The Cockermouth Mail

by Dinah Dean

Was she a fool to believe in miracles?

Miss Dorcas Minster was penniless and without prospects. She had no choice but to accept a position as governess in Cockermouth, a remote town in the English Lake District.

Resolved to make the best of her bleak future, Dorcas was not surprised when the stage-coach she was travelling in was waylaid by an accident. She and her fellow passengers were forced to seek refuge in a nearby inn. So much did she enjoy the assorted company, the she found herself wishing to be stranded forever.

One passenger in particular, the dashing Colonel, Sir Richard Severall, was of special interest to Dorcas. And it seemed as if she was of special interest to him. Fate had delivered her into the hands of love. If only she could be certain Sir Richard returned her affection.

Genres: Romance, Regency, Historical Romance, Historical, Forced Proximity, Christmas, Traditional Regency

221 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Dinah Dean is known mainly for the historical romances she wrote in the 1980s for the Mills & Boon Masquerade Historical Romance imprint. Historical romances then, as now, included a wide range of both writing quality and historical accuracy. Dinah Dean is at the top end of the scale for both. While she does not confine herself to any one period or place, most of her books are set during the early 19th century, in either Waltham Abbey, Essex, England, or in Russia. As a resident of Waltham Abbey and the secretary of the Waltham Abbey Historical Society Dinah Dean is well informed about the history of the town and she uses this in her books which are set between 1060 and 1808. She is also knowledgeable about Russia and, as well as her romances about the early 19th century, she set one book there in the late 11th century.

Dinah Dean also published under the names Jane Hunt and Marjorie May.

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story. It's set around Christmastime and is a mixture of romance mystery and adventure. I love Dorcas. She's doing her best to be brave in her circumstances but she really just wants to be loved and have a family.
The hero, Colonel Sir Richard Severall, is all the better for not being 'the perfect hero'. He has a war injury and is on his way home. His wound hampers him throughout the book and I liked that. There are some great side characters. Jem, the Colonel's servant, is priceless. His opinion on everything is colourful to say the least.
Anyone who enjoys Georgette Heyer's books will enjoy this. There is quite a bit of cant in it, which is something I relish.
The short epilogue at the end was a perfect summing up.

[Pgchuis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the Kobo version of this, although Goodreads will not accept the ISBN for some reason.

This was very enjoyable. The hero and heroine (and their three fellow passengers) have a mail coach accident and then get snowed in at an inn. There is never any real doubt about where the story is going, but it was a pleasure nonetheless. The effects of Sir Richard's war wounds and Miss Minster's abject but genteel poverty were not glossed over. I enjoyed the proposal scene with Mr Tupper trying to help out.

Recommended.

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Regency romances, both traditional in context and those with a more modern slant. I understand the differences in classes of that time, why 'ladies' were treated like spun gold and how most men were very narrow-minded in what they expected of relationships and marriage. In defense of THE COCKERMOUTH MAIL, I enjoyed that the hero was a physically disabled soldier but also with a title and the heroine came from a good family but was on hard times. Yes, the hero and heroine weren't perfect-looking and not everything was going their way.

Colonel, Sir Richard Severall, is on his way home after being injured in the war. The mail coach that is taking him and his fellow soldier and assistant, Jem, to their destination is in for some action. Another passenger, Miss Dorcas Minster, is penniless and has taken a position as governess in the town of Cockermouth. Hence, the title, THE COCKERMOUTH MAIL. Innocent in many ways, Richard makes it his mission to watch out for the unattended young woman. There are also some other interesting secondary characters and it must be the reader's ability to decide who are the good guys. Highwaymen have been known to rob the coaches and their passengers.

Over a period of five days, everyone gets to know each other better. Written more like a traditional regency, I found some of the reading slow at times. I also had a very difficult time understanding the language that the common folk spoke. The accent and slang of several characters and the way they enunciated their words had me rereading lines over and over trying to figure what was said.

"Us'll get urn arterwards." "Fond of jugged 'are, I am." "It was get 'im aht or stand clear o' the wreckage, I reckon." "There's a cove in th' kitchen says as 'ow 'e's a gimekipper," he said lugubriously." This is just a smattering of what was said. For this reason I am giving the story three stars. As nice as Richard and Dorcas were to each other, the actual storyline wasn't all that unusual. I guess I expected more from all the high ratings other people gave this book.

[Aneca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another traditional regency this time from a new too me author - Dinah Dean.

I'm very happy to say that I found it an enjoyable read too. It's true that it's a bit different from what we are usually used to in a regency but I found it very refreshing to know about the lives of common people who have to work and travel by coach instead of the usual debutante versus the nobleman.

