Brockway, who displays a true gift for humor. Witty and wonderful! John Charles
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Dell; First Edition edition (November 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0508151805
• ISBN-13: 978-0508151800
• ASIN: 0440236711
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #475,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful, February 15, 2002

By 

Emma (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bridal Season (Mass Market Paperback)

I just love Connie Brockway. Her characters are vibrant, real people that you would like to know. "A Bridal Season" was laugh-out-loud funny. Lily Potts is charming, witty, and flawed. Her attempts at aristocratic social graces are laughable, she's loud, ambitious, an opportunist, and something of a vamp, but she is so full of honest good will and humor you love her for it. Elliot March is sexy. If he wasn't make-believe that is. He is a man of integrity and honesty, a man who truly lives by what he feels is right and wrong, which I admire. But under his reserve lies a wonderfully open and humorous spirt, and he loosens up when he meets the woman of his dreams to give as good as he gets. My favorite thing about Brockway's heroes is how hard they fall for the women they love. And Elliot is no exception. I just love the scene at the end where Elliot claims his bride-- throwing all his reserve and propriety to the wind. My only regret is that Ms. Brockway did not show us as much as I would have liked of Lily and Elliot's love scene. Elliot is a very sensual man, but I felt that scene was only half completed. This aspect keeps "A Bridal Season" from being one of my favorite Brockway books. But truly, a delightful & hilarious story. Connie Brockway is one of a handful of writers I buy on name only.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars villain gets to cheat, lie, steal, and kick the dog, cause.., June 4, 2005

By 

Kotori (Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Bridal Season (Mass Market Paperback)

Stepping politely over the failures which some Regencies set purely in London court, Connie Brockway charms entirely within the confines of a little traveled village & and it's occupants.

Being only my second novel from this author, I didn't know to look forwards to a plot with a `confidence trickster' masquerading as a Duke's daughter - instead I dreaded it. Until about 10 pages in when I realized it was absolutely perfect!

The brash Letty impersonates Lady Agatha White & fills her shoes in arranging a wedding for a country miss. She becomes involved unwillingly drawn into the lives and mini melodramas of the people around her, and falls hard for the local magistrate - Elliot. And that is enough of a plot synopsis for you lot! (greedy eyes)

Charming where it could have been ridiculous, bold when it could have been trite, the simple ease and humor with which the author delights and entertains the reader is impossible to describe.

In the unlikely Letty, we find no shrinking heroine, but a `woman of the world' who is quite aware of her own appeal and not a bit above using it. Every chapter begins with a maxim, and I came to thoroughly enjoy them - take for example, `The villain gets to cheat, lie, steal, and kick the dog, because in the end you shoot him'. All slightly stage centered advice passed on from her mother and the applicable line before each short chapter.

Even the hero is thoroughly believable and wonderfully suave.

Setting the time frame a little later than Regency England, into the last decade of Queen Victoria's reign, the dress provides a refreshing change from all that dampened muslin and so on! Sweeping hats are delightfully apparent, and our heroine sashays well..

A wonderful companion novel to Bridal Favours by Connie Brockway
(...)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure delight!, December 6, 2001

By 

Teresa Medeiros "New York Times Bestseller" (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bridal Season (Mass Market Paperback)

THE BRIDAL SEASON immediately shot to the top of my "Best Reads of 2001" list. It's fresh, funny, and thoroughly delightful from the first page to the last. You can't help but root for Letty and fall in love with Elliot. It's not Letty's strengths, but her flaws that make her such a compelling character. I hate reading about perfect women because I've never been one! The croquet game is truly a classic scene. All of the secondary characters are perfection, even Fagin/Lambikins. I liked this book so much that I ordered it in hardcover (...) after I'd already read it in paperback. Bravo, Ms. Brockway!