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Eloisa James
Piatkus (Little, Brown)
4 August 2011/ ISBN 0749956917
Historical Romance / Regency / Cambridge and environs, England
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Reviewed
by Rachel A Hyde
Kate Daltry
lives with her extravagant stepmother and silly, pretty stepsister
Victoria in a house that has been allowed to degenerate into a parlous
state. Victoria is engaged to the equally vacuous Lord Dimsdale,
but when she has an unfortunate accident Kate has to stand in for
her at the wedding. This is to be held at Pomeroy Castle, and it
is here that Kate gets to meet a real prince -- the handsome Prince
Gabriel who needs to wed a wealthy heiress and is certainly not
charming. Or so Kate thinks when she first meets him, but things
are about to get rather more interesting.
This is a Regency retelling of the story of Cinderella -- a delightful
idea that is sure to appeal to romance lovers of many types. The
fairy tale is stood on its head in many ways, not the least of which
is the Prince who needs a rich wife to pay partly for his keen interest
in archaeology. There is plenty of humor in here as we meet the
crazy denizens of Pomeroy Castle, and this is nothing in the least
like anything written by Georgette Heyer. I would describe it as
chick lit in long frocks if you want a contemporary comparison,
and anybody hoping for a foray into the Regency period had better
look elsewhere for their history lesson. This is more a type of
fantasy, a fairy tale for adults that works rather well but is not
exactly historical fiction. Better to lay back and enjoy it as the
romantic, airy fancy that it is and have a good laugh at the amusing
situations and bizarre characters. This is the sort of book that
would make rather a good film, and is sure to cheer up anybody who
reads it.
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