THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE

A Georgian romance sequel portrays the social jostling, wrangling, love affairs, and subtle intrigues of a group of English aristocrats.

Field offers a smorgasbord of plots and subplots for readers’ delectation. Right off the bat, for example, Robert Church, Geoffrey Chatswell-Brawley’s half brother, must be disabused of the notion that his son, Harry, might become the Fourth Earl of Stoneleigh. Then the London season begins, and the lovely Joanna, daughter of Geoffrey, the Third Earl of Stoneleigh, and his wife, Anne, makes her debut in society. She is in love with the dashing Capt. Francis Hardwick of the Dragoons but first must suffer the advances of such men as the boring Lord Arundel, whose bride will become a duchess. And then Anne’s younger brother, Will, comes home from Barbados with a Black wife. This of course causes a veritable earthquake of consternation, not to mention pangs of conscience regarding these wealthy people’s connections to the slave trade. Will the love between Joanna and Hardwick prove stronger than any challenges, and will they live happily-ever-after? Field is quite enamored of this period and these characters. Some are foppish, shallow, or boorish, and she is happy to make fun of them. Others are kind and wise—think of the best people at Downton Abbey. The author does go on and on about costumes and décor, a staple of the genre, and there is more than a touch of the bodice-ripper here (Hardwick gazes at Joanna “with smoldering eyes”). Meanwhile, these elegant folks can tear up at the drop of a calling card. Still, any novel that is prefaced with not one but three aristocratic family trees clearly means business, and Field delivers. She displays a deft hand at character sketching. The outlandish—to modern sensibilities—becomes, if not believable, oddly enjoyable.

This well-crafted love story will draw in many readers and delight them.