The Travelling Matchmaker Series –
Book VI
M C Beaton
Robinson (Constable and
Robinson)
24 February 2011/ ISBN 1849014847
= Historical Romance /1800 York and London
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Reviewed
by Rachel A Hyde
Hannah Pym
is off to York, partly to try and forget her unrequited love for
Sir George Clarence and partly to endeavor to find her former employer
Mrs. Clarence. This lady has been seen in that city, and Hannah
has fond memories of her vivacity before she left her gloomy husband
and ran off with a footman. Of course, adventure and romance always
occur wherever Hannah goes and this time it is the turn of Miss
Yvonne Grenier, fleeing the Terror in France and hoping to find
her father before some villains do.
Alas, this is the final part of this series. How I have enjoyed
the combination of humor, adventure and romance all underpinned
with an excellent knowledge of the period, as well as Ms. Beaton’s
ability to pack a small book to bursting point. All the strands
of the series come together too, as Hannah finally discovers what
happened to Mrs. Clarence among other things. The only less than
satisfactory part is the fate of Lady Carsely, which ends with a
whimper rather than a bang as though Ms. Beaton had decided that
having a formidable, deranged arch villainess wasn’t for her.
This part of the story could well have been left out of the series
and not been missed. As it is, expect the usual mix of love, laughs
and mayhem as Hannah match makes between Yvonne and the Marquis
of Ware, treats her readers to more descriptions of life in 1800
and finishes in predictable but enjoyable style. More reprints of
this author’s Regencies please!
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