Customer Reviews

A Little Folly

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"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.

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.

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.

Louisa and Valentine Carnell have lived their constrained lives dominated by their strict father, Sir Clement Carnell. His death provides a sense of release, and they embrace their newfound freedom with enthusiasm. Valentine throws open their Devonshire estate of Pennacombe to their fashionable London-based cousins, and their mysterious friend Lady Harriet Eversholt, while Louisa feels free to reject Pearce Lynley, the man chosen by her father as her prospective husband.

The temptations of Regency London beckon, and while Louisa enjoys her newfound freedom and searches for a new suitor, Valentine overindulges in gambling, and then falls in love with the beautiful, scandalous and very married Lady Harriet Eversholt.

The follies of the Carnells could lead to disaster, but with the help of their good friend James Tresilian, the siblings come to realise what - and who - is important to them.

`She is a guest, Mr Lynley, not a governess.'

I enjoyed this novel, and would agree with those who see similarities to the observational wit of Jane Austen and the dashing romance of Georgette Heyer. It is light entertainment for sure, but not frivolous.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Excellent. I'm a fan of Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen, and Elizabeth Gaskell. This work is more serious than Austen's and Heyer's, not as serious as the wonderful Elizabeth Gaskell. The repartee between characters is excellent as is the story telling.

A brother and sister leave Devonshire to join their family in London and become embroiled in romance and drama. Due to the death of their father, a very controlling and somewhat abusive man, the brother and sister, Valentine and Louisa, are ready to live life and enjoy themselves with their town cousins.

Valentine soon is in thrall to a young married woman and her husband soon comes calling on Valentine. Louisa and a family friend, James Tresilian, must work to extricate Valentine from the morass in which he is ensnared.

Louisa has been promised, by her recently deceased father, to a man that she cannot remotely even like much less marry. The story revolves around Louisa's promised match to Pearce Lynley and Louisa's attempts to extricate herself from the promises made to Pearce Lynley by her father.

Jude Morgan is always a delight as she weaves a story of romance and mystery with her special kind of humor. Another good read by this author.

Jude Morgan writes with such beauty and authenticity, her books are little treasures to be opened slowly and savored. A Little Folly has the same sly wit and attention to detail as any Jane Austen story, and is told with the same delicious reverence for the mores and social demands of the time period in which it takes place. The only thing I disliked about A Little Folly is that it had to end.

This is, I believe, the third of Morgan's Regency novels. This is by far the best. It has been called like Georgette Heyer, but I would put it more like 70% Jane Austen and 30% Heyer.