What do you think?
Rate this book
A Very Dutiful Daughter
Everyone agreed that the sensible, obedient, and lovely Letty Glendenning would make a perfect wife for the dashing, hitherto-uncatchable Lord Roger Denham. Even Roger agreed. And he was certain his overwhelming attraction to her was returned. Then why on earth was Letty refusing his offer of marriage?
Paperback
First published April 1, 1979
15 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Mansfield
59 books61 followersElizabeth Mansfield is the author of numerous regency romances. She is an intelligent and thoughtful writer, a hidden gem whose novels deserve to be more widely read and enjoyed.
Elizabeth Mansfield is the pen name of the talented Paula Reibel Schwartz. Ms Schwartz also wrote different genres under the pen names Paula Reibel, Paula Reid, and Paula Jonas.
Elizabeth Mansfield is the pen name of the talented Paula Reibel Schwartz. Ms Schwartz also wrote different genres under the pen names Paula Reibel, Paula Reid, and Paula Jonas.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 27, 2015
I've enjoyed many of Elizabeth Mansfield's light-hearted Regency romances over the years; in fact, The Phantom Lover is one of my "keepers." Sadly, her works (written before the internet opened up a whole world of research at our fingertips) suffer now, as little errors that might have gone unnoticed before are now glaringly obvious: Roger Denham, Earl of Arneau, would be Lord Arneau, not Lord Denham, and his mother, the dowager countess, would be Lady Arneau, not Lady Denham. Not that it seems to matter much, for everyone is on a first-name basis much too quickly.
More off-putting than title errors, though, at least for me personally, is the whole "I'd rather be his mistress than his wife" mentality of the heroine. Although Letty (why do I dislike that name so much?) is vaguely aware that such a position would entail wearing revealing clothes and letting Roger handle her disrespectfully, surely even the most sheltered young lady of the time would have been warned that taking such a step would ruin her forever, and not just in the eyes of Society; a mistress would have no legal rights to speak of, even if her connection with her paramour lasted for decades. Eventually she would be obliged to seek another protector, and then another, until her beauty faded, and she could no longer attract the sort of men who could keep her in comfort. More often than not, the mistress would end her days in poverty and wracked by venereal disease. Of course, this being a Mansfield novel, matters never come to so bleak a pass, but I'm finding that many Regency heroines these days seem to play the "mistress" card with no thought for what it really entails.
Actually, my favorite character in this book was the adorable Brandon Peake. In fact, I thought he deserved better treatment than he got from either Letty OR her younger sister Prue--until Prue turned up trumps in the next-to-last chapter. I understand Mansfield's THE RELUCTANT FLIRT features the third Glendenning sister, Gussie. I read this book many years ago, but don't remember much about it. I might have to look it up again, just to see how Brandon and Prue are doing.
More off-putting than title errors, though, at least for me personally, is the whole "I'd rather be his mistress than his wife" mentality of the heroine. Although Letty (why do I dislike that name so much?) is vaguely aware that such a position would entail wearing revealing clothes and letting Roger handle her disrespectfully, surely even the most sheltered young lady of the time would have been warned that taking such a step would ruin her forever, and not just in the eyes of Society; a mistress would have no legal rights to speak of, even if her connection with her paramour lasted for decades. Eventually she would be obliged to seek another protector, and then another, until her beauty faded, and she could no longer attract the sort of men who could keep her in comfort. More often than not, the mistress would end her days in poverty and wracked by venereal disease. Of course, this being a Mansfield novel, matters never come to so bleak a pass, but I'm finding that many Regency heroines these days seem to play the "mistress" card with no thought for what it really entails.
Actually, my favorite character in this book was the adorable Brandon Peake. In fact, I thought he deserved better treatment than he got from either Letty OR her younger sister Prue--until Prue turned up trumps in the next-to-last chapter. I understand Mansfield's THE RELUCTANT FLIRT features the third Glendenning sister, Gussie. I read this book many years ago, but don't remember much about it. I might have to look it up again, just to see how Brandon and Prue are doing.
August 19, 2015
Chronologically, here's the story (it's not told that way though):
H mistakes h for his mistress and kisses her passionately. Since h is masked, h's identity is concealed. Mistress arrives on scene, H realizes his mistake, feels terrible, and then forgets about the incident.
Fast forward one year, to the present, H offers for the dull but dutiful h, and she turns him down. Upon which, the H goes to soothe his ego with the same mistress (Mrs. Kitty Brownell). And the reason h turned him down? She wants the 'passionate' Lord Denham and not the bored/boring, uninterested one that's been halfheartedly courting her.
h's aunt and H's mother then get all parties to Bath, where H falls in love with the h, and she concocts a fake engagement to Brandon Peake (who in reality can't think of anything but Prue, h's sister) to hold him off. H actually listens and watches them, concludes the obvious, and doesn't give up.
