Customer Reviews

The Lady and the Cit (Signet Regency Romance)

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

 

 

This is my very favorite type of book - one that tells a realistic, sensible story based on solid research, about charming endearing *human* characters, and the whole is encased in marvelous writing. Truly, I don't know what more one could wish for, unless it be more pages to the story than the prescribed format allows.

By-elections in the countryside of Regency England-Kent, for example-are not a common base for a Regency novel, and the details presented in this engaging story are fascinating. Kudos to Ms. Bancroft and her library for allowing the rest of us to know them, as well.

Aurelia Trevor is an only child, nearing her majority when the guardian of her family property dies, leaving her at the mercy of another, rather unsavory uncle. But there is no mercy forthcoming, merely the prospect of a forced marriage to Auuelia's cousin. Drastic measures are needed to maintain her hold on the family estate Pevensey Park, so with the connivance of her long-time governess and now friend, the two women head for London to search out a husband.

The chosen candidate is Thomas Lanning, an unmarried financier, but otherwise not someone Aurelia would have been likely to encounter in her life. The two engage in a `Taming of the Shrew' sort of married life, effectively stopping the efforts of her uncle and cousin to gain the property and the heiress for their own purposes.

Thomas has an agenda of his own which is a major factor in his decision to marry Aurelia. He wants to enter politics, and sees the seat at Lower Peven as the ideal place to start. Along the way, he is forced to face up to his own family responsibilities, adding a half-brother and sister to the mix at the Park, along with a new steward and other retainers. Sparks fly as old and new customs are blended together to match this new blended family.

In the end, everything works out splendidly, and the journey to get there is a most enjoyable one. It's fun to watch Aurelia and Thomas battle their way to a new understanding of each other and themselves in the process. Any reader who loves to read and savor words will greatly enjoy this book.

"Cits" were merchants, traders, financiers, bankers, inventors, businessmen, builders and engineers who, as early as the 12th Century and throughout the history of the British Isles, were loyal only to the City of London, and to any English, later British, king or queen who won the periodic wars of succession fought by the aristocracy.

"The Lady and the Cit" by Blair Bancroft, is a charming little romance offering a gently amused look at a political campaign seeking the votes of one borough's freemen just before the British Reform Act of 1833 wiped out "rotten boroughs" and many strange political customs and anachronistic, aristocratic privileges.

At the time of this story, "Cits" had been helping to rebuild the British economy which had been ruined by a 22-year Napoleonic war and depressions and uproars which followed it, setting the stage for the vigorous Victorian era that began in 1837.

Aristocrats and members of the landed gentry were restricted by social ostracism from participating in "trade", (business), or in any useful occupation outside of the military or the Church of England, and were trained from birth to have contempt for Cits.

Women of the aristocracy were trained to avoid Cits, for by marrying one they would lose their position in society, as would their children, unless the men that they married were very special, and the woman had property of her own.

Warning: This is not a bodice-ripper! It is a tale of quiet heroism, stubborn attention to duty, intelligent kindness, three romances, a child saved, and bullies thwarted. These are the conflicts which made this tale enjoyable to me.

Miss Aurelia Trevor of Pevensey Park, Kent was up in arms over the fact that her steward was totally ignoring her directives in maintaining the estate that was left to her by her father. Unfortunately, the two executors that had been named in her father's will had both passed on leaving her Uncle Huburt as her guardian until she attained the age of five and twenty, or until she married. Aurelia, at twenty-one, even though the estate was hers, could not control it until she attained the age of twenty-five, or married.

With the threat of being forced to marry or be compromised by her odious cousin, the Terrible Twyford, Aurelia and her former governess and companion devised a scheme to find a suitable husband - one that could be persuaded to marry yet leave the running of Pevensey to her. With the war going on and most eligible sons away fighting Bonaparte, the pickings were slim, therefore she enlisted the help of a solicitor in London to find a man, who would marry her under her conditions. Aurelia couldn't believe that she would ever consider a Cit, (a man who worked for a living or was in trade) rather than a gentleman from the nobility, but from the moment she saw the very handsome `cit' she was most definitely attracted.

