***Formerly published under the title THE VISCOUNTESS BEQUEST***
England and France, 1817: Henry Wenton, 6th Earl of Brentford, is the black sheep of the family and deplored by good society as a bon vivant and wastrel. Then a French relative by marriage, the Vicomte de Maligny, the victim of an eventually fatal accident, bequeaths him his title. Under one condition: He must marry the Vicomte’s young daughter, Florence. It appears to be an enticing offer to Henry, and he sets out for France. Instead of a helpless young woman in mourning, he finds there an independent-minded, radiant beauty. The 18-year-old fascinates him. She is sensuous and innocent at the same time. Florence also feels herself drawn to the Earl. However, his domineering manner and his experience with women frighten her – and yet awaken in her a desire for love…
Sophy Hester’s Regency novel is like a chilled glass of Champagne drunk too fast: lively and effervescent, tickling the senses and enlivening the mind. Hester is a master of the genre, entwining incisive dialogue, laugh-out-loud humour, and delightfully infuriating, charismatic characters in a vivid evocation of 19th century England and France that is fresh, contemporary, and immersive.
England and France, 1817: Henry Wenton, 6th Earl of Brentford, is the black sheep of the family and deplored by good society as a bon vivant and wastrel. Then a French relative by marriage, the Vicomte de Maligny, the victim of an eventually fatal accident, bequeaths him his title. Under one condition: He must marry the Vicomte’s young daughter, Florence. It appears to be an enticing offer to Henry, and he sets out for France. Instead of a helpless young woman in mourning, he finds there an independent-minded, radiant beauty. The 18-year-old fascinates him. She is sensuous and innocent at the same time. Florence also feels herself drawn to the Earl. However, his domineering manner and his experience with women frighten her – and yet awaken in her a desire for love…
Sophy Hester’s Regency novel is like a chilled glass of Champagne drunk too fast: lively and effervescent, tickling the senses and enlivening the mind. Hester is a master of the genre, entwining incisive dialogue, laugh-out-loud humour, and delightfully infuriating, charismatic characters in a vivid evocation of 19th century England and France that is fresh, contemporary, and immersive.
