The Late Mrs. Willoughby (Mr. Darcy & Miss Tilney #2)

October 21, 2026October 21, 2026 / Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

By Claudia Gray

The most invigorating and interesting experience of Juliet’s life was to be repeated! She would have to pray for forgiveness, taking such delight in circumstances that had proved tragic to another. “I quite agree, Mr. Darcy,” Juliet said. “Let us investigate.”

I found this one pretty much on par with the first of the series. The detection on the part of Miss Tilney and Mr. Darcy (and an unexpected friend and ally) still dragged, but I enjoyed the slow burn relationship of our two detectives. The writing almost feels like Jane Austen and is top notch. I found the authenticity of the characters to Austen’s original creations rather remarkable with one exception. That would be Willoughby, who is much darker than Austen painted him. I suspected the murderer right from the beginning but allowed myself to be deflected by subsequent happenings. But that’s a murder mystery for you.

**Spoilers for Book #1**

Miss Tilney is invited by her new found friend Marianne Brandon for a visit to Delaford. At the same time, Mr. Darcy is invited to Willoughby’s estate because it turns out they went to school together. They were not friends: Willoughby bullied and mocked Jonathan throughout their schooldays. In Austen, Willoughby is a cad with little character but popular and charming. In this book, he is very mean and nasty which I found inconsistent with Austen’s creation. It’s not really explained why Jonathan or another old school friend, Bamber, are invited. Jonathan reflects that he thinks it was for entertainment because Willoughby got his kicks out of mocking him and making a joke out of him. For someone described as so handsome, charming, rich, and sports-oriented, one would think he would have more sources of entertainment within his reach, and have had lots of real friends rather than two old schoolmates he hadn’t seen in years. When unhappy and unpleasant Mrs. Willoughby is poisoned, the game, as they say, is afoot. Since it appears that Marianne is a top suspect by virtue of the events in the previous book, the daring duo, along with another guest, scientifically oriented Bamber, who asks to join them, investigate informally. Despite the stabilizing influence of her happy marriage and her sister Eleanor, the town of Barton still remembers her unrestrained behavior with Willoughby little over a year before. All eyes of the town, the constables, and others who don’t really know her, turn to Marianne as the culprit. Not to mention the fact that she is already a “known murderess.” (Completely choosing to ignore the circumstances whereby she was responsible for killing Mr. Wickham.) This attitude was an irritant and a frustration. Even when evidence and suspicion start to indicate that Mr. Willoughby, not Mrs. Willoughby, may have been the target, Marianne still cannot escape suspicion.

Some still thought Mrs. Brandon had done it… Others thought Willoughby’s had been the hands that delivered the poison, but that it had been done at Mrs. Brandon’s urging. Another camp held that Mrs. Brandon had known nothing of it, but that she was the reason for Willoughby’s action, which meant she was nonetheless to blame.

The poor girl just cannot win! As the three detectives consult, observe and uncover evidence, a lot of time and effort is spent only to realize or discover they are not really making any progress. They spend a lot of time running around in circles. This slows the book down and it was a little boring. However, my interest did not flag completely because there are side stories involving Colonel Brandon and his ward, the daughter of his former love Eliza, Eleanor and Edward Ferrars, and especially the continuing up and down development of Colonel Brandon’s and Marianne’s romance. Even Edward Ferrars’ estranged mother, Fanny, and Lucy Ferrars (nee Steele) make an appearance. Also Jonathan and Juliet are both very lovable.Neurodivergent Jonathan especially is a very sympathetic and well rounded character you can’t help but root for. The book ends with Juliet and Jonathan still good friends, but each clueless that the other’s feelings are developing into love. Actually, Jonathan is still confused about his feelings because he’s Jonathan. They part with little hope of meeting again despite their warm friendship.

“The courses of Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney might well have parted there forever, had it not been for the extraordinary circumstance that would, in the fullness of time, reunite them.”

Book 3 is on the docket!

Three Men in a Boat

October 13, 2026October 14, 2026 / Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

By Jerome K. Jerome

3 silly men, J., Harris, and George, decide to take a little vacation in a boat floating down the Thames. Oh and there is a dog named Montmorency. I’ve known about this book since I was a teenager, and I’ve always been curious about reading it since it is supposed to be one of the funniest books of all time. Well, that finally happened. I listened to it on Audible, and though it was mildly amusing in parts, sometimes very amusing, I didn’t think it was very funny. By that, I mean I didn’t laugh, and I only chuckled a couple of times. It reminded me a lot of the one book I read by P. G. Wodehouse (so far). I got the humor, and appreciated and even admired it and was amused. But…I guess I like more of a plot and more character development.

The book is narrated by the author “J.” (Jerome K. Jerome) describing the decision to go on the trip, prepare for the trip, and their adventures on the water. In between real time activities, “J.” recalls various anecdotes that come to mind, such as Harris’s getting lost in the Hampton Court Maze, and an Uncle trying to hang a picture on a wall which results in catastrophe, and a stinky cheese. During the trip, the guys deal with opening a can of pineapple without a tin opener (resulting in the near death of one of them), making a pot of Irish stew, a fight with swans, incompetent rowing and losing track of each other, getting lost, and trying to find shelter. In the end, they go home early.

One of the funnier bits was J.’s description of how he loves work.

It is not that I object to the work, mind you; I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours. I love to keep it by me: the idea of getting rid of it nearly breaks my heart.
You cannot give me too much work; to accumulate work has almost become a passion with me: my study is so full of it now, that there is hardly an inch of room for any more.
And I am careful of my work, too. Why, some of the work that I have by me now has been in my possession for years and years, and there isn’t a finger-mark on it. I take a great pride in my work; I take it down now and then and dust it. No man keeps his work in a better state of preservation than I do.

All of the humor is like that: one thing leading to another with absurdities piling up and up until you think it can’t get any more crazy, until it does.
Actually, looking back on it, this book is funnier than it was while I was reading it. The narration by Martin Jarvis was great, but because of the book’s episodic nature, my attention kept going in and out while I was listening to it. I guess I need cohesiveness to keep me fully engaged.

Business as Usual

October 8, 2026October 8, 2026 / Rebekahrox / 6 Comments

by Jane Oliver

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This was a very cute epistolary novel set in a large London department store of the 1930s. It strongly reminded me of another novel, Dear Enemy, by Jean Webster. Not only are both books written in letters, mostly by our heroines, but they share the same humorous breezy tone, satirical takes, and many elements of their plots. Both of our young heroines write to loved ones describing their adventures in new and unfamiliar environments. They both illustrate their letters with their own humorous drawings. Both girls are wealthy debutantes leading frivolous lives, who find themselves employed in jobs in which they are, at first, way over their heads. But both manage not only to survive, but prevail, and greatly change their new environments for the better. That is a lot of similarities, but there are even more. They are both engaged to eligible “suitable” men who don’t understand them, but find true love with men who are heavily involved with and supportive of their new endeavors. In Business as Usual , most of Hilary’s letters are written to her fiancé who is a doctor. In Dear Enemy, Sallie’s are written to her best friend Judy Abbott, of Daddy Long Legs fame, and the local doctor, the “Enemy”, with whom she continually butts heads and whom she completely misunderstands at first.

Webster’s novel, written in 1915, 18 years prior to Business as Usual, is one of my most fondly regarded books. In fact, I fear I am in danger of letting Dear Enemy completely take over this review which is supposed to be about the other book! In spite of their similarities, it really is not fair to compare the two. In Dear Enemy, Sallie is tasked, by Judy, of reforming and overhauling the repressive antiquated orphanage in which she grew up and of which she is now the titular head. Hilary’s adventures take place in a London Department store and has more of a comedy of errors feel to it. Young lives and futures are at stake at the John Grier Home, so in Dear Enemy there is much more scope for humor, drama, and pathos. The orphans are mostly funny, but there is potential tragedy looming as well. Important social issues of the day are tackled albeit in a light and humorous way. Social conditions are explored to a lesser extent in Business as Usual including one game-changing incident involving an unplanned pregnancy. Sallie is much more of a force of nature than Hilary, although both are extremely admirable and likable. The romance is much more developed and emotional than in Business as Usual, in which we barely get to know the man whom Hilary begins to realize is more her soulmate than her fiancé.

Business as Usual is set in early 1930s London and I quickly became charmed and immersed in that other world. Hilary has just become engaged but since they can’t get married for another year she decides to spend that year in London, working at a real job and seeing if she can support herself and be independent away from her somewhat shallow life. She ends up in Everyman’s, a huge department store, and starts out as a lowly clerk. Precisely because she is so intelligent and over-qualified (Oxford educated!), she is not very good at it. Her unconventional thinking and sense of humor make her a square peg trying to fit in a round hole. But due to a chance encounter, she comes to the attention of Mr. Grant, the powerful and revered “head of publicity,” or “minor prophet” as Hilary calls him. He immediately recognizes her great qualities, and she is soon rising through the ranks in the book department, much to the consternation of some of her co-workers and her stick-in-the-mud fiancé. Her adventures are chronicled in letters to her parents and to bad boyfriend Basil, as well as internal store memos and such. She has her work cut out for her trying to survive in London on her meager salary. It is a light fun book, and I loved the authenticity of the setting. My copy had helpful footnotes explaining terms and words used, the meanings and significance of which have been long forgotten.

The book also strongly reminded me of another book I read and loved a long time ago, Here Come the Brides, by Bernard Glemser. That one was set in the bridal department of a huge New York Department store where our heroine has to deal with difficult customers and fellow employees, just like Hilary in the book department of Everyman’s. I really liked Business as Usual and I recommend it to those in the mood for a frothy humorous novel with a very likable heroine who finds real love in the London of a very different time and a very interesting setting. But I loved it more for the sake of the two books I read and loved long before. **3 1/2 stars**

Five Windows

October 5, 2026 / Rebekahrox / 2 Comments

By D.E. Stevenson

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When you’re very young you take people as you find them. It’s only when you’ve had experience that you begin to measure and weigh.

After reluctantly quitting Crooked Adam after about 3 hours of listening to it, I turned to this book. I immediately settled into the feelings of joy and peace and comfort that I look for in D.E. Stevenson and that Crooked Adam was not giving me. It felt like I was coming home again. I chose this one of all the ones that I have waiting for me on Audible because it is often cited as a favorite despite the unusual, for DES, choice as a male main character, and in first person, to boot. The narration by David Monteath was perfection.

