Customer Reviews

A Miss with a Purpose

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I just finished this book. It is a pleasant enough book suitable for young people and those who like their romances light and uncomplicated.

Arabella Fairingdale (an impoverished but gentile young lady) has along with Lord Ridgeton inherited a mill in Manchester, England that badly needs repairs and safety conditions met. It is up to the determined young lady to convince the uninterested Lord that he needs to invest some of his wealth to that end.

This book could have been expanded as there were some promising premises that were never developed.

Arabella Fairingdale and Lord Ridgeton (Cedric) have both inherited part of a mill. The basic premise of this novel is Arabella trying to convince Cedric to invest some of his enormous wealth into the mill to better the conditions for workers.

I liked Arabella for her boldness in discovering the plight of mill workers and attempting to correct it. The plot was a little far-fetched and some of her actions would have marked her a pariah to society but since this is fiction... I liked her loyalty to her almost blind companion and her inventor "coachman." Cedric is a bit more of a mystery and although I came to like him, the depths of his pain (due to war) are not fully explored. You will like him for "rescuing" fighting roosters and sending them to the country because he could not tolerate the bloodshed. You will also come to admire him for seeking to protect Arabella though in a normal Regency chauvinistic way.

Many side characters are interesting. A "detective" friend to Cedric, Harry Barkley, is particularly amusing as he gets himself into scrapes of all kinds. There are other characters with a hint of compelling stories - Lord Seagraves and a Mr./Lord? Layton, crippled in the war and friend to Cedric. I wished they had been fleshed out a little more - wonder if they are in other books?

This is a quick afternoon read. Nothing traumatic happens though there could have been if we had seen Arabella return to her rented home which the infamous Lord Segraves now owned. And of course there is the normal happy ending. Worth picking up for a few hours of amusement.