Author: Heidi Ashworth
Enjoyment Rating: 6/10
Referral: Whitney Finalist
Source: Library Copy (but this book was really hard to get-- no electronic copy provided, and the book was $25 at Amazon; the library copy came in at the very last minute)
Books I've read this year: 58
Miss Delacourt Has Her Day is Heidi Ashworth's sequel to the 2009 novel Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mind, in which Ginerva Delacourt, the daughter of an English clergyman, and Sir Anthony, her distant cousin, get waylaid by highwaymen and once they get over their initial revulsion for each other, fall madly in love. When the second novel opens, the couple is just about to announce their engagement, but due to his cousin's recent death, Sir Anthony finds himself in line to become a duke, and the current duke has reservations about the relationship and wonders if the couple is a suitable match. In Miss Delacourt Has Her Day, Ginny and Sir Anthony go through a series of misunderstandings and miscommunications (and letters thrown in haste into figgy pudding, and lots and lots and LOTS of descriptions of what everyone is wearing) before they can find their way to wedded bliss.
I think that this is a case where not reading the first book does readers a disservice, because initially I though that both Ginny and Sir Anthony were despicable-- mostly because they weren't very nice to their servants or the other people around them. Then I went back and read about the first book and realized that they were both intended to be feisty, not jerky, and that helped me as a reader. I also think that I didn't care enough about their relationship because I didn't see it blossom. So I think this book works well for people who loved the first book and want to see them brought to the altar (spoiler-- there is no altar in the second book, ha ha!), but not as well for new readers.
Finally, and I know that this is not Ashworth's fault, but Miss Delacourt Has Her Day isn't historical fiction as I define historical fiction. It's a romance novel. It would probably be considered a "Regency Romance" but it's definitely a romance, and is published by Avalon Romance, which seems to be a pretty good clue. For a book to be historical fiction, I think it has to either include historical figures (like "real" people) or else it has to be against the backdrop of historical events. And this book isn't and doesn't. While I think it would have been a decent contender in romance, I think the book was done a disservice by putting it in with the historical fiction.
And that's it, folks! I'm done! 35 for 35! I have a big long list of books I'm going to read next-- just because I WANT to read them. I feel so free!
On Sunday we will post a wrap-up of the Whitneys at Segullah. I may post my own wrap-up here too, depending on how much the marathon, the social worker, and the baby blessing take it out of me tomorrow.
1 comment:
Thanks for the review! One of the things I loved about writing this book as opposed to the first (written 14 years previously) was that I could just open a port on my computer and look things up as I was writing. I researched many historical facts such as hot air balloons, carriages, Hyde Park, the amount of time it would take to travel from one place to another via carriage and the life of the Duke of Queensbury. Gentleman John Jackson was a real person, too, tho I admit, he did not make an actual appearance. People DID treat their servants pretty badly in those days so that was historically accurate as well. As you can probably tell, I love the fashions of the Regency and had a blast researching those, as well. Will you be at the awards? I would love to meet you.
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