I was initially drawn to An Affection for an Unmarried Lady by the voice of the story. From the onset, Fanny Delarose evoked the very characteristics of Regency England with her prose: the nobility, the rank, and the standards juxtaposed with tawdry behavior. And yet, as I read further, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself immersed in a wonderful story: a well told story with likeable characters. An Affection for an Unmarried Lady is a story that exemplifies Regency England at its best and its worst.

Lady Ann Astwier, the younger daughter of a viscount, stood on the sidelines while her older sister experienced the London season and married an earl. And though she knew there was little chance of experiencing a season for herself or making a favorable match, Ann was able to accept her fate. However, her sister's new husband, Earl Corringdon, promised to give Ann a ball for her birthday so that she could make her bow to society, but not for innocent reasons. The earl had made untoward machinations toward Ann even before marrying her sister, Rosalyn, so their wedding trip, much to Ann's relief, was to take the earl and her sister to far away Italy allowing her at least three months of solace without fear of the earl's unwanted advances.

As she travels to her one and only ball, her father lets Ann in on a little secret. Ann inherited a living from her grandmother of twenty thousand pounds a year, making her an heiress. The prospect of enjoying a season in London was to become a reality, but her father expressed one stipulation: no one could know about her inheritance. His reasoning: Ann should have only suitors that accepted her for her and not her dowry.

Gordon Treezwey, the heir of the Marquess Duchambord, is honor bound to do as his father wishes. He loves his family and has always abided by his father's decisions. One of those decisions is to save his family from financial ruin by marrying a wealthy woman. Likewise, Gordon's sister Evelyn must also marry well to bring money back into the family coffers. But Gordon has decided that he's much too young to marry. Then he meets Ann at his cousin Corringdon's wedding, and everything changes, including his ideas about honoring his father's wishes. If only Ann had a large dowry so Gordon's suit of her would be acceptable to his father. But Gordon is a smart man. He has a few tricks up his sleeve to get what he wants.

Fanny Delarose entangles a sweet love story between Ann and Gordon and creates a story in which the setting becomes a central character to the conflict. Not only does she include the innocence of the time, but also a look at male and female roles, specifically a woman's place in that society. An Affection for an Unmarried Lady is a fresh read that had me hooked and entertained from the onset as well as immersed in the period and romance between the two central characters. I felt connected to their conflict and invested in the outcome. I would recommend Fanny Delarose's An Affection for an Unmarried Lady.

Reviewed By Maci Walker
© February 2005