I am not so different to these other ladies. They are not better than me. It feels so close—I cannot help but want to reach for it.
A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting
by Sophie Irwin
Genre: Historical Romance
About: Kitty Talbot is the eldest of five sisters and, after her parents pass away, the inheritor of a huge debt. Her engagement to the wealthiest man in the neighbourhood would have solved everything, but when he abruptly cuts ties with her, she's forced to find a new solution. A new fortune. And there's no better marriage market than London...
Thoughts
I had a lot of fun listening to this. It gives the setting of a Jane Austen novel - and is really well-researched - but the writing style is entirely contemporary. You're placed in the head of the protagonists and see, breathe and touch their world. There is very little backseat telling, as can sometimes be off-putting in the classical style. There's also a lot more plotting. Kitty is not a passive character, nor an Austen heroine. She's more a Lucy Steele or a Lady Susan, and yet she's very likeable because her motive for manipulating all the rich pomp around her, is the love she has for her sisters and home. I enjoyed her resourcefulness and quick thinking. She never allows herself to be tossed aside and reworks each rejection into her next step forward.
The romance between Kitty and Lord Radcliffe was very sweet and rang true to me. There are nods to a Pride and Prejudice style romance, but it doesn't come across as a retelling. Radcliffe is given a backstory that takes into account not just the weight of family responsibility but also the trauma of having fought in battle, a fact which is given a lot of depth as well as offering good commentary on the frivolity and hypocrisy of Society. He also isn't the only one with power and agency. Both Radcliffe and Kitty take dramatic measures to solving each other's family crisis's. It's a clear partnership and adds a modern, freshness to those classical romances that usually see the man take care of the practical issues and the woman mending the emotional ones.
There were some weaker aspects. Side characters play important roles in the story and are certainly not an after thought, but their storylines feel more convenient to progressing Kitty and Radcliffe's romance than coming across as natural events. At least I didn't feel as much emotional weight to the situations Cecelia or Archie faced and enjoyed those moments more for what action it prompted our heroes to take.
Overall, there's a lot to love here and I will absolutely be reading more from this author. Irwin does a masterful job of transporting you to every decadent ball, laying out the social etiquette, teasing with scandals, and giving a romance that feels fully fleshed out.
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