David tells his story starting from when he was a little boy living with his wonderful parents at the vicarage. He starts out each phase of his life with the views he sees through one of the windows he looks out from at each residence he moves to as he grows up. After the rural manse in Haines, he moves in with his Uncle William in Edinburgh to complete his schooling. He starts his working life as a lowly clerk in a law office where he lives in a dingy and depressing boarding house filled with foolish and unhappy people. He escapes from there to a much more copacetic environment in a room above a book shop that he is able to afford due to his growing success as a writer. The fifth window we will remain silent on, but his life through the last window we are introduced to follows a bell shaped curve, with his childhood in Haines and his home at the end being the epitome of happiness, and the time in the boarding house being rock bottom.

Along the way, we become acquainted with the many people who enter David’s life and have an influence on him. David is gentle, kind, and trusting of others, and, at first, more than a little naive, due to his upbringing in Haines. The fellow boarders in the seedy London boarding house provide him with quite the education in the ways of the world as in one way or another they take advantage of his good nature. At one point, I thought he was going to get into an Of Human Bondage situation with one of the residents. But David is no dummy, and he shows himself very capable of putting his foot down, which made very satisfying reading on more than one occasion. Everyone we meet has something to teach him for good or ill. Some situations David encounters are rather dire, but his gentle sense of humor and inner strength of character always see him through. Many of the people we meet are happy allies. Particularly worth mentioning are Barbie and Nell who have their own story in The Tall Stranger. It is through them that he becomes reacquainted with a childhood friend who becomes his romantic interest. She is enmeshed in a trap that she is too softhearted and easily manipulated to escape from, but for the the help of David, Barbie, Nell, and his shining star of a mother, a sad future is avoided.

Well into the book, David becomes quite a success as an author of both fiction and non-fiction. In coming to the end of Five Windows, I felt like I had just finished one of his books. No wonder he was such a successful author.

Dolly All the Time

August 21, 2026 / Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

by Annabel Monaghan

“Well, hello, Dolly,” says Grant, at the head of a table for eight. If I had a nickel.

And what do you do, Dolly?” asks a woman whose name I’ve already forgotten. “I teach kindergarten in Boston.” “Ah,” she says, resting her hand on the golf ball–sized emerald around her neck. “You two are like Charles and Diana!” It’s a grim comparison to say the least. “Well, sort of. Except he cheated and she’s dead,” I say, and look up at Stewart, who winces a bit. I could have just said nothing. Nothing was the thing to say. I feel a little blush creep up my neck.

There were times when I was reading this that I just loved it. I liked the brand of humor and I was actually a little excited about the similarities with at least one of my favorite and most dependable authors. I really liked Dolly and continued to like her throughout the book. I loved the set up of a romance between two socially and financially unequal partners. It is called the “punching up” trope and is one of my favorites. So many humorous and dramatic possibilities as well as opportunities to develop or reveal character. Some of my favorite authors incorporate this dynamic: Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen, and old timey gothics as well as some great rom-com movies including Pretty Woman, Notting Hill, Sabrina, and Crazy Rich Asians,-book and movie. and lets not forget dramas like Downton Abbey, North and South (Elizabeth Gaskell) and Titanic.

Overall, this one did it well. Dolly is a single mother whose father owns the local fish store in the New England tourist town of Whitfield, Rhode Island. She works as a Kindergarten teacher in Boston, but as the novel begins she has been called home to help her father and her mentally disabled brother when the roof of their beloved family home has to be repaired due to a fire. They do not have the money. Yet. While delivering fish to the local “nobility” she comes across the handsome scion of the family stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire. Stewart Whitfield of Whitfield is having a very bad day. His beautiful socialite fiancé has just publicly dumped him and has made him look like a victim in the eyes of his family and society. The timing is particularly bad as he is up for a hotly contested promotion in his family’s real estate firm. When a picture is snapped of Dolly changing his tire for him and goes viral, it is a hit to his image that he can’t afford. Can Dolly can play along and pretend to be his public girlfriend so as to avoid having him look like a helpless rich-guy dumpee? With two side hustles, helping at the family fish store and taking care of her family, Dolly doesn’t have time for such foolishness. But when he offers to pay her, she tells him she will do it for $60,000, enough to fix the roof plus a little extra. Also a clothing allowance for the hoity-toity functions that she will be required to attend.

As the romance progresses, we are treated to a bit of a makeover courtesy of Stewart’s nice sister, a supportive if a little giddy ride-or-die friend, interactions with Stewart’s powerful family where we meet both good people and bad, Dolly’s lonely son, Gus, whom Stewart takes under his wing, and Stewart’s conflicts and challenges with the direction the family business is taking. And that is just a random sampling that just scratches the surface. Lots happens in this book. Being with Dolly helps him enormously and starts to change his priorities from giving everything to his career to carving out time for a personal life and relationships. His mental health has suffered because of the enormous pressure he has put on himself.

And it is somewhat the same with Dolly. Ever since her mother deserted them when she was only 11, Dolly took on the caretaker role in her family, which has led to an estrangement with her younger sister Paula. Reading between the lines of Dolly’s narration, we see that despite her strengths she takes on too much for the sake of her loved ones. This has not been good for her or them.