Well Sir Richard Severall is maybe not so common but he is unable to use his own coach so he finds himself travelling in the passengers coach where he finds Dorcas Minster, a young lady fallen on hard times and whose father Sir Richard knew. Their attraction is mutual from the beginning and it's very interesting to see how two people get together while respecting society's rules and still behaving in a very proper manner. I liked how Sir Richard woo Dorcas by getting to know her and lending assistance when needed (ok and stealing a kiss or two) and how she fought to maintain a proper and dignified behaviour even when she was terribly worried about going to work as a governess in an unknown house. The whole book revolves about them and their relationship with each other and the other passengers as they are first closed together in the coach and after an accident with the coach closed together in an inn where they spend Christmas.

It's a sweet old fashioned romance that I very much enjoyed reading!

Grade: B

[Reading with Cats · Rating 5 out of 5]

May be one of my favorite romances ever. Characters are believable, not 21st century people playing dress up, and, more importantly, they’re actually *kind* to each other. Imagine that.

[Tanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a bad month for me, lots of layoffs at my job and it's hard to concentrate. This was sweet but there was a little too much cant for my tired brain.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cockermouth Mail is a very engaging traditional Regency romance. I'd like to thank whoever recommended it, but I can't remember who that was. So, forgive me, dear anonymous benefactor. I do wish to thank you because this book was worth hunting down at used book stores. The story is sweet without being sappy, and full of dry wit that didn't battle with the sometimes serious emotions of the characters. The author sets the scenes very clearly, including the forbidding nature of the Lake District in winter, without spending too much time on detailed descriptions. The characters' personalities are shown by their actions rather than by the author's descriptions. The story unfolds in an unhurried manner, with as much patience and dignity as it's heroine.

There are no great surprises in the story, but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment of this well written tale of love.

[Lynn Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually post new-to-me reads for TBR Challenge, but this month I just had to go for a reread because when I saw the theme of “road trip”, one book instantly leaped into my mind. I found The Cockermouth Mail by Dinah Dean at a library sale back in middle school, and absolutely loved it. I’ve carried my battered used copy around over twenty years, and I just had to reread it to see if this trad Regency from the 1980s stands up on reread. And yes, yes it did.

If you’ve heard of this book, you may have seen it mentioned as a holiday romance. Does it feature a pretty hellacious Christmas trip? Why yes, it does. Did it bother me to be reading this during a June heat wave? Not in the slightest.

Now that we have that out of the way, here we go. If you love Regency romance that feature non-aristocratic characters, you will probably adore this one. Dorcas Minster is a gently born young lady whose father died under what Society considered scandalous circumstances, and she was forced to become a governess. Her first charge recently came out, so she is now travelling to her latest post in a remote corner of the Lake District.

Along the way, she meets quite a cast of characters in the mail coach, including one Colonel, Richard Severall. Richard was seriously injured in the war, and he is travelling to the Lake District to see his sister for Christmas. While this is not love at first sight, he does early on appoint himself as a protector of sorts for Dorcas. While Dorcas is impoverished, she is clearly used to more genteel circumstances than the mail coach and as it turns out, Richard had been at least slightly acquainted with her late father.

While the story focuses on a road trip, things go awry partway through the book. The hazards of the road catch up to the travelling party, and after the coach is seriously damaged, Dorcas, Richard and their fellow travellers are obliged to hike through the snow to the nearest inn. Since Richard is hampered by his leg injury, Dorcas stays back to walk with him while the others go ahead to try to find help. This is something of a turning point in the story, as it is clear that the two begin to develop a regard for each other.

This is a partial review. You can find the complete text at All About Romance: https://allaboutromance.com/book-revi...

[Pauline Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, every last word of it. It’s a very simple story, but our hero and heroine are lovely, there’s a strong backup cast and a wealth of local detail that I found fascinating.

Here’s the premise: Miss Dorcas Minster, the daughter of a disgraced baronet now employed as a governess, is on her way north to take up a new position. It doesn’t sound very appealing, but nothing else offered, and what else can she do? She takes the mail coach, along with a mixed bunch of other passengers. Chief among them is Sir Richard Severall, a colonel in the dragoons, now invalided out with a knee injury, travelling by mail because his own coach has broken down.

Needless to say, since it’s almost Christmas, there’s soon snow falling and before too long the coach is off the road, and everyone has to walk to the nearest inn. Sir Richard, with his bad leg, is too slow to keep up with the rest, and Dorcas stays with him, but gradually the treacherous conditions overcome their strength, and they’re forced to huddle together in the meagre shelter of a large boulder, while they await rescue. Barely conscious, Sir Richard kisses her, to her great shock. Happily, rescue arrives and they are carted off to the inn to be revived, and to meet a couple of other stranded travellers.

I have to say that the inn turns out to be astonishingly well provided with food for so remote a location, so the refugees spend Christmas in great comfort, and even manage to go to church. There’s a bit of a dance with the locals, and the kissing bough makes a timely appearance. This could have been rather dull in other hands, but the book is replete with detail, not just about the inn and the surrounding countryside, but the difficulties of travelling by mail coach over difficult and (in winter) treacherous roads. The author makes the Lake District sound like a foreign and rather hostile country, and the heroine’s rather plaintive longing to return to the south doesn’t seem at all misplaced.

