A hugely entertaining, witty story of love and discovery in Regency England, from one of Britain's most accomplished writers of historical fiction. At the Devonshire estate of Pennacombe House, Sir Clement Carnell exerts the full weight of his oppressive influence on his children, Valentine and Louisa, ensuring they enjoy themselves as little as possible. But when Sir Clement dies, the siblings discover a world of possibilities awaits them. Released from their father's control, they begin to make changes to their tedious existence. And when their estranged cousins -- the enchanting Tom and Sophie Spedding - come to stay, Valentine and Louisa's eyes are opened to a more liberal, exciting way of living. And when they are invited to London by their new found friends, they are thrilled by the chance to widen their horizons. But will city life bring them the happiness they deserve, or will its new temptations do them far more harm than good?
A Little Folly
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About the Author
Jude Morgan was born and brought up in Peterborough on the edge of the Fens and was a student on the University of East Anglia MA Course in Creative Writing under Malcolm Bradbury and Angela Carter.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Witty and Romantic Regency Novel for any Austen Devotee,
By
This review is from: Little Folly (Hardcover)
"A Little Folly" is the story of Valentine and Louisa Carnell, the comfortably well-off brother and sister who have recently been liberated from their tyrannically overbearing father by his death. They are both thrown into a state of hesitant rebelliousness in their newfound freedom and are unsure of what they want. The only thing the Carnells know is that they want to start truly living. They dispense of all the things they most resented about their father but have never consciously acknowledged, from an atrocious fire screen to uptight, painfully proper and condescending Mr. Pearce Lynley, the respectable neighbor who was meant to be Louisa's husband.
The Carnells invite their long-estranged cousins, Tom and Sophie Spedding, to their Devonshire estate and are promptly introduced to the world-wise, flirtatious, but rather superficial behaviour of fashionable townites. Included in the party is Lady Harriet Eversholt, whose unfortunate marital and financial circumstances elicit the sympathies of the Carnells, though perhaps too much so in the case of Valentine. Long-time family friend and confidante, Mr James Tresilian, cautions the siblings with his usual sardonic, imperturbable self but the Carnells whisk themselves off to London at the invitation of their cousins. All the main characters, through some situation or another, end up in London at the height of festivities for Napoleon's defeat. The narration follows Louisa as she is thrown into whirlwind socialising and the gossipy company of the ton who are fueled by secrets and scandal. At first, she soaks in town with her innocent bystander eyes but in time finds Valentine and herself caught up in plenty of misunderstanding, mystery, and romantic speculation that can be the only outcome of a spell in London. Morgan's writing cannot fail to please anyone who appreciates Jane Austen's crisp prose, liberal usage of sophisticated vocabulary, and observant wit. His novels are always studded with the axioms we often associate with Austen, like this one: "To excite in a man a state of loathing was, as any novel-reader knew, to stand in a fair light of winning him at last;" exclaims Louisa, "but no woman could ever recover from the humiliation of being respected." In fact, I was struck by how much this novel was like a conglomeration of the characters and situations of Pride and Prejudice and Emma. There is a Mr Darcy figure in Pearce Lynley, James Tresilian is like Mr Knightley, and in a delightful innovation, Lynley and Tresilian are the two men the reader instinctively know will be the chief romantic interests. Which Austen fan has not speculated over which beloved hero would win out if it came down to it? I found Louisa's perceptions changing throughout the story from naïve eagerness to heedless enjoyment of society, and then wisdom, befitting of any Austen heroine. The seedy scheming and devious tricks one can expect from distasteful society masquerading as polite also play their parts. Savvy readers will find plenty of the lessons a novel of manners imparts, like being cautious of background stories and the follies of impetuous, ill-considered actions, but all within a delightful new story. There is little of the anachronistic actions or emotions that detract from enjoying some modern Regency novels. It is really a shame that Jude Morgan's novels are not more widely known. I certainly leap to buy anything he writes, even ordering the book from the UK if there is a delay in publishing it in the US. "Jude Morgan" and "Hannah March" are both pseudonyms for Tim Wilson. I have read all the novels published under Jude Morgan, and would highly recommend each one. Readers interested in other well-written, period-appropriate, and charmingly romantic Regency novels are encouraged to seek out Morgan's "Indiscretion", and particularly "An Accomplished Woman" after reading this deserving book.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jane Austen alive and well in the 21st century.,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Little Folly (Hardcover)
I can only second the excellent review written by Carol Chen. This is Jude Morgan's third novel written in the style of Jane Austen (following INDISCRETION and AN ACCOMPLISHED WOMAN). These three novels are light period pieces of social commentary on life in the 1800s. All three are beautifully written and are especially appreciated by those readers like myself who wish that Jane Austen had written many more novels in her lifetime. I must say, however, that this novel, in particular, reads as if it had been a collaborative effort of Austen and Georgette Heyer (if one of them had been able to time travel to be able to work with the other). When the setting of the novel moves from Devonshire to London, we read lovely satire of the dandies, pretentious fops with their silly slang and outrageous style of dressing and supposedly sophisticated ennui, to be found there. This is something more to be encountered in a Heyer novel than in Austen's classics.
For anyone who loves a great turn of phrase, this book (and the two other Morgan novels mentioned above) is not to be missed. This novel is one to be read slowly and savored. For example, our heroine Louisa has nothing but disdain for Pearce Lynley, the man her tyrannical father had chosen as her future husband. This is beautifully shown to us in sentences like these: "The subject was plainly an uncomfortable one for Mr. Lynley, and for that reason alone Louisa would gladly have seen it pursued; but Valentine, disappointingly, changed it." Or this comment by Louisa: "Just so: you have now enumerated all Mr. Lynley's attractions; he could hardly have done it better himself, though I am sure he would be willing to try." And I love this remark on Louisa and Valentine's fatuous cousin Tom: "Tom, once his coat-tails were properly arranged, looked as if sitting and thinking of nothing were comfortably within his range of accomplishments." The book is chock-full of such little gems of commentary and is a delight to read. One note of caution for those fans of Jude Morgan/Tim Wilson/Hannah March (Tim Wilson being the author's real name) who go out of their way to find all things written by him. Be aware that this book was previously and briefly published under the name A RULING PASSION. So you won't want to be back ordering that one to add to your collection. I also notice that his excellent book on the Brontes, THE TASTE OF SORROW, was recently available here at Amazon under the title CHARLOTTE AND EMILY: A NOVEL OF THE BRONTES but is also available in paperback at Amazon under its original title.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another triumph of Jude Morgan's!,
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This review is from: Little Folly (Hardcover)
Jude Morgan, who counts 'Indiscretion', 'An Accomplished Woman' and 'For the King's Pleasure' (a novel about the illegitimate son of Charles II of England) among his great novels, sets his characters in Regency England and we have all the set pieces and structured social order reminiscent of Elizabeth Gaskell or the Bronte sisters, but what is decidedly missing (thank goodness) is the flimsy feeling we get from other attempts to emulate the writing style of say, Jane Austen. Morgan is truly adept at writing a wonderful, feel-good story that is even more of a joy to read because of the wit and humor with which he endows his main characters. A Little Folly is another hilarious view of what Regency England must have been like for anyone with an iota of sense, but at the same time he adeptly weaves in a love story leaving out all the over-bearing tones a love story inevitably carries with it. I laughed out loud within the first pages, knowing full well this would be another one of Morgan's triumphs and I don't think anyone who counts themselves a fan of the female writers of the late 18th and early 19th century will be disappointed.
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