I really could not have asked for a more likable heroine than Dolly. In addition to her voice and her wry observations, I loved the way she was unapologetic about her rather pedestrian background. She was not defensive or even proud of it either. When snooty people at the various social situations would ask her, she was just very matter-of-fact and up front about things in her life that some might, shall we say, not be able to relate to. And sometimes, she finds some kindred spirits when she didn’t expect to.

*Spoilers*

The romance proceeds smoothly. So smoothly that it started to get a little boring. Of course there is no doubt about Dolly’s feelings. She repetitively spells out her physical and emotional attraction to him for the reader. Not a fan of this tendency in romantic comedies. Stewart’s devotion to Dolly is not in question either, by his words and actions. Which makes it such a shock when does a 180 with a very hurtful and confusing ghosting, betraying everything she and the reader had come to believe about him. Similar to the MMC in the author’s Nora Goes Off Script he behaves abominably. But it didn’t bother me as much because it didn’t stem from an idiotic and inexcusable misunderstanding, but from internal psychological issues he had been struggling with. The drama ends up being a good thing for him. As for Dolly, the whole experience ended up giving her insight into how her own behavior had not been helpful to her or to her family. The repair of her relationship with her sister Paula was very satisfying, though I was hoping for an appearance of and confrontation with her much talked about mother. That didn’t happen, but I was mostly satisfied with the way her abandonment was dealt with. Of course, Dolly and Stephen are reconciled in the end, but not without her giving him a piece of her mind first. It was a turning point and I liked that she was ready and willing to move on before he came back hat in hand, though it was a whole year after the initial parting of ways. But maybe it had to be. I believed in their happy ending. After three of Monaghan’s books, this is my favorite so far. I had some reservations, but not nearly to the extent as I had about the other two.

Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love

August 11, 2026August 13, 2026 / Rebekahrox / 7 Comments

by isthisselfcare

Granger caught Draco watching her as the house-elf vanished. “What?” she asked. “I await your Manifesto,” said Draco. Granger sniffed. “I’ve come to terms with the fact that there are some parts of wizarding society I shall never understand.” “But you accept them?” “No,” said Granger. “I tolerate them.” “Hm.” “Don’t worry, I shan’t begin a house-elf revolution within your halls.”

I didn’t realize that the last book I read (Once, Again, Always by Amanda Gayle) had started its life as Draco/Hermione fanfiction when I got it from Netgalley. If I had, I probably would not have put my name down for it. I had never heard the term “Dramione” which is fiction that imagines a love story between the two enemies of the original series. I’ve never “shipped” the pair, though I’ve been aware that some yearn for that love story. Mostly this is because Ron is my favorite character and I love him. The first book threw me into a bit of a Harry Potter fan fiction rabbit hole and I emerged with this book. The reviews were wonderful across the board, and I was intrigued. 15 % into it, I was completely charmed and thoroughly hooked. I was thrilled that it measured up to the hype. As I got deeper into it, I was lost in admiration of the writing and the way J.K. Rowling’s world was expanded on, altered a bit, and picked up 15 years later. I was emersed in that world, and in awe of author’s take on Rowling’s creation. It recalled how I felt while reading the original series. It made me happy like that.

15 years on from the 2nd Wizarding War, Hermione Granger has straddled the Muggle and the Wizarding World. She is a respected surgeon, professor, and scientist at Cambridge University and in the Magical World she is a renowned “Healer.” She is as famous as Harry Potter and even has her own Chocolate Frog Card. I think that gives you an idea of her status. Draco Malfoy hasn’t changed a bit except that he is more mature and has rejected his former racist attitudes toward non-purebloods and deeply regrets his involvement with the Death Eaters.

…vivid memory returned, of Bellatrix’s handiwork, stark against Granger’s skin. Of Granger, limp and wrought-out, lying like a dead thing on the drawing room floor. Of the blood oozing out of the fresh-carved letters. Draco had never used the word Mudblood again, after that. Draco hid his own inner arm shame from the world, but he would’ve thought that Granger, of all people, would’ve been able to heal hers away. Clearly, she still bore the mark of Bellatrix’s knife.

He is considered, along with “Pothead” and “Weasel” One of the foremost Aurors in the country. For this reason, much to his irritation, he is assigned to protect Hermione Granger who is working on a secret medical project so important, the current minister of magic (Shacklebolt) fears that her life may be in danger. What Hermione is working on is an ongoing mystery in the novel and the reveal is worth the wait.

The book is told from Draco’s point of view. His feelings for Hermione progress from bored irritation to utter devotion, as Draco must stay handy and on the look out for any potential dangers she may face as she works on her project. It is very “two steps forward one step back” as their relationship develops. Despite their personality conflict however, their mutual respect, almost from the beginning, is never in doubt. Though it is very well hidden. The snark is top-tier.

The book is part romantasy, part rom-com and part swashbuckling adventure and quest. With a little horror and thriller thrown in. It is the whole package as far as plot, and is also rich in wit and dialogue. The author takes great care to bring in people and elements from the original series, but not too much. This is the love story that never was between the bossy insufferable swot and the shallow, morally questionable, and bad-tempered womanizer (as they see each other.) Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, for example, are still great friends with Hermione, but they are definitely peripheral to the action. They have moved on and academia-loving Hermione frankly doesn’t have that much in common with them (as we already knew anyway.)

When’s the last time Pot and Wheeze even read a book?” “Is that a rhetorical question?” asked Granger. “No. Answer me.” “Damn it.” Granger lapsed into silence….

