I’m pleased to be one of today’s stops on the blog tour for ‘An Unsuitable Heiress.’
‘Do you realise, Corinna, just how hard it is for a young woman of irregular birth, without family, fortune or friends in the world Marriage is the only way to get any chance of a life.’
Following the death of her mother, Corinna Ormesby has lived a quiet life in the countryside with her cantankerous Cousin Agnes. Her father’s identity has been a tantalising mystery, but now at nineteen
Corinna knows that finding him may be her only way to avoid marriage to the odious Mr Beech.
Deciding to head to London, Corinna dons a male disguise. Travelling alone as a young woman risks scandal and danger, but when, masquerading as a youth, she is befriended by three dashing blades,
handsome and capable Alick Wolfe, dandy Ferdinand Shilton and the incorrigible Lord Purfoy, Corinna now has access to the male-only world of Regency England. And when she meets Alick’s turbulent brother Darius, a betrayal of trust leads to deadly combat which only one of the brothers may survive.
From gambling in gentleman’s clubs to meeting the courtesans of Covent Garden, Corinna’s country naivety soon falls away. But when she finds her father at last, learns the truth about her parentage
and discovers her fortunes transformed, she must quickly decide how to reveal her true identity, while hoping that one young man in particular can see her for the beauty and Lady she really is.
Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/Heiresssocial
Author Bio –
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 was published in January 2023. She lives in Berkshire with her husband, the linguist Nicholas Ostler.
Social Media Links –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JaneDunnAuthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janedunnauthor/
BookBub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jane-dunn
Review-
This was something of a mixed bag for me. I’m a huge fan of historical fiction and loved the synopsis of this one. I haven’t read lots of novels set in the Regency period and was intrigued by the idea of the central character having to disguise herself as a male in order to be able to minimise potential danger when she travelled to London to attempt to find her estranged father.
The author is a biographer and her skills in this area are extremely prevalent in the historical accuracy and portrayal of the period and the use of terminology and dialect throughout. I did find, however, that by not always understanding the meaning of some of the words and phrases, it detracted from the flow of the narrative.
The opening chapters were quite dialect heavy, which made it difficult to get into, although once you immerse yourself, the story begins to pick up pace.
I loved Corinna/ Cory as a main character, especially in her boldness to confront the brute she witnessed flogging his horse en route to London, despite her obvious disadvantage. Similarly, in even making the decision to travel alone to London, the reader very early on in the plot gets a vivid picture of her personality.
A pleasant overall read.
With thanks to the author, Rachel at Random Resources and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to participate in the tour.
Further stops can be found here:
Pickled Thoughts and Pinot 