2019 Regency romance. Lucy Muchelney has lost her lover to a socially
advantageous wedding, and her brother has no time for her interest in
astronomy (fired by her late father). One of father's correspondents
is looking for someone to translate a French astronomical treatise…
And that correspondent turns out to be Catherine St Day, widow of
an explorer and botanist, who had expected to sink into a quiet
retirement but finds herself thorughly bored with country life. Sparks
fly, but each woman has strong opinions and preferences, and the world
is not going to be kind to either of them.
There are no Big Misunderstandings here, hurrah; there are onstacles
on the path to happiness, certainly, but they seem both like things
that these people would reasonably do and like things that they would
be able to overcome for the sake of their relationship. I can believe
in them as a couple with a future even after the excitement of bedding
wears off.
This isn't a sanitised world; there's plenty of prejudice against
women actually doing anything other than getting married (if rather
less skin-colour racism). But at the same time these are heroines who
prevail in spite of that, and in spite of having to keep their
relationship secret. A pleasant touch is Catherine's initial happiness
that since it can't end in marriage she won't be tied to Lucy,
shifting to fear because since it can't end in marriage Lucy won't be
tied to her…
Definitely recommended, and I plan to read more in the series.
Comments on this post are now closed. If you have particular grounds for adding a late comment, comment on a more recent post quoting the URL of this one.