The two share a grudging if respectful professional rapport with Draco.

The author sticks close to canon while imagining the future but sometimes she diverges from it pretty significantly. But it was good. Both of the Weasley twins are still alive, as are Nymphadora Tonks and Lupin. In fact, Tonks is the Head of the Auror Office and Draco’s boss. Poignantly, Hermione was never able to reunite with her parents.

However, Granger continued. “I Obliviated both of them during the war. Sent them to Australia to keep them safe. By the time I’d found them again, it was too late to reverse the spell without risking damage to their minds. They’re living quite happily in Adelaide and have no idea that they ever had a daughter.”

As a mother, that killed me. Some of the departures are a little strange. Ron is now in a serious relationship with Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom is with Pansy Parkinson and part of Draco’s social circle. (I’d liked to know how that happened!) Also, in this book, Wizards and Witches are limited as to how much magic they can use at once, and often have to wait to recover their full strength if engaged in lengthy and challenging confrontations or undertakings.

Wizardkind is still (kind of endearingly) clueless about much of the Muggle world, although Owls have now been pretty much replaced with “Jotters”, a kind of text message machine. (Distributed by Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes) and even embraced by Draco’s traditional and old fashioned mother. Draco wants to learn the computer.

The internet was a thing that Draco was not quite certain he understood, but Granger could write things like ‘cat’ or ‘house’ or ‘oncology’ in a box, and information about the things came up, and pictures, too. It seemed extraordinarily useful. An instant encyclopaedia. Granger said that the entire contents of libraries were on it…Granger…explained the cloud and Hackers. The cloud was interesting, conceptually. The Hackers’ lack of axes or other violent weaponry disappointed him. Granger confirmed that there was usually no bloodshed involved. Anticlimactic, overall.

The book is over 700 pages so this review barely scratches the surface. It seemed so authentic. I was in a state of constant awe while I was reading it. It was a great love story. When Draco and Hermione finally come together it got a little too spicy for me, but the author (who injects her own voice periodically) thoughtfully and courteously gives the reader an Adult Content Warning. “Please scroll down to the tilde (~) if you prefer to skip to softer things.”
And bonus! It has pictures! This book is available for free (per one of J.K. Rowling’s requirements for fan fiction based on her books) on a website called Archive of Our Own and can be downloaded to e-readers. If you love Harry Potter and can’t get enough, I highly recommend this book.

The Convenient Marriage

April 29, 2026April 30, 2026 / Rebekahrox / 2 Comments

By Georgette Heyer

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When I started my reread on Audible of this old favorite, (one of the few Georgette Heyers I have an actual visual memory of myself opening it for the first time) I was reminded that it is not a favorite of many Heyer devotees whose opinions I not only respect, but usually agree with. With this in mind, I decided I would try to understand that opinion, which seems to mostly stem from a dislike and disapproval of Horatia (Horry) Winwood, our heroine. Besides that, many object to the age gap between Horry and Lord Rule (17 v. 35), her husband, and the fact that he has a few assignations with his mistress, after they are married, before he cuts ties with her.

The story opens with the happy news that the impoverished Winwood family is about to be rescued from, if not ruin, then very much financial discomfort. The very very wealthy Marcus Drelincourt, the Earl of Rule, has offered for the beauty of the family, Elizabeth. Unfortunately, “Lizzy” is in love with Edward, a lowly-by-comparison lieutenant in the Army and younger son she has known all her life. Its in the late 1770s and he is just back from fighting the war in America. Horatia, the youngest of the three Winwood girls, is not about to see her beloved sister marry against her wishes even to save the family. But saved the family must be. In a classic and favorite Heyer scene, She goes to Rule and offers herself up as a substitute. Rule was about to offer for Elizabeth due to her beauty, docility, and suitability. He is 35, his sister has been on his case, and she’s right, it’s time for an heir. That’s all. But when he is ambushed by the unconventional Horry, he sees something special in her. She certainly does not act like a typical demure schoolroom miss. She is straightforward, audacious, and obviously good-hearted. He is amused and rather captivated, especially when in the interest of fair play, she starts to point out her own flaws compared with the divine “Lizzie.” Maybe it would be good not to be bored all of the time. Yes, she is very young and society will be, if not scandalized, at least taken aback. But Rule goes his own way, and he accepts her proposal. His sister is frustrated by his whim, but when she meets Horry, she approves. She loves her brother and realizes that this girl has the potential to touch his formerly untouchable heart.

Miss Horatia, the youngest of the three, had nothing to declare her lineage except her nose. Her hair was dark, her eyes a profound grey, and her brows, nearly black and rather thick were quite straight, and gave her a serious, almost frowning expression. No amount of careful training would induce an arch in them.

After the newlyweds return to London, Horry unexpectedly becomes the rage. She goes about thoroughly enjoying her new found status as a darling of The Ton, rather than the underappreciated and troublesome “other” Winwood. She is no longer the outsider in unfashionable clothes, not very promising looks, and an unconventional manner. She revels in the freedom afforded by not having to worry about money and spends accordingly. And she unfortunately appears to have inherited the Winwood “Fatal Tendency” for a predilection for gambling like her brother Pelham. I think part of this behavior, that many readers don’t like, including me TBH, is a desire to just fit in. And she is carried away by her own unlikely success. Not surprisingly, Rule knows how to handle Horry, and Horry likes and respects Rule. If fact, she is well on her way to falling in love with him, and he with her. But danger looms. There are three people, including Lord Rule’s ex-mistress, who do not have the best interests of him or his young wife at heart. There are plots.

