Lydia
Grade : B

Some time ago I pulled a box of my old romances - mostly Regencies - out of storage. I have been sorting through them, reading some, skimming others, trying to decide what was worth holding onto. Unfortunately, it appears that my taste has changed rather drastically in the past fifteen years. Many of these old books just no longer interest me. But the Clare Darcy books are an exception, and I found Lydia to be as much of a good read for me now as it was years ago.

Lydia Leyland is a girl with responsibilities. Her family is rather in the suds. Her father died some time ago leaving Lydia, her brother Bayard, and her grandmother very little except a failing plantation in the backwaters of Louisiana. Bayard and Mrs. Leyland have no idea how they will manage, until Mrs. Leyland inherits some jewelry from her sister and they all go to England to claim it. Lydia knows she is the only one who can rescue them, and she must use the opportunity of being in England to make an excellent match.

Lord Northover has recently returned from the Napoleonic wars to claim his inheritance. He had not expected to inherit, so it takes him a little while to sort through what exactly he will do with it all. On an impromptu visit to one of his estates, he finds that the Leylands are temporarily in residence. Mrs. Leyland had lived on the estate as a girl, and pursuaded the butler to allow her family to stay there for a short while en route to London. Northover, intending to sort out the situation, makes the acquaintance of the very formidable Lydia and is immediately taken with her.

Lydia, assuming from the rundown appearance of this estate that Northover is impoverished, does not hesitate to inform him of her plans to marry for money. He is a little shocked at her openness, but entranced nonetheless. He is not looking to marry, however, so he considers himself safe from her none-too-subtle mechanizations.

Written in 1973, this book is Regency Romance of the old-school variety. Expect plenty of historical minutiae, a smattering of French phraseology, and plenty of references to the social whirl. Also expect rather dense and occasionally long-winded prose as well as dialogue that's written in that strange English dialect, High Regency Romancese. If you don't like to wade through long words and complicated sentence structure, this book isn't for you. I wouldn't want every book I read to be written in this style, but I like it in small doses. This dialect, if done correctly, lends itself very naturally to wit.

Lydia is a quick, fun read. Lydia as a character is fully enjoyable. She is a managing female of the highest capabilities, very strongly reminiscent of the Grand Sophy. Northover gets a real bang out of her blunt honesty, unconcealed maneuvering, and complete lack of artifice. But he himself refuses to be manipulated by her. Because of this they quarrel frequently. There were many enjoyable scenes with them bantering cleverly back and forth. I love humorous repartee, and this book had many instances of it.

The only real quibble that I have with this book is that Lydia and Northover do not actually spend that much time together. Lydia spends the majority of her time trying to establish herself in society and clean up the numerous messes her grandmother and Bayard get themselves into. I wish there had been a couple of heart-to-heart discussions mixed in with the bantering episodes. It would have better established their relationship.

Still, I would recommend Lydia to both fans of the Regency Romance and to those looking to explore it. It's a good example of the treats in store in a traditional Regency romance, and Clare Darcy is not an author who should be forgotten. If what I've said sounds interesting to you, rummage about your used book store and see if you can locate a copy of this book. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Reviewed by Rachel Potter
Grade : B
Book Type: Regency Romance

Sensuality: Kisses

Review Date : July 6, 2001

Publication Date: 1973

Review Tags: 

Recent Comments …

Rachel Potter

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

28 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
28
0
What's your opinion?x
()
x