Hardback: 388 pages
Genre: Historical Romantic Fiction
Publisher: Harper Collins 2023
Source: Tywyn Public Library
First Sentences: 'Come now, Eliza, surely you can manage one tear? Mrs Balfour whispered to her daughter. 'It is expected from the widow!'
Favourite Quote: “Was she really to allow any man to make such demands of her, anymore? Allow her life to be ordained, in perpetuity, by their high-handed judgements or capricious moods?”
Setting: 1819, London and Bath England
Review Quote: ‘A delicious Regency romp for fans of Bridgerton.’ Red
My Opinion: Sophie Irwin has a fresh approach to historical romance, with her first two novels being set in regency England. They are very reminiscent of Georgette Heyer of whom I was fan, in my teens, many years ago.
In A Lady's Guide to Scandal we meet Lady Eliza Somerset, a widow in her late twenties. Eliza finds herself part of a love triangle, but barely out of full mourning she is required to behave in a very modest fashion. With plenty of humour and strong characters facing the prejudices of the era, it is an entertaining read.
This will appeal to fans of historical romance, particularly those that enjoy the Regency period.
Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:
When shy Miss Eliza Balfour married the austere Earl of Somerset, twenty years her senior, it was the match of the season--no matter that he was not the husband Eliza would have chosen.
But ten years later, Eliza is widowed. And at eight and twenty years, she is suddenly left titled, rich, and, for the first time in her life, utterly in control of her own future. Instead of living out her mourning quietly, Eliza heads to Bath with her cousin Margaret. After years of living according to everyone else’s rules, Eliza has resolved, at last, to do as she wants.
But when the ripples of the dowager Lady Somerset’s behavior reach the new Lord Somerset—whom Eliza knew, once, as a younger woman—Eliza is forced to confront the fact that freedom does not come without consequences, though it also brings unexpected opportunities . . .
Previous Review: A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting
Author Profile:
Photo Courtesy of Twitter
Sophie Irwin grew up in Dorset before moving to south London after university. She has spent years immersed in the study of historical fiction, from a dissertation on how Georgette Heyer helped win World War Two, to time spent in dusty stacks and old tomes losing herself in Regency London while researching this book. Her love and passion for historical fiction bring a breath of fresh air and a contemporary energy to the genre, and Sophie hopes to transport readers to a time when ballrooms were more like battlegrounds.
Photographs, Trailer and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:
Twitter Profile Sophie Irwin - Instagram Goodreads Profile Amazon Author Page
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