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Lady Farrington's Folly
It was called “Farrington’s Folly” because Lady Elizabeth had the notion that a museum of natural curiosities would advance the cause of science—and the ton thought her idea scandalous. The Marquis of Worthington, Elizabeth’s childhood friend, had become a very straight-laced fellow since their youthful pranks, but he was determined to guard her reputation by accompanying her on her expeditions. Regency Romance by Nina Coombs Pykare writing as Nina Porter; originally published by Zebra
- GenresRegency Romance
142 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1993
3 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Nina Coombs Pykare
38 books8 followersNina Pykare
aka
Ann Coombs, Nina Coombs, Nan Pemberton, Nina Porter, Nora Powers, Regina Towers
Nina Coombs Pykare has published 54 novels in the romance, Regency, inspiration, historical, contemporary, gothic, and mystery fields under a variety of pseudonyms.
Nina has sold hundreds of short stories and articles, as well as puzzles and poems for children of all ages. Some of the latter were written for her four sons and daughter, and now for four grandsons, five granddaughters, and one great-granddaughter. Nina taught a novel writing class for Writer's Digest from 1988 to 2006 and has also taught classes at nearby schools and the YWCA. She was married for 20 years, has been divorced longer than that, and still believes love is the most important thing in the world.
aka
Ann Coombs, Nina Coombs, Nan Pemberton, Nina Porter, Nora Powers, Regina Towers
Nina Coombs Pykare has published 54 novels in the romance, Regency, inspiration, historical, contemporary, gothic, and mystery fields under a variety of pseudonyms.
Nina has sold hundreds of short stories and articles, as well as puzzles and poems for children of all ages. Some of the latter were written for her four sons and daughter, and now for four grandsons, five granddaughters, and one great-granddaughter. Nina taught a novel writing class for Writer's Digest from 1988 to 2006 and has also taught classes at nearby schools and the YWCA. She was married for 20 years, has been divorced longer than that, and still believes love is the most important thing in the world.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 11, 2017
2.5 stars?
Lady Elizabeth Farrington plans to fulfill her father's dream and turn his cabinet of curiosities into a museum, for the sake of advance scientific knowledge. So what if she's the talk of the town? When her childhood friend, Thomas, the Marquis of Worthington returns home from the wars, he is outraged to discover his childhood nemesis (they have differing memories of their relationship) is the most gossiped about lady in London. He vowed to his dying father to look after little Lizzie and intends to keep his promise. How can he do that when the chit is forever harrying off across the country visiting gypsies and buying shrunken heads? To make matters worse, his little sister refuses to marry the gentleman he's picked out for her and turns to Lizzie for, in his opinion, bad advice. What does LOVE have to do with marriage anyway?
I really wanted to like this story. It sounded cute and I love older heroines. It started off OK but sadly derailed. The plot is slow and repetitive. Lizzie's museum of curiosities turns into something more like a circus sideshow, though thankfully the author gives her modern sensitivities towards people with rare conditions that P.T. Barnum would later exploit. I was able to go along with the idea and wanted the museum to succeed but ultimately, the romance didn't work for me and the characters were unlikable. I really would have liked a tour of that museum and seen more of Lizzie's curiosities than her shrunken heads. Too much time was spent on the side attractions.
Lizzie's museum seems to be based on the idea of Sir John Soane's Museum, though his was private.
I liked Lizzie in the beginning. She knows what she wants and goes after it. Then she becomes too headstrong and bratty, deliberately thwarting everything Tom-Tom tries to tell her not to do. Finally, she turns into a gooseish watering pot. I found her annoying by the end. She also leads Caroline to become bratty and headstrong too. Thomas was even worse. He is supposed to be emotionally scarred from the war and not yet recovered but he is totally fine and relaxed after visiting the Little Dove, his latest amour (yuck). He comes across as way too stuffy and mean to be a likeable hero. I don't see what Lizzie sees in him. He was her childhood playmate and she led him around and got him into scrapes. She's still leading him around but not without a lot of shouting. There were too many misunderstandings and obstacles for them to overcome to make this relationship believable.
