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Review
See a Fine Lady
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See a Fine Lady by
Mary Street

Robert Hale Publishers
239 pages, 1999
ISBN 070906554X
Reviewed by our UK Editor Rachel A. Hyde


Judith Tremaine is a wealthy young woman who has turned down all her suitors to date, including a Viscount. She wants somebody who will love her for herself and not merely because she is an heiress.

When the story opens, with Judith is its narrator, she is living with her married brother and his wife, feeling the lack of a man of her own. She then meets Justin St. John Martin, baronet. Justin has little money of his own as his father spent it all at the gaming tables, and he has two young sisters to care for. What money he has comes from breeding horses. Judith respects his industry in a time when "trade" was frowned upon. He lives a very quiet life in the country, she has had her fill of town life - so he seems just the man for her.

This is a quiet and staid Regency with no sparkle or glitter. For most people in those days, life must have been as quiet as this, unless they lived in Town and participated in the social whirl. Sadly though, none of the characters really came to life. At the end of the book, I felt I had been denied hearing about balls at Almacks, court presentations, tangled love stories and all the fun of the Town. I would have liked to learn more about the characters and the minutiae of their country lives, more about horse breeding for example, or anything else - but such was not to be. Realistic perhaps in some ways, but if you like Georgette Heyer, this might not appeal as much because it lacked a sense of fun.


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