The Ill-Bred Bride [Paperback]

Rosemary Edghill (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (1990)
• ASIN: B000OTFN54
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars quiet and slightly different regency, December 15, 2004

By 

IRRS (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ill-Bred Bride (Mass Market Paperback)

I really enjoyed this quiet sweet regency. Here's the back- blurb.


"Lord Hanford of Laceby possessed an ancient lineage and even more ancient debts. He was, quite bluntly, for sale. Susannah Potter was in the market. She had recently inherited a tidy sum-and a host of odious fortune hunters. And so their marriage of convenience was made."

Hanford has been raised in the belief that as the head of his family, he is responsible for not only his mother and younger siblings but for the estate and ancient name of Hanford. He's juggled debts and mortgages for six years to try to let the family stay in the lifestyle to which they were born but he's finally sold the last thing available except himself. Susannah is trying to dodge the marriage machinations of her aunt who covets Susannah's father's wealth and plans to get it by forcing her wastrel son on her.

Both enter the marriage knowing it's not true love but a bargain from which each will get something-money and position. And it's a nice slow journey in which each learns something of the other's life and mindset. It's not easy and both have to make adjustments and overcome certain prejudices. There are great secondary characters and a nice romance for Susannah's delightfully blunt speaking sister and Hanford's brother-who learns a thing or two about Cits himself.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a realistic regency that was low on romance.., April 18, 2005

By 

retroredux - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Ill-Bred Bride (Mass Market Paperback)

as the other reviews state, this regency tale is quite different than most regency romances. There is little, if any romantic scenes, NO love scenes, and no passion at all. This book is a book about a marriage of convienence, a ill bred albeit wealthy woman and a titled but poor man. IMO, his family behaves terribly to Susannah after she saves their lousy hides, they have no problem of pointing out that she is base born while happily spending her money. The husband acts not much better.

While this behavior is certainly more accurate than most passionate regencies I'm used to-I guess I'd rather enjoy the fiction than be perturbed by reality. If you are looking for passionate, romantic, chivalry, then skip this book-2 stars.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Reading, April 2, 2005

By 

E. Lynch "romance book fanatic" (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ill-Bred Bride (Mass Market Paperback)

This book presented an interesting point of view in the marriage of a titled man to a "cit." Hanford knew where his duty lay when presented with horrible debts, not of his own making. He would do almost anything to save Laceby, the family estate. Even cast himself on the marriage altar to a wealthy orphaned heiress whose father was a merchant. Susannah also marries to save her family -- most especially her sister Dinah. She wants Dinah to have the freedom to marry where she wanted and all the fops (including her cousin) that were after Susannah would not help -- just spend her money.

Although they both act fairly mature in this relationship, Hanford is very heavy handed in his dealings with Susannah. He wants her to be a lady while she was used to doing for herself. He does show her he is master by selling her family house in an unfashionable part of town and some other incidents, which make him unlikeable -- but true to the times. Eventually, he becomes more open about his fear of failing the family and his worries of financial ruin and allows his wife to ease his mind. Hanford takes control in the end of his spendthrift family and finds his "ill-bred" wife is the treasure he needed all along. Secondary characters are well fleshed out - Enjoyable tale.