The Fortune Hunter

Rating:
Summary: A delightful Regency romance, among her best.
Review: Firstly, this novel is part of a series (book #5 I believe. Fortunately, this novel does stand alone although characters from other books pop up here - Sophie and Randal Ashby, Chart and Clytemnestra Ashby, Piers and Emily Verderan (hero and heroine of EMILY AND THE DARK ANGEL, said to be Beverley's best), and even Kevin Renfrew, the Daffodil Dandy (a minor character in DEIRDRE AND DON JUAN).

The story - Amy de Lacy, the beauty and the middle sister, decides that marrying a rich man (who will settle dowries on her sisters, and who will also pay off the debts on her brother's estate) is the only way out of the hard times that have engulfed her family since her spendthrift father's death. Amy - actually Amethyst, but she hates the name - has one older sister Beryl (who is really plain), and a younger sister Jacynth and a brother Jasper. And there are two elder servants who should have been pensioned off, who play a small part in her calculations.

At the beginning of the story, Jasper has just won a small fortune - five thousand pounds - in a lottery. Should the family try and pay off the debts on the estate? Should the family acquire some comforts? Should the family invest the money for an income that will allow them a decent standard of living (they are so poor that they cannot afford real tea)? Or should the money be settled on very small dowries for the three girls and a pension for the servants?

Well, the problem with the last is - who will the girls marry in this isolated part of England? The author's excellent note or preface makes it clear that part of the attractions of a London season was the wider choice of marriage partners. Furthermore, small dowries will not really lure wealthy husbands.

Amy decides to risk nearly all the money on a trip to London, where she is sure that her beauty (and she *is* a beauty) will attract at the very least a wealthy Cit (a London merchant or businessman) who can afford to pay out handsomeley for a beautiful wife who is the daughter of a baronet. True that she has virtually no connections [her mother was a Cit], but she has looks and she is a lady.

In the meantime (before going to London), Amy decides to try and attach the new owner of a nearby estate, although he is a Cit and rather reclusive at that. During a storm, she must seek shelter and thus ends up meeting Harry Crisp, who is the heir to a barony. Harry is smitten by her looks, and intends to propose marriage.

Will Amy marry Harry Crisp, and settle for future riches, and what aid he and his father can give at present? No. The quarrel between them is dramatic when she states her real intentions rather bluntly and destroys all his illusions. Harry returns to his friends (the Verderans), determined to forget this heartless fortune-hunter. I will stop here to avoid spoiling the rest of the book, but seasoned readers will understand that Harry and Amy are destined to meet in the not-too-distant future.

This is a solid, well-crafted and charming book that I would happily recommend to any Regency romance lover who wants a good plot and strong multi-dimensional characters. I liked it rather more than The Stanforth Secrets (Bk 2) and Deirdre and Don Juan (Bk 6).

Rating:
Summary: A delightful Regency romance, among her best.
Review: Firstly, this novel is part of a series (book #5 I believe. Fortunately, this novel does stand alone although characters from other books pop up here - Sophie and Randal Ashby, Chart and Clytemnestra Ashby, Piers and Emily Verderan (hero and heroine of EMILY AND THE DARK ANGEL, said to be Beverley's best), and even Kevin Renfrew, the Daffodil Dandy (a minor character in DEIRDRE AND DON JUAN).

The story - Amy de Lacy, the beauty and the middle sister, decides that marrying a rich man (who will settle dowries on her sisters, and who will also pay off the debts on her brother's estate) is the only way out of the hard times that have engulfed her family since her spendthrift father's death. Amy - actually Amethyst, but she hates the name - has one older sister Beryl (who is really plain), and a younger sister Jacynth and a brother Jasper. And there are two elder servants who should have been pensioned off, who play a small part in her calculations.

At the beginning of the story, Jasper has just won a small fortune - five thousand pounds - in a lottery. Should the family try and pay off the debts on the estate? Should the family acquire some comforts? Should the family invest the money for an income that will allow them a decent standard of living (they are so poor that they cannot afford real tea)? Or should the money be settled on very small dowries for the three girls and a pension for the servants?

Well, the problem with the last is - who will the girls marry in this isolated part of England? The author's excellent note or preface makes it clear that part of the attractions of a London season was the wider choice of marriage partners. Furthermore, small dowries will not really lure wealthy husbands.

Amy decides to risk nearly all the money on a trip to London, where she is sure that her beauty (and she *is* a beauty) will attract at the very least a wealthy Cit (a London merchant or businessman) who can afford to pay out handsomeley for a beautiful wife who is the daughter of a baronet. True that she has virtually no connections [her mother was a Cit], but she has looks and she is a lady.

In the meantime (before going to London), Amy decides to try and attach the new owner of a nearby estate, although he is a Cit and rather reclusive at that. During a storm, she must seek shelter and thus ends up meeting Harry Crisp, who is the heir to a barony. Harry is smitten by her looks, and intends to propose marriage.

Will Amy marry Harry Crisp, and settle for future riches, and what aid he and his father can give at present? No. The quarrel between them is dramatic when she states her real intentions rather bluntly and destroys all his illusions. Harry returns to his friends (the Verderans), determined to forget this heartless fortune-hunter. I will stop here to avoid spoiling the rest of the book, but seasoned readers will understand that Harry and Amy are destined to meet in the not-too-distant future.

This is a solid, well-crafted and charming book that I would happily recommend to any Regency romance lover who wants a good plot and strong multi-dimensional characters. I liked it rather more than The Stanforth Secrets (Bk 2) and Deirdre and Don Juan (Bk 6).

Rating:
Summary: This is still my favorite Regency ever.
Review: I love this book. No one else seems to give it the credit it deserves. You can cut the tension with a knife and I was laughing SO hard at the characters' thoughts and imaginations. This was the first regency I ever read and I've read a million after it, but it is still the best.

Rating:
Summary: A female fortune-hunter: unusual twist on a familiar theme
Review: The review below says much of what I would have said about the plot of The Fortune Hunter. This book is better than some others in this early series of Beverley's, though still not as good as Emily and the Dark Angel. Indeed, what I enjoyed most about this book were the opportunities to see Ver and Emily again, happily married and enjoying being together and with their friends. It was fascinating to see a much less cynical, but still non-conformist, Ver.

Amy is in some ways her own worst enemy. She's decided that she needs single-handedly to rescue her family from penury - so she controls their limited finances with an iron hand and when she decides to marry for money, she refuses to settle for Harry Crisp, despite the fact that he's comfortably off. Harry assumes that Amy is suffering under the unkind restrictions of her older sister Beryl - I don't think we ever see that misconception cleared up.

When Amy rejects Harry so cruelly, I was surprised that he was so willing to forgive her and continued to pursue her. But then, he obviously loved her.

Some interesting minor characters in this book: I was particularly taken by Clyta and the Duke, and would have liked to see a more definite resolution there.