I loved Sophie Irwin’s first novel, A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting, which I read last year and was looking forward to reading her new one. Despite the similar title, A Lady’s Guide to Scandal is not really a sequel as it features completely different characters, but both books are set in Regency England and I think if you enjoy one of them you’ll probably enjoy the other.
Eliza, Countess of Somerset, has just been widowed at the age of twenty-seven and has inherited her late husband’s fortune – on the condition that she avoids becoming the subject of any scandal. Eliza didn’t love her husband – the man she had really wanted to marry was his nephew, Oliver Courtenay, whom her parents dismissed as unsuitable ten years earlier – but she obediently dresses in black and prepares to observe the traditional period of mourning, living quietly in Bath with her cousin, Margaret. Of course, now that’s she financially independent for the first time in her life, the temptation to go out and enjoy herself is very strong…and grows even stronger with the arrival of the roguish poet Lord Melville and his equally unconventional sister.
As soon as the charismatic Melville appeared on the scene (a character who must surely be inspired by Lord Byron) I thought I knew how the rest of the novel would play out. However, it’s not long before Oliver Courtenay, who has now inherited his uncle’s title of Lord Somerset, also turns up in Bath. It’s clear that Eliza still has feelings for Oliver – maybe even still has hopes of the marriage that was denied them all those years earlier – so the story is not as predictable as it seemed to be at first. I knew which man I wanted Eliza to choose but there are enough twists and turns in the plot that I couldn’t be completely sure she would make the right choice.
Although I found Kitty Talbot in Fortune-Hunting more fun to read about, I did enjoy watching Eliza’s character develop throughout this book. When we first meet her at the reading of her husband’s will, she has spent her whole adult life trying to be a good wife and daughter and conforming to society’s expectations, but through her friendships with Melville and his sister Caroline, she begins to find the courage to make her own decisions and live her life the way she wants to live it. At the same time, her actions are still quite believable within the context of the Regency setting and she doesn’t feel too anachronistically modern. As well as the lively Melvilles, there are lots of strong and memorable secondary characters including Somerset’s awful relatives, who have their eye on Eliza’s fortune, and her cousin Margaret, who becomes involved in a secret romance of her own.
Like the first book, this is very reminiscent of Georgette Heyer’s novels and also has some similarities with the plot of Austen’s Persuasion. However, Irwin does have her own style and is not just imitating other authors. I’ll be looking out for her next book, whether it’s another Lady’s Guide or something else!
Thanks to HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book for review via NetGalley.
This is book 37/50 for the 2023 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.
She Reads Novels 
I enjoyed the earlier book too, Helen. I will look out for this one.
I think I slightly preferred the first book, but this one is nearly as good and has a similar style and feel. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
This looks an absorbing read from an author I don’t know.
Yes, it’s very absorbing and has more depth than you might imagine from the cover and title.
Excellent.
Clearly a series (though not, clearly, a sequence) of novels for Janeites looking to expand their love of Regency novels, and perhaps even titles I might quite enjoy. Though I should read my two copies of Joan Aiken’s Austen-sequels first…
I can definitely see a strong Austen influence on Sophie Irwin’s work, although she does have a distinctive style of her own.
This sounds super fun. A light but interesting read. I will get FortuneHunter first. Thank You for a great post!
Yes, it’s light but not too light, and a lot of fun! I think Fortune-Hunting is better, but you could read them in either order.
I have the first book, still on my wish list. One day I will get to reading them all!
There is a plethora of regency books at the moment, I wonder why.
The first book is great – I think you would enjoy it! As to why there are so many Regency novels around at the moment, I’ve noticed that too and I’m assuming the popularity of Bridgerton probably has something to do with it.
I had not considered reading this author but now I am intrigued! This sounds quite good.
It’s very entertaining! I think you might like it.
I really loved Melville as a character! Not sure I was convinced by Margaret’s romance but it was entertaining, at least.
Melville was a great character! I wasn’t particularly convinced by Margaret’s romance either, but I think that’s partly because we didn’t really get to see it develop.