Things are going smoothly when the mistress turns up in Bath and they run into her. H then (finally!!) terminates his relationship with her (because she was stupid enough to run after him upon hearing rumors that he's getting hitched). h in the meantime, from all the pressure upon her, runs away to Gretna Greeen with Brandon. H and h's sister Prue catch up to them, HEA.
It was a sweet story, but I just could not like the H all that much. His actions quite ruined the charm this book had for me. He's courting a nice, sweet girl, and though he has 'intentions' (he later states) of giving up his mistress when married, was he going to wait up till the wedding night before ending it with Kitty? Because oh, that would be so terribly inconvenient for him. I disliked him treatment of both the h and the mistress (even if she was greedy).
I liked Letty (the h), her sister Prue not as much as Brandon (fun interaction between those two), and Kitty-of-the-kitchen (wish she had ended up as the MC of a novel).
Just a slight trimming of the story would've put this in the 4-5 star range for me. For instance, since it's been a year from the mistaken identity incident, the H and his mistress could've parted ways (while he courted the 'boring', biddable h) and her coming to Bath could've been a coincidence (yes, too much coincidence, but this 'is' a romance!).
H mistakes h for his mistress and kisses her passionately. Since h is masked, h's identity is concealed. Mistress arrives on scene, H realizes his mistake, feels terrible, and then forgets about the incident.
Fast forward one year, to the present, H offers for the dull but dutiful h, and she turns him down. Upon which, the H goes to soothe his ego with the same mistress (Mrs. Kitty Brownell). And the reason h turned him down? She wants the 'passionate' Lord Denham and not the bored/boring, uninterested one that's been halfheartedly courting her.
h's aunt and H's mother then get all parties to Bath, where H falls in love with the h, and she concocts a fake engagement to Brandon Peake (who in reality can't think of anything but Prue, h's sister) to hold him off. H actually listens and watches them, concludes the obvious, and doesn't give up.
Things are going smoothly when the mistress turns up in Bath and they run into her. H then (finally!!) terminates his relationship with her (because she was stupid enough to run after him upon hearing rumors that he's getting hitched). h in the meantime, from all the pressure upon her, runs away to Gretna Greeen with Brandon. H and h's sister Prue catch up to them, HEA.
It was a sweet story, but I just could not like the H all that much. His actions quite ruined the charm this book had for me. He's courting a nice, sweet girl, and though he has 'intentions' (he later states) of giving up his mistress when married, was he going to wait up till the wedding night before ending it with Kitty? Because oh, that would be so terribly inconvenient for him. I disliked him treatment of both the h and the mistress (even if she was greedy).
I liked Letty (the h), her sister Prue not as much as Brandon (fun interaction between those two), and Kitty-of-the-kitchen (wish she had ended up as the MC of a novel).
Just a slight trimming of the story would've put this in the 4-5 star range for me. For instance, since it's been a year from the mistaken identity incident, the H and his mistress could've parted ways (while he courted the 'boring', biddable h) and her coming to Bath could've been a coincidence (yes, too much coincidence, but this 'is' a romance!).
December 23, 2011
A fun read, but not a memorable one. The Big Misunderstanding came across as very contrived, and I didn't really warm to the h/h.
Not one of Elizabeth Mansfield's best, IMO.
Not one of Elizabeth Mansfield's best, IMO.
November 22, 2017
Contrasting sisters
But so much fun. One serious and thoughtful, one flirty and bright. All the miscommunication and crazy plots unravel and the end is happy for both Letty and Prue.
But so much fun. One serious and thoughtful, one flirty and bright. All the miscommunication and crazy plots unravel and the end is happy for both Letty and Prue.
December 3, 2025
The FMC knows the MMC has a mistress and it gives her serious doubts when he starts to woo her.
He takes his sweet time before officially getting rid of The Other Woman (although she's in a different location for the most of it).
He takes his sweet time before officially getting rid of The Other Woman (although she's in a different location for the most of it).
November 4, 2019
It was an ok read, but I think I'm going to donate it. It was a bit ridiculous.
October 23, 2024
So many twists and turns to finally get to a happy ending. This was kind of exhausting.
October 6, 2025
Very entertaining! The heroine was quite naive though! Will definitely read again in the future!
November 21, 2015
Received another copy of this book recently as part of a batch from a UBS. I read it again and I have to say I enjoyed it a lot more than I apparently enjoyed it the first time (when it just got 2 stars from me). Other than the rather sudden about-face for Roger, the hero, from seeming mostly indifferent to Letty in one scene to declaring his love the next time he sees her - maybe I missed something - the book reads quite smoothly, has several interesting characters besides the h/h, and well-written Regency-type scenery and situations as well.
November 11, 2017
Regency
November 18, 2009
I would have rated it higher if Letty hadn't irritated me beyond reason, the girl was sweet but dense as molasses! I really liked Roger though as well as the supporting players.
January 18, 2016
A little regency
March 26, 2016
The situation was funny:)
Read
April 2, 2010Very Dutiful Daughter by Elizabeth Mansfield (1986)
May 29, 2015
Probably will not reread
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews