Susie

Edwardian Candlelight #5

by Jennie Tremaine, Marion Chesney, Lindy Nettleton (Narrator)

Poor little Susie. A beautiful dreamer, she imagined herself happy in a rose-covered cottage, only to find herself mistress of a great damp castle and wife to the elderly Earl of Blackhall. Luck, not the lecherous earl, contrived to spare her, and by her wedding night she was transformed to a wealthy young widow. But her trials had just begun. The old countess was determined to turn the simple country miss into a sophisticated lady. Meanwhile, handsome Sir Giles was determined to unmask her as a dangerously cunning young minx.

Sweet, naive Susie. Luck had brought her a fortune she d never wished for, but what stroke of fortune could make her dreams of real and innocent love come true?

Genres: Romance, Historical, Fiction, Historical Romance, Regency Romance, Audiobook, Clean Romance

1 pages, Audio CD

First published October 15, 1981

About the author

Marion Chesney Gibbons
aka: Ann Fairfax, Helen Crampton, Marion Chesney, Charlotte Ward, M.C. Beaton, Sarah Chester.

Marion Gibbons (née Chesney) was a Scottish writer of romance and mystery novels. Marion wrote her historical romances under her maiden name, Marion Chesney, as well as several pseudonyms ( Helen Crampton, Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, and Charlotte Ward). Using the pseudonym M.C. Beaton she also wrote many popular mystery novels, most notably the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth mystery series. Both of these book series have been adapted for TV. Because of her great success with mystery novels her publishers both in the U.S. and abroad began using the M.C. Beaton pseudonym for all of her novels.

Reviews

[Grace*dnfing books since 2022* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Edwardian romance from Marion Chesney before she got sick of writing romances. As a matter of fact, going by publication and pseudonym usage, it seems like she wrote her Edwardian standalone books (before publishers regrouped them as "Edwardian Candlelight") before she started to write Regencies. She then briefly turned back to Edwardian times to write her Lady Rose Summer romance/mystery series before tossing it in altogether forever.

This one could be read in a few ways. If read from a non-romance-novel point of view, it was really rather funny. Everyone in the book was incredibly unlikable, even as you felt for the main character, Susie. The daughter of a respectable doctor, she was forced by her parents to marry a gross, pillaging earl who sprained his ankle and was propitiously laid up in the Burke's social-climbing house. She is thereby whisked away by the twice-over widower so that he can rid his venereal disease on her virginal body, but he fortuitously dies on their wedding night by falling out of their bedroom window. She instantly becomes an heiress and must put up with a cast of gloomy servants and her venomous mother-in-law. Susie, however, is a secret superhero with the power to rid the planet of anyone by saying that she wishes they would die. After her husband dies from this method, so too does her mother-in-law, and the Earl's heir, Sir Giles, becomes increasingly suspicious (and also attracted) by her.

Being of a dreamy nature, she goes through seemingly endless rounds of imagining herself in love with a list of unsuitable men just from their favorable (to her) physical appearance and is always subsequently grossed out by their lecherous or otherwise behavior. I'm not sure why her interaction with Sir Giles would have NOT been labeled as another of these, but because he was the hero and the best looking one of the lot, he was labeled the "Love."

As a romance, it fails completely. Other than a strong physical element between the two, they never have a decent conversation and Sir Giles never tries to get to know Susie. At one point, they even discuss this, but they have no time for such in-depth discussions because too many gothic things happen in the book -- she gets engaged to a couple more unsuitable men after she gets hauled up in court on assault charges, her childhood "beau" comes a-calling and wants to move in on the now independently wealthy heiress and also subsequently dies from her super power. Sir Giles is pretty useless and non-perceptive as a hero, thereby leading Susie to fall for YET ANOTHER unsuitable man. It seemed to me that it would be hard for these two to ever have any sort of a good marriage.

This plotline seems mildly similar to a few of her other books that trampoline a middle-class girl into the midst of the aristocracy by inheritance, for example, Ginny, and Duke's Diamonds.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one tried too hard to be funny and just got weird. It's also deeply unromantic and very unsettling.

[Asya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that this author shows how silly love can be and how silly people can be. The characters are very human, getting into tiffs and squabbles. And how real life rarely lives up to our dreams. Marriage is hard and I love how the characters work it out. I laughed out loud many times throughout.

[MooMoo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was terrible. Seriously, WTF and JUST NO! The only thing okay with this book is the narrator.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Dude!!! She married the guy who was supposed to be in love with her but who also accused her during a ball (and whole heartedly believed it btw) of being a murderer! That's like halfway thru but it just keeps getting worse. At 4 mins left until the end, the heroine has been unhappily married for months, is convinced she's in love with someone else, tries to get said married man to run off with her (he says "ha ha, no") and then she's like, I guess my husband isn't the worst? and I'm sorta attracted to him suddenly so hooray? ... what a happy ending!?!

I cannot agree with the positive or even ambivalent reviews. And I normally love books by Marion Chesney/M.C. Beaton despite the characters typically being vapid/silly/superficial! They normally make me laugh! But ugh, I despised this book. The sensibilities presented are decidedly old fashioned. If you're okay with your author/characters negligently dismissing straight up rapists, painful/unwilling spousal sex, infidelity, etc., then go for it. Buy the (audio)book. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and JUST DON'T.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why did I read this? I heard this on audiobook, and even as I was listening, I kept wondering, "why am I still listening to this book?" but it was one of those where I hadn't had a chance to find another audiobook to replace it on my drive to/from work and I hated this book slightly less than I hated listening to morning talk radio while stuck in traffic, so I finished it.

It's not that the writing was particularly bad, but just that all of the characters were horrible. ALL of them, even the supposed love interest. And Susie...her characterization was flatter than an ironing board...and on top of that, I kept thinking she was stupid.

[starryeyedjen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. I think this book had more drama and more would-be affairs than most contemporary stuff I read. What a strange little story. Somehow, Marion Chesney's books are never what I expect after reading the summary...

[Greg Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

**SPOILER ALERT**: I'm about to talk about the book right to it's ending so if you don't know how these Romances ALWAYS end, stop reading now.........

In this book I found I didn't warm to either character, and didn't care who either of them married. There is the dimwitted and self-absorbed Susie, and the obtuse Giles whose only sport was jumping to wrong conclusions. After the usual prolonged flurry of red herrings and misunderstandings, and well after a pointless marriage, they finally proclaim love for one another and walk off into the sunset with the old pony Dobbin.
If I were to guess what happened after the happy ending of the book, I'd say that Susie will likely run off with the next man who comes along smoking a pipe, and Giles will storm off to London to work himself into yet another drunken frenzy. I certainly wasn't cheering for either of them, but came to the conclusion that they deserved one another.

[Tasneem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susie is such a romantic idiot. But she's got a heart of gold and I do love how she gentles Dobbin. I found the way her parents marry her off to the Earl very moving, even though it is an often used trope. I guess because my parents wanted to marry me off, not for money or a title particularly, but so that I would be safe and have an older man of fortune to take care of me. I'm glad I lived in a different era and could refuse, even though I did break their hearts.

[P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are no likeable characters in this strange book. Readable, but hardly worth the effort.

[Barbara Williford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of my favorite Marion Chesney books. Daydreaming Susie lives in her own little world and is not taken seriously by anyone around her. She is then bullied by her parents to marry a Brut rapist with a venereal disease who has a bitchy mother who is horrid to Susie. When a series on unfortunate mishaps befallen them, she is left to the plot of the heir to the fortune. Add in greedy parents and poor Susie is thrown to the wolves. A bit of humor is mixed in to the mix. It’s not until the couple really has good sex that they fall in love. Shallow characters and a struggle at humor. Too many “misunderstandings.”

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

humourous characters and situations enliven Chesney's romances

[Karen Darling · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not like.

[Amethyst Twilight · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok, so the late Earl was awful and disgusting, his mother wasn’t much better, and that Basil guy turned out to be creepy, but it’s still difficult to gain any admiration for a heroine who goes around screaming her wishes for their demise. That, and her tendency to slip into daydreams and forget about reality just made her seem immature at best or a candidate for Bedlam at worst. At least Maria from Animating Maria didn’t go around wishing death on people, but that could also be a reflection of the author’s growth as a writer since this book.

