Customer Reviews

Fortune's Lady (Signet Regency Romance)

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What was once a distant event of the future is now a reality as Lady Althea Beauchamp finds herself in the midst of her First Season in London. Trained from the cradle to be an Incomparable among Incomparables, Althea is the catch of the season due to her family's fortune, incredible beauty, impeccable manners, and exquisite fashions. All Althea craves, however, is a return to her beloved friends and animals in the countryside instead of being on display like a thoroughbred horse at Tattersall's. She despises the envying glances of marriage-minded misses and the leering looks of fortune-hunting bachelors. Althea wants to be seen as her own person instead of a diamond of the first water.

Frustrated at escorting his mother to every ball and rout in town during the Season, Gareth de Vere, sixth Marquess of Harwood, is looking for a distraction from his dear Mama's attempts to marry him off to someone with a fortune large enough to keep her in the height of fashion. He prefers to worry about their estate in the countryside, not keeping up with the ton. Having enmassed a comfortable fortune of his own by playing a deft hand of cards, Gareth sees no reason to marry...until he meets the "Ice Princess," Lady Althea Beauchamp. No slouch at the card table herself, Gareth is intrigued by the woman's ability to beat him at his own game. To amuse himself, he follows Lady Althea around town. Soon his title of the "Bachelor Marquess" is in danger of becoming obsolete.

An endearing cast of characters, depth of emotion and an original storyline make FORTUNE'S LADY a delightful read. Not your typical Regency romp, road trip or guardian tale, this book takes an interesting turn in the development of a relationship between two lonely people who first become fast friends that champion each other. Instead of slowly breaking down frustrating walls of silence, Althea and Gareth are not loathe to reveal their secret desires and empty childhoods to one another. Dialogue sings between all of the characters, and even though we are privy to many characters' thoughts and feelings, Ms. Richardson's smooth transitions make them hardly noticeable and unobtrusive.

I highly recommend FORTUNE'S LADY as a fresh contribution to the Regency genre, and I look forward to reading more of Evelyn Richardson's work.

Although most of "Fortune's Lady" takes place during the London Season, this is not a light hearted drawing room comedy of manners. Rather, this novel is mostly about two lonely people who discover that they have a lot more in common than their ever thought probable, and how this shared bond of unhappiness, loneliness and restlessness, leads to the blossoming of a deep and enduring love.

Neither Gareth de Vere, sixth Marquess of Harwood (also known as the Bachelor Marquess) nor Lady Althea Beauchamp, the only child of the Duke and Duchess of Clarendon (also known as the Ice Princess) believe that they ever could have anything in common with each other. And indeed, at first sight, they each take the other into great dislike (even as they are both physically drawn to each other): Gareth thinks that Althea is another cold hearted and demanding beauty much like his mother, while Althea thinks that Gareth is just too arrogant for words. However, because of Gareth's marriage-minded mother, the two meet and get to know each other. And both Gareth and Althea are struck by the similarities of their situations: both are children who have never known parental affection, they both abhor the social and hectic London scene, and both are loath to marry. As the Season progresses, so too does their friendship, as both Gareth and Althea discover how much in tune their minds and desires are with each other. Could it possibly be that the Ice Princess and the Bachelor Marquess are fated to make a match of it with each other?

"Fortune's Lady" is a bit of a 'muted' read. The chemistry between Gareth and Althea is a little subdued because, while both characters do not deny their attraction for each other, they spend much of the time denying the depth of their feelings. However, while the romance aspect is a little subdued this novel is by no means a dull read either. This novel is refreshingly different in that it deals realistically with how a young woman who has no desire to partake in the fashionable London scene at all, but who has very little say in how she my lead her life, may feel. One of the novel's greatest strenghts is 'seeing' Althea's real persona peek through the stiff facade she has erected. And reading along as she gradually comes into her own made for some really satisfying reading indeed. "Fortune's Lady" may be a little of a somber read, but it definitely is a compelling one nonetheless.

Lady Althea Beauchamp has always been the dutiful daughter her parents wanted and now, in her first Season, she finds her wishes at odds with her parents'. Her parents, of course, wish her to find a husband who with the perfect bloodlines, society connections and political connections. Althea wants nothing more than to return to the country and manage an estate. Her distaste for young gentlemen of the ton has earned her the nickname "Ice Princess." Althea is lonely and unhappy until she locks eyes with the cynical misogynist Gareth de Vere, Marquess of Harwood. Gareth dislikes Society functions and well-bred women and is bullied by his scheming mother to attend her every wish. Gareth and Althea discover a shared passion for cards and in each other, a clever mind and excellent card partners. They discover they have more in common than just cards and become friends. Soon Althea is playing the card game of her life in order to accomplish her dreams and become the person she's always wanted to be. What she didn't count on was a certain handsome Bachelor Marquess intruding into her private world and her lack of power to resist him.

Althea and Gareth are intelligent and have interesting back stories which allow them to share a common bond, which I really liked. As much as I liked the characters though, I found this story rather long and slow. There are detailed descriptions of card playing and estate management that really weren't necessary to move the plot along. I really liked Althea and hoped for her happiness almost as much as she wished for it. I wasn't crazy about the Marquess. He acts like a love-sick schoolboy turned crazy stalker! I also disliked that the Marquess frequents the boudoir of a certain opera dancer, even after meeting Althea. I found myself hoping that Althea would make a different choice than she did. Overall, this is a slightly above average Regency but I wouldn't give it more than 3 out of 5 stars or place it on my keeper shelf. It's a good one to get from your local library.