Book Blurb:
A chaste, entertaining Regency novel. Left with nothing but debts after their father’s death, Anne and Polly Selby have no choice but to let the house and seek employment, bidding farewell to a genteel life. Anne becomes a governess – but is dismissed within weeks, though not before losing her heart to a debt-ridden gamester. Polly, companion to testy, demanding Lady Thrutchbeck, falls seriously ill. Recovering, she finds herself courted by a gentleman she has never met. Does Polly's suitor intend marriage, or does he only want a sympathetic ear for his memories of his dead wife? Will Anne's rake truly reform, or is he merely making empty promises? Is there a chance for their happiness? And what has happened to the mysterious valise mentioned by their father in his last words?
Book Buy Link: https://mybook.to/thewastrelsdaughters
Author Bio:
Arabella Brown is a pen name of Henye Meyer. Mrs. Meyer has published a number of books for a specific niche market, so to differentiate, she uses Arabella Brown for Regencies and other types of fiction such as SF and genre stories. All of her writing is absolutely clean. She loves writing historical fiction but occasionally has dreams too interesting to resist turning into stories.
Mrs. Meyer was born in North America but now lives in the U.K. in a Victorian semi-detached bungalow, an unusual configuration. It has a larger garden (mostly vertical) than you expect to find in the city, which she keeps as nature-friendly as possible, attracting a wide variety of birds as well as foxes (of course), newts, hedgehogs, and deer.
Mrs. Meyer has an exceptionally tolerant husband, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and a lively sense of humor.
Editorial Review:
What are two single sisters to do when they discover that not only has their late father gambled away all their fortunes but that he has mortgaged their house as well? Sisters Anne and Polly Selby find themselves in exactly this situation in Arabella Brown’s Regency novel, The Wastrel’s Daughters. They have no money, no home, and their younger brother Harry, instead of riding to their rescue, resents being told that he will no longer receive the funds that he has been accustomed to receiving. And matters are direr still, for Harry has inherited his father’s predilection for the cards, and is now being sought by an unpleasant sort of man intent on claiming his debts.
The only choice, it seems, is to find employment. Young, pretty, and well educated for a lady of her time, Anna secures a position as a governess. But why does the family have so poor a history of retaining governesses? Could it have something to do with the wandering eye of the family’s father and the mother’s jealous suspicions? Careful to keep her behaviour quite above reproach, Anne spurns the attentions of a handsome young guest at a house ball, her sharp eyes recognising in him those same habits that led her own father to ruin. But why can she not keep him out of her mind, especially when he promises to reform his ways?
Polly, in the meantime, finds employment as a companion to a local lady whose bitter nature has sent off so many others. Polly’s own wit and good sense, however, soon break through her employer’s icy surface and they begin to develop a friendly relationship. But then, without warning, Polly collapses on an errand and falls seriously ill. She is rescued by a stranger who will not rest easy until he is satisfied that she will recover. His frequent visits to inquire after Polly’s health become visits to enjoy her company, although Polly is certain that his only interest in her is one of friendship, for at two-and-thirty, she has long since passed the age of romance. Hasn’t she?
As the months pass, through times of joy, despair, sorrow, and enlightenment, the Selby sisters find themselves navigating new relationships and old friendships, in an attempt to rebuild the lives that their wastrel father wrested from them.
There are a lot of good things to say about this book. More than a simple romance, the plot revolves around the lives of two devoted sisters over a decade apart in age, who are forced to rely on their wits to survive. There are love interests, to be sure, but the real stories are about determination and fortitude, with the lovers stepping in at the end not to save the women, but to sweeten their victories. The trouble the sisters face is real and one that confronted many an impecunious lady of the time, and the fates that they choose for themselves—governess and companion—are not depicted as the evils so often drawn in Regency fiction. Anne is an intelligent and creative teacher, and we know that left to her own devices, she would find a comfortable and suitable situation for herself. Likewise, Polly quickly becomes more than a dog’s body for crotchety Mrs. Thrutchbeck, and finds herself a valued member of the household. This would not be such a dire fate for a gently bred lady in need of employment.
Ms. Brown’s characters are distinct. Polly is sensible to the extreme and unlikely to break, despite the temper she is attested to possessing, although one that we see very little of. Anne, her opposite in many ways, is more tender and driven by her heart, although far from the entirely sentimental character of Jane Austen’s Marianne Dashwood. Anne is still sensible and calm, and she faces her adversities with poise and a strong sense of her standards. Perhaps, however, the characters are sometimes too clear-cut, bordering on stereotypes. Polly is almost too resolute to be true, Harry too much the wastrel his father was, Mrs. Thrutchbeck too clearly a sweetie under her unbending exterior.
The writing is, on the whole, quite fine, with enough description to paint a clear picture of the scene. The author has clearly done her research, and the little details she drops into the narrative fill in the outlines of the world she has created, leaving readers with a rich context for the characters to play out their roles. There were few editorial issues, and the flowing style is easy to read and enjoy.
The reader, however, is often dragged out of the story at times with abrupt changes in point of view. There were times of necessary rereads over the last several paragraphs to check whether something was missed, or if a section was missed, wondering who exactly was talking or going out or writing a letter. At times, the dialogue felt a bit stiff, reminding the reader of one of those old BBC drawing room dramas, with the green-striped wallpaper and the same settee from the last Austen adaptation they dramatised and filmed. Set speeches, when making announcements to the world, might fit well within a work of fiction, but they seem out of place in a quiet conversation between two close sisters.
Another issue, and the one that stayed the longest, was the somewhat episodic nature of this novel. There is, of course, an overarching plot, which is nicely developed and which resolves to everybody’s satisfaction at the end of the story. But within that, smaller plot points come and go, like extras on a movie set, sometimes to be revisited later on, but with no development between these appearances.
For example, a missing valise, which might or might not exist, and which might or might not solve all the sisters’ problems, is mentioned once at the beginning of the novel, and then once more towards the end, by which time the reader has quite forgotten about it. The violent thug who comes calling for the money he lent to brother Harry makes an appearance, is sent away, and then is mentioned briefly at the end, presumably to tidy up loose ends. But these cases, and several others, do not work their way through the narrative in any organic way. They are like pieces of thread that are placed here and there in a tapestry without being woven into the fabric, and the result is a sense that the story is somehow disjointed.
Another plot point that cried out for more attention was the treatment (not to give things away) of some long-held prejudices in Regency England. Ms. Brown approached the matter with an admirable and sensitive hand and showed us a side of the situation that is not seen nearly often enough. This, too, was a plot point that could have enjoyed more development and attention. It could, even, have been reeled out into an entire novel, but was dealt with almost as summarily as the missing valise and the ruffian.
Despite these shortcomings, however, The Wastrel’s Daughters was an easy and enjoyable book to read. Some more development in some areas would have been enjoyable, as well as some deeper insight into some characters, but for a weekend’s pleasant entertainment, one can do far worse. If one is looking for a romance that’s more than a romance, where the women save themselves and where marriage is a choice and not a necessity, then The Wastrel’s Daughters is recommended.
*****
“The Wastrel's Daughters” by Arabella Brown receives four stars from The Historical Fiction Company
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