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The Perpetual Curate (Chronicles of Carlingford)

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Curate Frank Wentworth is a thorough gentleman, but an impoverished one. He is well-liked in the quiet village of Carlingford, where he does important work in the poor district of the parish. But when the newly-appointed Rector Mr. Morgan arrives in Carlingford, he resents the extra duties the curate is performing without official sanction, and the two men get off to a bad start. Frank's three aunts also come to Carlingford, to decide whether they will confer a valuable family living on their nephew. He is eager to obtain the living because without it he can't afford to marry Lucy Wodehouse, the young woman he loves. Unfortunately, his autocratic Aunt Leonora objects to some of his religious views, and threatens to bestow the living on someone else unless he changes his ways. To complicate matters still more, a mysterious and disreputable stranger shows up in town, as does Frank's own disreputable brother Jack. Then the pretty niece of a local shopkeeper disappears, and the virtuous curate finds himself the target of allegation and scandal - and even Lucy begins to doubt his character.

Frank Wentworth, though likeable and good (as all heroes ought to be), is also wonderfully human, with an inclination to be impatient and irritable when provoked, and an excess of pride which contributes something to the scrape he finds himself in. There's quite a bit of wisdom offered up in The Perpetual Curate, along with plenty of humour, and a dollop of suspense. Memorable supporting characters add to the entertainment, including Frank's three aunts, his brother Jack, and the rector's wife, Mrs. Morgan-whose mid-life marriage to the Rector, after a ten years' engagement, forms a nice counterpoint to the relationship of Frank and Lucy.

It was a happy day for me when I first discovered this wonderful novel. It is likely to be enjoyed by fans of Jane Austen and Anthony Trollope, and deserves to be much more widely known than it has been.