Customer Reviews

The Ill-Bred Bride: Or the Inconvenient Marriage

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it's a book to read if you want something light to relax. it bypasses any mental invovlement and goes straight to the emotions. it's candy, pure and simple. nice every so often but there's alot better stuff out there for you

"The Ill Bred Bride" is a tale of a mixed marriage, where for once, the man marries for money, and the woman for a title.

Yet, it's more than just role reversal, as Susannah Potter finds her ideal man, Lord Hanford of Laceby, warm and cold by turns.

The main problem that Lord Hanford has with Susannah is that she's a "Cit," or a person who comes from new money, and not from the nobility at all. Her father made his money the hard way, and Susannah is used to thrift and good business.

However, Lord Hanford, for years, scrimped and saved and kept up appearances as best he could, until he snagged Susannah, a heiress. At first, he didn't want to use her, but felt he must. And Susannah, of course, needs to get away from what's left of her family, which sets up the problems endemic to the genre.

Hanford isn't the most likable of men. He makes some very bad mistakes, including selling off Susannah's prized home because it's in the "unfashionable" part of London without telling her, and believing the worst of Susannah most if not all of the time until the end.

What redeems Hanford from his own mistakes are three things: one, his mother, who originally hated Susannah without setting eyes on her because Susannah is a "cit," changes her mind, and starts working _with_ her new daughter in law instead of against her. Two, she wins over his younger brother over time (the romance between the brother-in-law and Susannah's sister Dinah helps some in this process), which helps to smooth the way. Finally, Hanford realizes he's wrong, and confesses it, just as Susannah tries to make up to him (not that she should; she's just being overly nice in my 21st century opinion) by getting a book of his poems published.

Earlier, Laceby would have been most angry with Susannah; by the end, he's happy, because she supports him in his artistic endeavors, and he doesn't have to hide them from her any longer. Best of all, he's accepted her thrifty ways, and learned to value her for herself, not just her dowry.

It's a very engaging read; not quite as good as "Two of a Kind," but still, very, very good, and an excellent example of the genre.

Buy all the Rosemary Edghill books you can!