[Nancy Cook-senn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Equal parts humorous farce and incredibly inane chaos, but rather fun despite Susie's idiocy.

[Holly Kelly-Quick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was hard to get through. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the others, it was just too unbelievable and far fetched.
No chemistry and such a poor plot line

[KYReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main male character was awful and selfish. Not one of her best.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Funny, but little plot.

[Ateph · Rating 4 out of 5]

like a 3.5 I always write these books on an M.C. Beaton/Marion Chesney scale - which is probably slightly different than my standard for most books 😊

[Damaskcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Susie lives in Camberwell with her parents and spends most of her time in daydreaming. When the ageing Earl of Blackhall is injured in a carriage accident nearby and is taken in by her GP father her parents plot with the Earl to marry Susie to him. Innocent and unsophisticated, Susie finds herself married to the Earl and whisked off to his castle in Kent to live with him and his mother, Felicity. But things don’t work out quite how the Earl intended and fate has something else in store for him. Taken in hand by Felicity, Susie learns to be a lady and the heir to the Earldom, Giles, wonders why Susie annoys him and attracts him at the same time.

I enjoyed this amusing and light-hearted Edwardian romance. Susie is not the sharpest knife in the box but she is practical – in spite of her day dreaming – and has realised that kindness will get her far further in the world than being nasty. I loved some of the scenes towards the end of the book – especially the court case which is priceless. If you want a few hours light entertainment from which you will emerge feeling happier and more relaxed then try this amusing book.

It’s good to see these light hearted romances being re-published on Kindle so that they can reach a new audience. Maybe they won’t appeal to fans of Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth but they will appeal to anyone who likes novels with a historical setting and more than a touch of humour.

[Lenora Good · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first audio book ever. I’ve ordered several but chose this one to listen to first.

Our protagonist, Susie, is somewhat empty headed. Her parents have convinced her they know what is right for her, have kept her home and sheltered, in the hopes of marrying her off to a rich man. When one appears, they do so. She doesn’t want to marry him, but her father tells her if she doesn’t she will be put out of the house and disowned. She marries the rich old man and on her wedding night finds herself a very wealthy widow.

It seems Death is at her beck and call, and her dream life romance overlays her real life situations, to many humorous adventures.

M.C Beaton wrote the Hamish Macbeth stories, which is the only reason I bought this book when it was on sale. I loved the Hamish Macbeth tv show and figured this one was worth the try. It has a, for me, slow beginning, but once into the story, a great many laughs out loud. Since I listened to it while walking the dog and had my phone in my pocket and the story played directly to my hearing aids, I’m fairly sure some of my neighbors wonder why I was laughing out loud at nothing they could hear.

Lindy Nettleton gave a marvelous performance. While the story was humorous, I do believe her reading of it was marvelous and the cause of my laughs.

[Lynne Tull · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the few books/series I would read again. These stories of Marion Chesney started me on my adventure...reading Regency Romance/Novels/History! There is not a set of books that will teach you more about the basics about life in Regency England. There are six series with six books each. I love them all. It must be a "past life" thing:)

[Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it and would read it again. I funny and sad as you can help but feel sorry for Susie. I didn’t really like how it ended but not all books can end well. I love how it written and it well described.

[Water · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting enough, but it was not one of this author's best novels. The protagonist, Susie, is ridiculously clueless, and for half the novel she falls in love with a random assortment of hideous men. The hero is pretty standard; nothing wrong with him, but not too much to remember.

[Charlotte Bishop · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Scratching My Head)

Not sure if Giles and Susie ever did fall in love, he was fickle and she was an airhead. Parts were pretty funny, especially the circumstances leading to her first husband’s demise.

[KyBunnies · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this book twice but it was still one of the stupidest book I have ever read.

[Marianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to a downloaded version of this written under the name of Marion Chesney. It was very funny.

[Karen Darling · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not like.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story, some of it a little hard to believe.

[Maryanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of MC Beaton's early ones. Bit ploddy. So glad she kept writing.