Mr Forster's Fortune (22 page)

It is 1810. Lydia, now penniless, is forced to seek a home with an aunt and uncle who have no interest in her whatsoever. But there are plenty of others with an interest in her – including the handsome but selfish son of the family – her cousin Charles - and two elegant brothers who live nearby. Each, in his own way, poses an intriguing challenge to her. Luckily Lydia is well able to look after herself but she gets into a number of scrapes which almost cost her any chance of happiness before finally managing to sort things out in the end.

This light and amusing Regency romance combines elements of both Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen to provide the ‘feel good’ factor that readers of this genre particularly enjoy.

The
Weymouth Trilogy

Book 1:
The Body on the Beach

The world of the haut ton with its idle chatter, assemblies, restricting conventions and hauteur was a world away from the harsh reality of life for the masses in Georgian Britain. Kathryn Miller, despite being a landowner in her own right, has to work alongside her servants, walk long distances to town to undertake her commissions, and suffer at the hands of an abusive husband who gradually deprives her of everything she owns. Salvation
appears in the form of a body on the beach. But will she grasp the opportunity that this provides to her and accept the consequences – or will she remain steadfast to her marriage vows and face a life of misery and uncertainty instead?

Note that though it does have a most romantic theme ‘The Body on the Beach’ also deals with some very ‘gritty’ topics which some readers may not look for in a more ‘traditional’ Regency romance.

Book 2: An Indelicate Situation

‘Maggie was a governess. She had not been born to be a governess. There had been no overarching destiny which demanded that she become a governess. She didn’t even particularly want to be one, although, at least as far as she was concerned, she was putting every effort into doing a good job. But a governess she was, whether she wanted to be or not, and a governess she now expected to remain...’

But will Maggie be able to hold on to what becomes an increasingly tenuous position within a family which, for various different reasons, poses real and potentially ruinous threats to her happiness? And, in particular, will she be able to survive within the family with her virtue still intact?

Although the second of what are now three books featuring some of the characters from ‘The Body on the Beach’, ‘An Indelicate Situation’ can equally be enjoyed as a stand-alone, ‘traditional’ Regency romance.

Book 3: A Devilishly Difficult Decision

A betrothal is one thing. A marriage is another, where things can get quite choppy at times. The Napoleonic wars have finally reached their conclusion. Cause for celebration, no doubt – but is everyone equally delighted by the onset of peace? In this third and final instalment of the Weymouth Trilogy we follow the lives of some of the main characters from the previous novels as they adapt to a new reality after more than twenty years of war. It is a gentle novel full of rich characterisation, vivid descriptions, quiet humour and historically accurate period detail.

Although the third story in The Weymouth Trilogy ‘A Devilishly Difficult Decision’ can also be enjoyed as a stand-alone, ‘traditional’ Regency romance.