Thomas Lanning, had no need of an heiress having amassed a fortune of his own, but the bonus of a political power base that offered itself along with Pevensey park, was something he truly couldn't turn down. Aside from that, Miss Aurelia Trevor, the arrogant little minx, was certainly attractive enough. Coming from different worlds, these two individuals - just might make a match made in heaven but it would be doubtful when Thomas put her in her place for `hiring' a cit for a husband with the comment "... you may annoy me at times, but you don't disgust me..." !!!

*** Blair Bancroft certainly writes with an admirable knowledge of the regency era with an ability to transport her readers with the sights, sounds, language and mannerisms of that period. Although the modern woman could feel sorry for the heroine's plight, it would be extremely hard to feel any warmth towards Aurelia's arrogance and her obvious distaste towards a `cit', especially when one considers that SHE was the one that had sought him out. She obviously felt attracted to Thomas, yet having been brought up in the ranks of the nobility, and as an only child, it was difficult for her to show any kind of emotion or warmth - attraction or not! It was only from observing the interactions of Thomas and his younger siblings that she loosened up at all. While I found this to be an extremely well researched and interesting read, those looking for romance will have to wait it out until the very last couple of pages. --- Marilyn, for www.romancedesigns.com ---

Miss Aurelia Trevor had the misfortune of being born of female. Unless she marries, her beloved Pensevey Park will fall under the care of her dastardly uncle. Aurelia needs to find a husband--and fast. Anyone would be better than her uncle and sniveling cousin.

Enter Thomas Lanning. A cit (and therefore, not classified gentry), he doesn't really have any intention to wed, but he sees something beneficial in what Aurelia is proposing. He agrees to marry Aurelia, regardless of the fact that they always butt heads.

Throughout the book, Aurelia and Thomas are at odds. For the longest time, our hero and heroine show no interest in each other, aside from mutual attraction. At times, they seem to barely tolerate one another. If you like that in a book, you'd probably like this. However, the grueling pace kept me from enjoying it. And the author seemed to veer away from the main plot more than once. Toward the end, I felt like I was drudging through it.

On the bright side, the author does a good job at creating her characters, and showing their transitions throughout the book. Overall: 2 1/2 stars.

The Lady and the Cit is a marriage-of-convenience story, but a rather unusual one.

Aurelia Trevor is an heiress, but until she turns 25, she won't have control of her estate, Pevensey Park. In the meantime, her uncle and guardian is running the estate into the ground, and pressuring her to marry her cousin, the "Terrible Twyford." The solution seems to be for her to marry someone of her own choosing, but with Twyford becoming bolder and threatening to compromise her to force her to marry him, time is running short. So she writes letters to various friends and acquaintances telling them she's in search of a husband.

The Good:

The humor. Aurelia's initial prospects are quite amusing, in a 3-Bears sort of way.

The historical details. The details about elections at the time were just fascinating, and the attitudes about class differences were very realistic.

The Bad:

The heroine's attitude. Realistic or not, I couldn't stomach the heroine's attitude. She constantly put down the hero for being a "cit" (for those of you not familiar with Regencies, this means he *gasp* works for a living, in the city--a definite class difference), despite the fact that she's the one who sought him out, not the other way around.

The Verdict:

Good for a few laughs and a little insight into Regency England, but don't expect a great love story.

To escape a forced marriage of convenience and gain a measure of control over her father's estate, Aurelia agrees to marry Thomas Lanning, a businessman, thus avoiding an inconvenient marriage to a loathesome nerd. From their union, Thomas hopes only to gain a degree of respectability that an untitled man can not hope to earn on his own. Love never entered into their plans, but not everything can be planned.

*** Strict adherence to Regency conventions may leave readers unfamiliar with the jargon of this genre a bit asea. For example, the term 'cit' is not one normally used in today's language, at least with the meaning of a tradesman. However, fans of that type of book will find everything in order and to their taste surely. ***