Angelica Leigh is the talk of London. A stunning beauty but also an incredible actress, she has capyured the hearts of several young men. Her most ardent admirer is Lord Latimer, a duke’s son, whose mother is determined to prevent an unsuitable marriage. The Duchess emlists the help of her widowed brother Ivor Asprey
A Scandalous Match is an historical novel set during the Regency period.
Angelica enchants her audience but has no birth, money or expectation to help her find a husband. Her mother is the lover of a rich man but she has never met her father. Definitely not a desirable bride for a man waiting to inherit a dukedom! Lord Latimer won’t be deterred and his anxious mother calls upon her brother Ivor to intervene. But can Ivor keep his own heart safe?
I enjoyed the historical elements of the book and felt immersed in the period depicted. However, there are several archaic terms (did anyone know a queue is a plait of hair?) as well as French words which slowed down my ability to read at my usual pace. The chapters were also long which I personally don’t like.
It is pretty clear what direction the romance would take but I liked the extra detail that came from Ivor’s observant daughter. There are other subplots that add other dimensions to the characters (the mystery surrounding Angelica’s father, the romance of Elinor’s governess, the desire to return Miss Fitzjames’ fortune). The political and social background to the plot and characters is also well developed.
A Scandalous Match is a detailed Regency romance.
A Scandalous Match
‘Angelica had always known her lack of high birth, fortune or influence debarred her from being presented as an eligible young woman worthy of marriage. To cap it all, being an actress assured she was utterly beyond the pale of respectability.’
Nightly at the Covent Garden Theatre in London, an enchanting actress is wowing the crowds with her affecting portrayal of Ophelia. Preyed on by rakes and opportunistic young bucks, feted by dukes and earls, even the Prince Regent himself, Angelica Leigh is a sensation.
But in Regency England, beauty and talent are not enough to be considered marriage material, so when the eminently eligible Lord Charles Latimer sets his heart on Angelica, his uncle is sent to intervene.
As a highly respected, hard-working and wealthy lawmaker, The Honourable Ivor Asprey, is himself seen as desirable husband material, but widowed with an eleven-year-old daughter Elinor, he has forsaken all thoughts of romance. Lord Latimer’s mother, the Duchess of Arlington, despairs of her son, despite being reassured by Ivor that his infatuation with the actress will pass. But there is something about Angelica Leigh that demands attention, and even the austere and upstanding Mr Asprey isn’t immune to her charms.
Sunday Times bestselling author Jane Dunn brings the Regency period irresistibly to life. Perfect for fans of Jane Austen. Janice Hadlow, Gill Hornby, and anyone with a Bridgerton-shaped hole in their lives.
Jane Dunn is an historian and biographer and the author of seven acclaimed biographies, including Daphne du Maurier and her Sisters and the Sunday Times and NYT bestseller, Elizabeth & Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens. She comes to Boldwood with her first fiction outing – a trilogy of novels set in the Regency period, the first of which, The Marriage Season, is to be published in January 2023. She lives in Berkshire with her husband, the linguist Nicholas Ostler.
