Customer Reviews

Tilly

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I own many Marion Chesney books and find them quick light reading, yet I am sometimes left unsatisfied. This novel is no exception. The premise is fairly predictable - country miss and rake who needs a marriage of convenience to satisfy the terms of his father's will. Tilly is even worse than the typical country miss. She is plump and totally uncouth. She says the wrong thing, wears the wrong thing and walks like a man. Left penniless by her gambling father, Tilly becomes the companion of her cousin Lady Aileen. Aileen is so horrible, keeping Tilly close by only to ridicule her. Calling her "The Beast," all of Aileen's friends delight in torturing her - but rather underhandedly and Tilly only gets the uncomfortable feeling of never belonging. She has already met and fell in love with Phillip, the Marquess of Heppleford who saves her from her aunt and cousin by marrying her. He then immediately runs off to his beautiful French mistress on their wedding night. Of course Tilly changes from ugly duckling to swan and the remainder of the book is Phillip trying to win Tilly's love back --

The unbelievable part is that Tilly changes from fat and rather obnoxious to social butterfly in the space of three weeks with the help of her friend (French maid, Francine). Then Tilly catches the eye of all the men at her house party including Toby Bassett, Phillip's friend. Toby has his own stab at romance in this book and I found it rather sad. There is a mystery involving a later will and the next in line to inherit, the sad and pimply Cecil. Of course there are untimely accidents, irritating relatives and misunderstandings to resolve.

Although this was a quick read, the whole storyline was rather trite. I didn't really come to like either Tilly (who was MUCH more fun as a country bumpkin) or Phillip. The aunt and cousin never really get their due but actually are the most interesting of all the cast of characters presented. An ok afternoon read - not much involvement required.

In a nutshell: Gauche and chubby Lady Tilly is left destitute when her father dies and ends up working for a neighbor, Lady Aileen, as her companion. Lady Aileen treats her abominably, and the Marquess of Heppleford steps in to rescue her, offering a marriage of convenience. He abandons her on their wedding day and she makes herself over with the help of her maid, Francine, determined to make him fall in love with her.

My opinion: Typical Marion Chesney except Edwardian instead of Regency. Little facts are dropped here and there but nothing too in depth or off topic. The storyline is fairly common but Ms Chesney manages a level of humor that causes the reader to suddenly bust out laughing. I believe Ms Chesney takes great delight in mocking the eccentricities of the upper classes of the time periods she portrays.

I found Tilly's metamorphosis quite believable. Considering she was chubby and made up like a clown before Francine got a hold of her, it makes sense that a simple makeover and diet could transform her into a physical beauty. As for her hoydenish behavior, she has a few relapses, showing that she was still the same underneath despite all the studying of etiquette she was made to do.

Honestly, I don't have much of an opinion of the hero. He was typical, I think, of his upbringing, feeling he had certain rights just because he was born male and wealthy. For all that, he was not too bad. Other than the cheating thing. That was reprehensible.

Overall, it was a light, enjoyable read.