In this novel, the secondary characters are better than the primary. Caroline, Thomas' little sister, is slightly more enjoyable than Lizzie. She's headstrong but she's young. She seems to know what she wants and what she doesn't. I don't really buy her relationship either because it's so quick and she's so silly about it. I really liked Madame Nuranova and how she directs the action of the story. She's a wise woman though probably not so mystical. I also liked the fire eater. She was unique and exotic but didn't get enough page time. My favorite character is Toby the learned pig. As an animal lover, I cringed at Toby's little problem but it was very funny and lightened up the story by distracting from the constant arguing.
Lady Elizabeth Farrington plans to fulfill her father's dream and turn his cabinet of curiosities into a museum, for the sake of advance scientific knowledge. So what if she's the talk of the town? When her childhood friend, Thomas, the Marquis of Worthington returns home from the wars, he is outraged to discover his childhood nemesis (they have differing memories of their relationship) is the most gossiped about lady in London. He vowed to his dying father to look after little Lizzie and intends to keep his promise. How can he do that when the chit is forever harrying off across the country visiting gypsies and buying shrunken heads? To make matters worse, his little sister refuses to marry the gentleman he's picked out for her and turns to Lizzie for, in his opinion, bad advice. What does LOVE have to do with marriage anyway?
I really wanted to like this story. It sounded cute and I love older heroines. It started off OK but sadly derailed. The plot is slow and repetitive. Lizzie's museum of curiosities turns into something more like a circus sideshow, though thankfully the author gives her modern sensitivities towards people with rare conditions that P.T. Barnum would later exploit. I was able to go along with the idea and wanted the museum to succeed but ultimately, the romance didn't work for me and the characters were unlikable. I really would have liked a tour of that museum and seen more of Lizzie's curiosities than her shrunken heads. Too much time was spent on the side attractions.
Lizzie's museum seems to be based on the idea of Sir John Soane's Museum, though his was private.
I liked Lizzie in the beginning. She knows what she wants and goes after it. Then she becomes too headstrong and bratty, deliberately thwarting everything Tom-Tom tries to tell her not to do. Finally, she turns into a gooseish watering pot. I found her annoying by the end. She also leads Caroline to become bratty and headstrong too. Thomas was even worse. He is supposed to be emotionally scarred from the war and not yet recovered but he is totally fine and relaxed after visiting the Little Dove, his latest amour (yuck). He comes across as way too stuffy and mean to be a likeable hero. I don't see what Lizzie sees in him. He was her childhood playmate and she led him around and got him into scrapes. She's still leading him around but not without a lot of shouting. There were too many misunderstandings and obstacles for them to overcome to make this relationship believable.
In this novel, the secondary characters are better than the primary. Caroline, Thomas' little sister, is slightly more enjoyable than Lizzie. She's headstrong but she's young. She seems to know what she wants and what she doesn't. I don't really buy her relationship either because it's so quick and she's so silly about it. I really liked Madame Nuranova and how she directs the action of the story. She's a wise woman though probably not so mystical. I also liked the fire eater. She was unique and exotic but didn't get enough page time. My favorite character is Toby the learned pig. As an animal lover, I cringed at Toby's little problem but it was very funny and lightened up the story by distracting from the constant arguing.
August 14, 2009
This book is a fantastic romance book. I've read it over and over many times..
April 16, 2025
Hmm! I'm willing to suspend disbelief to enjoy a Regency romance but I do not like it when they descend to farce. This folly of Lady Elizabeth's Farrington's is more like a sideshow than a museum, & she more of a spoilt teenager than a woman in her mid-20s. For an intelligent man, the marquis doesn't show to advantage either. I don't believe in their romance, but I suppose they have known each other since they were children, & they probably deserve each other.
September 25, 2009
Regency
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews