The Lady's Companion [Paperback]

Carla Kelly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1996

Fleeing poverty and the tyranny of being an unpaid servant to her odious aunt, Susan Hampton finds a job as a companion to the Dowager Lady Bushnell, but her new life is threatened by her attraction to David Wiggins, the dowager's dangerously handsome bailiff.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Signet (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451186842
• ISBN-13: 978-0451186843
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #229,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Didn't Listen To My Friends & Now I'm Scrambling!, May 29, 2000

By 

carol irvin "carol irvin" (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lady's Companion (Paperback)

My friends told me Carla Kelly was a terrific writer. I didn't listen. For a long time I just ignored all regencies because their covers are so hideous. Finally, a few Carla Kelly books came my way and I was astonished to discover a present day writer who is the next best thing to getting a reincarnation of Jane Austen herself! So I've hunted down some of her books but have a long way to go before I have them all. I should have listened because these books are much harder to find nowadays. "The Lady's Companion" is at the top of my list of Kelly's books. It is because she effectively deals with the British system of class. The British tend to drive me crazy over their class distinctions so Kelly had her ideal reader with me on this novel. A writer who can at one and the same time find humor in the class situation yet also write a love story around it--well, no one but Kelly has done it so well since Austen herself, IMHO! In this novel, the "lady" in question, is reduced by her father's gambling to become a lady's companion of an elderly, difficult woman. She also starts thinking about marrying the bailiff of the estate where she works. This is a really radical notion because the two are not of the same class! You would think an interracial marriage was being broached with the reactions this couple encounter. Don't miss this book. In 2nd place with me is "Reforming Lord Ragsdale" by Kelly.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely romance, with excellent secondary characters, June 21, 2000

By 

Bethany Gronberg "bethany actually" (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Lady's Companion (Paperback)

Susan's father has bankrupted them with his compulsive gambling, and she decides she would rather work for her living than be a poor relation, even though it scares her to death. She goes to work as a companion to a lonely but very proper and reserved old lady, where she meets and is intrigued instantly by the lady's bailiff. Not only is this a refreshing change from the usual poor-girl-rich-lord story, but it is extremely well-written and the emotions all seem honest. I like best the books where I feel as though I would want to know the people in it, and I definitely would have wanted to meet these people.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Down a Different Path, February 6, 2002

By 

Susan Smith (A small rural village in the English Midlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lady's Companion (Paperback)

Carla Kelly never fails to present us with very real characters who are, sometimes, caught up in painful circumstances which they must work through.

In The Lady's Companion, she has presented us with Susan Hampton, the daughter of a profligate and selfish baronet who has sqandered his fortune and, therefore, her future amongst her own class. Susan takes courage into both hands and looks for a paid post outside her own circle. She meets the delightful Joel Steinman, proprietor of an employment agency, and is sent to the Dowager Lady Bushnell as a lady's companion. In fact, she has been sent, unbeknownst to her, as a gift from Joel to David Wiggins, former Regimental Sergeant Major, now the bailiff to Lady Bushnell at her manor, Quilling, in the heart of the Cotswolds. This is one thread of the story and it is beguiling in its unfolding.

The battle of Waterloo plays a big role in this story for it colours the actions and the characters of David, Joel, Lady Bushnell and her family. A beautiful metaphorical device, a strain of wheat bred from a handful of grain picked up at La Haye Sainte farmhouse during the battle, becomes a symbol of hope, of forgiveness, of coming to terms with the death, destruction, cowardice, heroism and trial by fire that those who survived must deal with in its aftermath.

All in all, this is a radically different book - nothing like most traditional regencies. It's not just a cross-class romance, it is about endurance, faithfulness, courage and honour. The love the various characters develop for each other is moving and poignant. The ending of the novel is emotional and sad but also full of hope for the future. Despite their superficial differences, Susan and David are well matched.