An Unconventional Lady: A Low-Spice Regency Romance
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By Sarah E. Ladd
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One woman works to expose a scientific fraud while also finding love in the latest sweet Regency romance by Sarah Ladd. Perfect for fans of Julie Klassen, An Unconventional Lady delivers what Publishers Weekly calls Ladd’s ""pitch-perfect blend of suspense and sweetness"" (The Cloverton Charade).
She faces the worst ultimatum possible for a woman—marry a man she detests or lose the future she’s always imagined.
Charming and headstrong, Ella Wilde always knew she was different than other women. Thanks to her unorthodox upbringing as the daughter of Keatley Hall School for Young Men’s headmaster, Ella has long dreamed of opening a school for girls that would meet the needs of inquisitive, brilliant, unconventional young women just like her—girls who longed for the education exclusively reserved for boys. But there’s just one catch: Unless she marries before her father dies, Keatley Hall will pass into the hands of a distant cousin. In that case, Ella will be left destitute, and at this point her only option appears to be an undesirable marriage.
Ella’s family had long been proponents of phrenology, the belief that an individual’s personality and dispositions were predetermined by the shape of their head. Shortly before her death, however, Ella’s mother’s views on phrenology changed, and she endeavored to expose phrenology as nothing more than a fraudulent parlor trick. Consequently, she earned the wrath of phrenologist community, who called her ""unstable,"" ""bizarre,"" even ""dangerous""—and branded her daughter the same.
Now, renowned phrenologist Thomas Bauer is about to arrive at Keatley Hall to speak at the Natural Philosophers’ Society gathering, and Ella embraces the opportunity to clear her mother’s name—and her own—once and for all. And her partner in crime? None other than her childhood friend Gabriel Rowe, who’s grown into an ambitious, handsome London solicitor.
Gabriel has his own scores to settle, and when he learns that Thomas Bauer is visiting Keatley Hall, he jumps at the chance to prove himself and right past wrongs. As he is drawn deeper into the unusual happenings, it’s clear that he and Ella must work together if they want to unmask the truth. Over time, Gabriel’s attraction to Ella’s beauty and wit becomes impossible to ignore, and as the lines between professionalism and passion blur, they both must decide what they’re willing to risk for happiness.
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Provided by author, Sarah E. Ladd, Thomas Nelson, Harper Collins Christian Publishing and Net Galley UK as an ARC in audio book format.
For aficionados of period drama, An Unconventional Lady wholly fulfils expectations. Protagonist, Ella Wilde, is resident with her father at Keatley Hall, which is also the venue for a symposium of the Natural Philosophers’ Society and the location of a boys school. In order to secure the future of the property and the school, Mr Wilde is anxious to secure a suitable marriage for his daughter. The late Mrs Wilde is a mysterious enlightened background figure, whose death is not only suspicious, but whose reputation has also been tarnished by association with the contentious practice and study of phrenology.
Ella is a somewhat atypical female bright spark of the era, who, unlike her peers, comfortably engages with academia, the lectures and the practical demonstrations at the phrenologically themed conference. It is here that she first encounters Thomas Bauer, a phrenologist, who has been instrumental in the defamation of her mother. Thomas, whilst ostensibly a prominent scientist, is masterful in the art of duplicity and, for this reason, is the subject of an undercover investigation by solicitor, Gabriel Rowe. This story deals with the quest for truth and justice, Ella’s defiance of conformity on her path to independence and intellectual freedom and, not insignificantly, a gradually developing sweet romance.
Will the dastardly imposter purporting to be Thomas Bauer be unmasked? What could unexpectedly potentially thwart a happy ending?
The narrator of this audio book, Fiona Hardingham, totally succeeds in bringing all the characters to life and is an absolute pleasure to listen to. The listener becomes easily emotionally engaged in the fate of Ella, her naive best friend, Phoebe, and quickly in that of the honourable and protective, Gabriel. The story is gently paced and, for me, was a calming and relaxing bedtime indulgence. Bravo Sarah E. Ladd for a job well done.