I understand those who prefer Georgette Heyer’s more mature and levelheaded heroines. But after listening to the book with an open mind, I confess I’m still at a loss as to why some feel so much hostility towards our stuttering heroine. Some found reading her stuttering annoying. I just didn’t. It was an interesting quirk to add to the characterization of a girl who is spirited and forthright, albeit with rebellious tendencies. I also did not mind the age-gap, and not only because it was common for the times in which they lived. This time around I was reminded of the very successful marriage of Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline which makes me vicariously happy. Also the age difference is not treated lightly or brushed aside, but is fully acknowledged as a concern from the beginning and throughout the novel. Rule’s own self-doubts over the difference and Horry’s and his sister’s reassurances somehow put aside any concerns I might have had. But it is a reason for their rocky progression towards mutual understanding. AKA, the plot. That said, Horry needs a strong, wise, and mature hand. Someone she can respect and admire. I can’t imagine such a girl marrying a callow 22 year old. Most would be under her thumb from the jump. As for the mistress situation, the two went into the marriage thinking in terms of non-interference and going their own way. A marriage of convenience only. Even though they obviously started falling in love on their honeymoon (which occurs “off stage”), they either didn’t realize it or were afraid to acknowledge it. Rule would have gone back to his normal life out of habit and, reading between the lines, perhaps in denial (or alarm?) over his emerging feelings for Horry. It starts the progression of their relationship from the beginning. Whatever the reason, he cut ties with his mistress very soon. As completely opposite as the two women were, I suspect that once he had one or two encounters with “The Massey” he saw her in a new light and it only cemented his commitment to and feelings for Horry. As far as Horry herself, her detractors call her immature, too frivolous, silly, and even imbecilic. To that, to quote Horry, I say “Stuff!”. Yes, she is immature and frivolous at the beginning. But she does learn and grow. She is genuinely shocked when Rule kindly and calmly confronts her with her bills. When she is manipulated into a compromising position that might cause a scandal, she comes to Rule (sensibly and maturely) with the truth. She cuts ties with Lord Lethbridge (one of the villains) very effectively, despite his cleverness, with subtlety and no attention-getting dramatics. She is so effective that he is forced into desperation. Which she also deals with handily with a poker across the back of the head. Keep in mind she is 17 years old and he is a cunning and ruthless manipulator. Yes, she has a tendency to jump from the frying pan into the fire, but it’s out of fear that she will lose Rule’s trust and good opinion along with the mistaken idea that he still might prefer his mistress. She is unsure of herself and kind of desperate. Of course she is. And from her perspective, she wasn’t wrong to be. And really there are very few heroines (including in Heyer) who never put a foot wrong and always take the wise and sensible path. The defense rests. Ha Ha.

And I loved Rule. Behind his languor and insouciance he was a man of action who was always on top of the situation. He was very acute. Very Scarlett Pimpernel. He never doubts Horry for an instant. I loved his loyalty, the slow build of their romance, and the very sweet and satisfying final scene. I loved the descriptions of the rich Georgian lifestyle for all of its sins. Add in 2 duels, a missing jewel, a highwayman, and the funny antics of Pelham and his cohorts in their mission to rescue Horry, and, for me, this Heyer had it all.

My Dear Aunt Flora

April 20, 2026 / Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

By Elizabeth Cadell

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I hope I have this right, but I listened to this on Audible so there is no way I can realistically check my facts. Our narrator, Jonquil, “Jonny” and Phyl grew up together in the same home headed by Aunt Flora along with Phyl’s brothers, George and Hugh. Flora was Jonny’s mother’s best friend and was taken in by her when her parents died. Jonny ended up marrying Hugh, and Phyl married Hugh’s best friend, Tom. Phyl and Jonny both were widowed at the same time due to an automobile wreck, and Jonny was left with two young children. Phyl and Jonny live together and the book begins when they decide to escape their dreary cramped apartment and move to “Rushing” a large but old and dilapidated cottage (it doesn’t even have an indoor toilet!) in the middle of nowhere.

This is what is known as a “slice-of-life” novel, which is a type of novel I read a lot of. It focuses on the largely unremarkable happenings and relationships of everyday life. Gentle humor, unusual characters, and the joy of living are key. At least in the novels of this type that I read. Needless to say, there is usually a satisfactory if understated romance which provides closure and a happy prospect for the characters we have come to feel invested in. Atmosphere and ambiance are key. The ones I read are usually set in the English or Scottish countryside and set at least 50 years ago. True to form, nothing much happens in this one until the previously mentioned George comes to stay at Rushing Farm. It’s not specifically stated what’s wrong with him, but he has been ordered by his doctor to “rest.” So I’m guessing nervous breakdown. George is a famous actor and something of a babe magnet. He is also spoiled, entitled, and a prima donna. The family loves George, but they don’t like him very much. They are confident that as soon as he gets a load of Rushing’s primitive conditions, he will quickly leave for less spartan accommodations far far away.

At first I was somewhat entertained by George and his angry incredulity over what he was asked to put up with at Rushing Farm. The women pretty much just take him in stride. They don’t know how to “just say no” but they are not complete doormats either. They know that George will not be able to stand being in the middle of nowhere for long and are not majorly inconvenienced by George’s whims and megrims. The stage is set on the first day when George confiscates Jonny’s son Paul’s bedroom for his own. To meet his standards, he then hijacks various pieces of furniture and decor from Phyl, Jonny, and Flora’s rooms. When they object, he bosses them and manipulates them into agreeing. But the more George complains, the happier the family is because the sooner he will leave. That is, until Angela ,the aunt of a summer guest of Jonnie’s daughter, comes to visit. She is gorgeous, sweet, down-to-earth and couldn’t be less interested in George, despite his glamor and fame. George, on the other hand, falls head over heels for the first time in his life.

All of the main characters were likable but boring. There are two romances involved, one was a foregone conclusion with no “will they or won’t they” tension to be had. George and Angela’s story had a little more suspense, but Angela deserved better even if the reader comes to understand and be reconciled to George a little more by the end. Jonnie, who I guess is our main character because everything is seen through her eyes, is the most boring of all. Her primary personality traits are competence, quietude, and inarticulateness. Phyl is charmingly lazy and Aunt Flora is wise, no-nonsense, and caring. A romance for Jonnie is threatened but is nipped in the bud by her disinterest. The book just kind of ends with the wedding of one of the characters which is a hair’s breath from ending in disaster. Or what would pass for disaster in this gentle world. There were some unanswered questions which are not my favorite. Why was Flora’s cousin so anxious to talk to her, what secret will he impart that threatens the family’s equanimity? We never know. If there ever was one. There were some amusing bits where I kind of chuckled. The most exciting and funniest part was near the end where Jonnie finally loses her temper. It was all very low-stakes. The quirky characters were not quirky enough. After I read this, I found out this was Cadell’s first book and I readily believed it. It explained a lot. Still it was lovely and charming enough to earn 3 stars from me.

A Fair Barbarian

February 4, 2026March 22, 2026 / Rebekahrox / 2 Comments

By Frances Hodgson Burnett

This early novella by Frances Hodgson Burnett of The Secret Garden and A Little Princess fame, was very much in the tradition of those stories that feature a visitor from afar whose different outlook on life transforms a person, a family, or even a whole town for the better. In the stories (or films) I am talking about, the transformation is not mutual. The visitor remains steadfast, it is the people around her that change. Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter, Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. It’s been compared to Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, but I haven’t read that one. And Maybe Silas Marner by George Eliot. Heck, what about Footloose or Sister Act?

I love the title of this book. Octavia Bassett is anything but a “barbarian.” If a little dashing and open-mannered, she is also well-behaved, kind, beautiful and classy. But she is from America, and in Slowbridge, “It was not considered in good taste to know Americans.” For sure not ones from “Bloody Gulch,” a small mining town in Nevada, where Octavia’s father made his fortune. She is a bit different from the young ladies in the small English enclave: she is self confident and unintimidated by the disapproval she encounters, particularly in the person of Lady Theobald, who rules insular Slowbridge with an iron hand. All of society must bend their behavior to her idea of what is gentile, proper, and correct. Particularly her sweet granddaughter Lucia. When Octavia arrives to stay with her meek and mild Aunt Belinda her effect on the town is much like a “tremor in the force.” Not that she does anything so shocking even by the standards of most of Victorian England, but it is how this town reacts to her. She wears beautiful gowns and jewelry, her hair is worn stylishly (curls on her forehead!), and she doesn’t just speak when she is spoken to but actually tries to have two-way conversations. She is not only seen but heard.

There is not a lot of action. The big climax occurs when a garden party is arranged without Lady Theobald’s blessing. Meanwhile Lucia has found some backbone thanks to Octavia’s example and influence. She has fallen in love with an unsuitable suitor while Lady Theobald is arranging a more conventional marriage for her. Unfortunately her first choice seems to have fallen under Octavia’s inevitable spell. The writing, descriptions, and the Austen-like satiric and humorous tone are the attraction here. I was also reminded of The Miss Buncle Books by D.E. Stevenson.

Satisfactory outcomes were had by all including an unhappy one for Lady Theobald. There was a slightly unexpected twist in the quickly wrapped up end. Or maybe it just seemed too quickly wrapped up because I just wanted more of Octavia Bassett. The narrator, Anne Hancock, of this Audible book perfectly voiced our main character. It reminded me of the raspy distinctive tones an old movie star, Jean Arthur, whose voice, as described by Edward G. Robinson, “grated like fresh peppermint.”

Northanger Abbey

December 18, 2025May 13, 2026 / Rebekahrox / 3 Comments

by Jane Austen

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Although I had never read this novel before, I knew the plot backwards and forwards thanks to the two BBC productions I have watched numerous times. Also I listened to an abridged version several years ago. I had started Val McDermid’s modern re-working of Northanger Abbey and it was not going well. It started me to thinking, “why am I reading this, when I still haven’t actually read the real one”? I decided to listen to it again since I have had the unabridged version in my Audible library for years. It was very funny right from the the start. It did go well. Of course I knew all the ins and outs of the plot. But I probably would have enjoyed it more if it were the first go round of any kind. Also, I suspect I would have picked up even more of the humor if I had read it on the page.

The book begins with Jane Austen informing the reader of all reasons why Catherine Morland, our heroine, is not suited to the role. In fact, The Narrator (Austen) pulls no punches in eviscerating Catherine and detailing her lack of heroic qualities. Brains? Nope.

She never could learn or understand anything before she was taught; and sometimes not even then, for she was often inattentive, and occasionally stupid.

Beauty? Nope

…and Catherine, for many years of her life [was] as plain as any. She had a thin awkward figure, a sallow skin without colour, dark lank hair, and strong features…” No mention of “speaking, twinkling, intelligent, or laughing gray eyes, you will notice. But… At fifteen, appearances were mending…she had now the pleasure of sometimes hearing her father and mother remark on her personal improvement. “Catherine grows quite a good-looking girl-she is almost pretty today.”

Talents and accomplishments? Nope.

Her taste for drawing was not superior. though whenever she could obtain…any…odd piece of paper, she did what she could in that way, by drawing houses and trees, hens and chickens, all very much like one another. Writing and accounts she was taught by her father; French by her mother: her proficiency in either was not remarkable, and she shirked her lessons in both whenever she could. What a strange, unaccountable character!—

I laughed aloud at the idea of a house, a tree and a chicken looking very much alike. After being assured that Catherine’s father “is not the least addicted to locking up his daughters” we read that her mother was a woman of useful plain sense, with a good temper, and, what is more remarkable, with a “good constitution.”

So having assured us that Catherine does not fit the mold of a Gothic heroine she eventually plops her in the middle of a plot worthy of any respectable gothic romance. In her own mind. For Catherine is a little obsessed with gothic novels. Taken to Bath by well off family friends, Catherine is drawn in and befriended by the manipulative Isabella Thorpe and her crass brother who tries to worm his way into her affections. She also meets the upstanding and witty Henry Tilney and his nice sister Eleanor. Catherine develops a tendre for him and he seems to reciprocate her feelings. Eleanor invites her to their ancestral home, Northanger Abbey, for several weeks, and Catherine is in a state of shivery delight that the Tilney’s ancestral home is an actual Abbey.

Her passion for ancient edifices was next in degree to her passion for Henry Tilney…With all the chances against her of house, hall, place, park, court, and cottage, Northanger turned up an abbey…long damp passages…narrow cells and ruined chapel…the hope of some traditional legends, some awful memorials of an injured and ill-fated nun.”

Although unlike the films, the Abbey does not live up to her imagination, (not an “antique chimney”, dirt, or cobwebs in sight-Neither “awful forebodings of future miseries” nor “sighs of the murdered” either) she finds plenty of fuel for her fantasies. She convinces herself that Henry and Eleanor’s intimidating, strange-acting, and hot-tempered father murdered their mother (or possibly has her imprisoned somewhere in a secret cell.) When she is caught snooping in a place she should not be by Henry, he sets her straight and makes no bones about what he thinks of her deluded fantasies. In the face of his disdainful take-down she comes to her senses with a decided ker-plunk. (But he still likes her.) Ironically, it is after her wake-up call when General Tilney genuinely does her a shocking cruelty and even puts her life in danger by his rude and heartless actions. So maybe not so detached from reality after all.

Although Catherine Morland is not the crispiest chip in the bag, I grew to like her very much. She is kind and good-hearted, and if she is sometimes silly it stems from naivety and innocence rather than brainlessness. I was completely won over by this passage:

[Henry Tilney] looked as handsome and as lively as ever, and was talking with interest to a fashionable and pleasing-looking young woman, who leant on his arm, and whom Catherine immediately guessed to be his sister; thus unthinkingly throwing away a fair opportunity of considering him lost to her forever, by being married already… he had never mentioned a wife, and he had acknowledged a sister. From these circumstances sprang the instant conclusion of his sister’s now being by his side; and therefore, instead of turning of a deathlike paleness and falling in a fit on Mrs. Allen’s bosom, Catherine sat erect, in the perfect use of her senses, and with cheeks only a little redder than usual.

And she shines in comparison to two other women in the story: Isabelle Thorpe and Mrs. Allen. Mrs. Allen makes Catherine seem sensible and resolute and Isabelle highlights Catherine’s virtues by being her opposite. That Catherine has been able to attract the friendship and liking of such a role model as Eleanor Tilney also speaks very well of her. And how can one be too hard on someone who is such a voracious reader of novels? Unfortunately, although witty and tolerant, I found Henry a bit prosy and self satisfied. Not as likable as the Henry Tilney of the films.

“Henry,” said Miss Tilney, “you are very impertinent. Miss Morland,…He is forever finding fault with me, for some incorrectness of language, and now he is taking the same liberty with you. The word “nicest,” as you used it, did not suit him…”Very true, said Henry, “and this is a very nice day, and we are taking a very nice walk and you are two very nice young ladies. Oh! It is a very nice word indeed! It does for everything. Originally perhaps it was applied only to express…”

And blah blah blah.

But that aside, I found myself chuckling at the wry humor, admiring Austen’s characterizations, and the skewering of the gothic novels of her day. Even though I am an old Gothic reader myself, I am not at all tempted to read one of the many of Catherine’s reading list based on the little snatches we are favored with in Northanger Abbey. I now have read all of Jane Austen’s books except Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice several times. I guess you could say I’m saving it.