Customer Reviews

Emily Goes to Exeter

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Marion Chesney has been compared to Georgette Heyer, as a lighter version of Heyer, while others do not see the comparison. I belong to the latter group. There are some similarities, of course - they both write about the Regency era, and they are both very faithful in the depiction of the time period they write about, but I am afraid that in my opinion that is all they have in common.

Georgette Heyer's books were written many years ago, and the flavor and style of her books are certainly very different from those written with the contemporary hand of Marion Chesney. Heyer concentrates on manners and dress, while Chesney is usually more focused on the minutae of everyday living in the Regency era - and does a good job describing the very different mindset of those people of long ago, as opposed to the modern way of thinking. While Heyer writes mainly about the upper classes, Marion Chesney will often focus on the lower classes - something, I might add, which I have never seen before in a Regency novel, and find engrossing for that reason alone. Heyer is probably a better writer - but that is not an insult to Chesney - while Heyer is simply a classic, Chesney is certainly one of the best of the writers in today's Regency Romance genre. The fact that there is a comparison made at all is a compliment to Ms. Chesney, though, I think.

While I liked both Georgette Heyer and Marion Chesney, they are very different writers, and I can see how someone who loves Georgette Heyer may not like Marion Chesney, and vice versa (although I can't quite imagine someone not liking Georgette Heyer).

In "Emily Goes to Exeter" we are introduced to Miss Hannah Pym, a former housekeeper who has come into a small inheritance and decided to use her money on her life-long ambition. All her life she has watched the "Flying Machine" pass by her window, and finally she will have the chance of her own for Adventure! For Living Life!

I thought this was one of Marion Chesney's best books, Miss Hannah comes across as a very vivid and sympathetic character, and we are caught up in her until-now dull life, the sad life of her former employees, and finally her chance for adventure. Nor does Ms. Chesney let her down, as in page after page, there is never a dull moment!

If you are a Regency fan, you will certainly like "Miss Emily Goes to Exeter" as this is one of the best regencies in today's market.

Charming froth, I don't suppose I have ever read a Regency - or known any distinction between them and the American bodice-ripper - and this was an absolutely exquisite introduction. I have thoroughly enjoyed the almost anti-romances the author writes as M.C. Beaton in the Hamish MacBeth and Agatha Raisin series. Ms. Chesney/Beaton is deliciously clever, is a master of the setting, and is absolutely merciless with her characters. And she must write these books with her tongue firmly in her cheek.

When I find the world just to terrible to bear I pick up one of these magical Regency Romances and escape to Chesneyland. There is no finer place to recover after a strenusous day sorting out life's little problems. Though Chesney is not readily available here in the UK I find the chase through abe or ebay well worth it to find a little treasure. The Travelling Matchmaker series of which this is the first are pure genius. Mrs. Chesney I salute you as a brilliant antidote to depression!

I bought this book based on reviews and the sample Amazon provided of the first chapter. While it was a fun read, the book lacks much in basic story telling. The author does a masterful job of describing the stagecoach and the storm, but then seems amateurish in her handlng of the plot and detailing of her characters. The plot is simplistic and without surprise, the characters are one-dimensional. Not only does our author too often tell us what they said rather than allowing them to say it, their inner thoughts and reactions change direction so quickly and so often that it became hard to take any of them seriously. In the end, I was convinced that the book had been written a century ago by a housebound lady dreaming of adventure but with little knowledge of how to tell a story. As I said, it was a fun read but for this reader, definitely not worth the Kindle price Amazon is charging.

Sugar and spice, Regency style! The first book in the Traveling Matchmaker series by Marion Chesney (aka M.C. Beaton) is just the right blend of fluff and fun set in 19th century Britain. The book introduces us to a spinster housekeeper with a penchant for gossip, Miss Hannah Pym, who has just received a legacy from her recently deceased employer, allowing her the freedom she's always dreamed of to ride the "Flying Machine"(stagecoach) and see the world - or England, at least. She has no particular goal in mind except for the adventure through the land and through the lives of her fellow passengers. As Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, "For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." Miss Pym first sets her sights on Exeter and sets out on an adventure that involves her in the romantic intrigues of a spoiled young girl (Emily Freemantle) running away from an unwanted match with a "rake" and an older widow snared by a greedy fortune hunter. When their journey is delayed by a snowstorm, Hannah uses all her ingenuity to bring happiness into the lives of her fellow passengers and to unmask a would-be killer and prevent him from succeeding. Although the plot is predictable and frivolous, the spunky heroine, period descriptions and focus on class distinctions make the book an entertaining read. Definitely a series that I'll pursue!

I haven't read a Regency romance in years (I am over 50) but after seeing the Hamish Macbeth series on DVD decided to read something by Marion Chesney (alias M. C. Beaton). I dislike the "soft porn" so many of today's authors use to sell romance type stories. This is a "clean romance" - fun and funny, drama and hilarious escapades. This series of six stories is a riot. Emily of Exeter starts by giving the background of Hannah Pym - now a gentle woman of independent means. The stories are well woven and can be read separately or as a series which is how I did it. Hannah is a woman after my own heart. I could relate to her and how she handled the situations in which she found herself. Enjoy! These are for reading and re-reading in a few years, much like "Anne of Green Gables". Years ago I enjoyed Georgette Heyer romances and find I like this series even better.