What I've Read This Week

What I've Read This Week . . .

Cecily: or a Young Lady of Quality by Clare Darcy -- Regency Romance

Mr. Robert Ranleigh's friends are all agog over the newest actress come to town. The beautiful young ingenue Miss Dangerfield-Nelson has caught the eye of all the gentlemen of the town except for Mr. Ranleigh. The young lady seems disinterested in gentlemen but Mr. Ranleigh's cousin Lord Anthony Portandrew believes that every woman has heard of Mr. Ranleigh and would be honored to see him. Tony challenges his friend Sir Harry Breckonridge that Ranleigh can gain entree into the Green Room to meet Miss Dangerfield-Nelson. Mr. Ranleigh accepts the wager to prevent his cousin from losing money and looking like a fool. His request is met with acceptance by the young actress but then denied by the Female Dragon who serves as chaperone. However, Miss Dangerfield-Nelson requests Mr. Ranleigh to call upon her the following afternoon where she reveals that her name is actually Cecily Hadley, an impoverished distant relation of Mr. Ranleigh. She asks for his help in obtaining a suitable position as a governess. Ranleigh, concerned about Cecily's virtue and upset at the association with an actress, sends her off to his mother in the country. Cecily falls instantly in love with Mr. Ranleigh but thinks he sees her only as a tiresome child. Cecily is determined to prove she is grown-up and when a potentially dangerous situation gets out of control, she thinks she can handle it with nearly disastrous consequences. This story closely resembles a Georgette Heyer novel with a naive young heroine and an authoritative hero. The plot was slow moving to begin with but picked up after a few chapters. Cecily is very young and naive and whenever she tries to solve her problems, she ends up in a greater mess than ever before. I am not a huge fan of the innocent, silly heroine plot. I found Cecily annoying and I found myself cringing in anticipation of her next disaster. I did find some parts amusing, especially with the colorful secondary characters. I would recommend this book to fans of Georgette Heyer's Friday's Child, Spring Muslin, and The Corinthian.