All this being cooped up in an inn cut off from the outside world naturally throws the mail coach passengers together somewhat, and Dorcas, being the only female, finds herself the subject of a certain interest from some of the gentlemen. She’s in a curious position, being the daughter of a baronet by birth, but now a humble governess by trade, and so hard up that she has to borrow money from Sir Richard to pay her shot at the inn, and then there’s the lowering thought: what will he want in return? She can’t afford to assume it’s simple kindness, and since he has no dishonourable thoughts in his head, it doesn’t occur to him to reassure her on the point. And he is so self-effacing that when another passenger starts taking an interest in Dorcas, one he thinks is perhaps a better match for her, he does nothing to press his own suit.

With the romance bubbling along nicely, despite the question of honourable intentions, there’s another problem: there’s a highwayman on the loose somewhere, and one of their fellow passengers is a Bow Street Runner, sent to catch the miscreant. And it’s just possible that one of the passengers is the villain…

So everything boils up nicely to the inevitable conclusion, although with some fun twists that I didn’t see coming at all. Not that I was paying much attention, being so caught up in the gentle but very sweet romance between Dorcas and Sir Richard that the rest was almost irrelevant. I liked very much that Sir Richard’s bad knee was a serious problem that brought him real grief occasionally, and wasn’t just a slight limp that got mentioned three times and then forgotten. I liked, too, the delicate way that Sir Richard tried to show his growing feelings for Dorcas, but without making her feel uncomfortable — although sometimes his enthusiasm got the better of him! Of the side characters, I liked Mr Tupper, the pedantic solicitor who plays a starring a role in the romance eventually, and also Jem, Sir Richard’s mouthy batman from his army days, who spoke his mind in the most colourful language (fortunately most incomprehensibly) yet was fiercely loyal to his quiet master. There is a lot of Heyer-esque cant in this, and local dialect, only some of which is translated, so you have been warned.

A lovely, lovely story, with wonderful low-key characters that it would surely be impossible to dislike. Every word was a joy to read - yes, even the cant! And for those who like that sort of thing, there’s a heart-warming epilogue, too. Five stars, and I’d give it more if I could.

[DD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the mail coach that ran to Cockermouth, this book tells of the trip in the days up to Christmas of the travellers. Dorcas has fallen in hard times after the death of her father, and is travelling alone to a new job as a governess, her new employer hasn't sent money for her travel and she's down to her last few shillings. Given this she's remarkably generous with her last pennies tipping people etc, but seems happy to skip meals for herself. She worries about her future and is remarkably brave about it.
Her travelling companions include Colonel Sir Richard Severall, Jem his batman/servant, who is a shiny star, through the book,and a local lawyer. Richard has just been invalided out of the army during the Peninsular wars, and is travelling home to spend Christmas with his sister whilst recovering from a damaged knee. He worries about Dorcas, travelling on her own, amongst people of perhaps unsavoury reputation. His injury impedes him throughout the book, which isn't usually mentioned in a book like this.

When the coach is involved in an accident they're all stranded in an inn for a few days, where they're joined by two other stranded travellers, although something appears 'off' with both of them.
Dorcas is worried about the extra costs, but is persuaded to allow Richard to pay for her room and meals, and they develop a friendship based on similar values and interests.she looks out for Richard as much as he looks out for her, and very quickly find themselves calling each other by their Christian names.
I love a good recency romance, and books like this written about a more naive world where men were men, and women protected, although sometimes too much are charming and very enjoyable. It's not all about sex and the 'bump and grind'. These characters are likable, and respect each other. I've read most of this authors books and have yet to find a bad one.
normally I hate epilogues, if it's good enough to be in the book out in the main book. But this one finished the book nicely. Loved the donkeys and spaniels.


A reissue of a book from the 1980's, by an author who I read many years ago, now reissued as an ebook - I wasn't sure if ever find any of this authors books I hadn't been able to find - thank you publishers.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably at least 3.5 stars. This is a Regency road trip romance. Our heroine, Dorcas Minster, is on her way to take up a new position as a governess in the Lake District. On the stagecoach is an interesting assortment of other passengers, all men. She is particularly intrigued by Colonel Sir Richard Severall, who has been invalided out of the Army due to a leg injury, that still bothers him. He is accompanied by his servant, Jem, who has a way with words. The other two men are Mr. Tupper, a lawyer; and Mr, Petts, a bit of a mystery. Not only is Dorcas worried about arriving in time for the promised carriage to pick her up in Cockermouth, but also that her small store of money won't last, especially if there are any delays, especially as the weather worsens and it begins to snow. And when the snow only gets worse, and the coach becomes stuck, stranding the passengers, the adventure really begins! Very enjoyable, light romance, with interesting characters, and a touch of humor. Recommended.

[Sallie Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to try to explain this book. I loved it. It was so different from my usual reading but not by subject but by writing style. Okay here goes....you know how we consume books? We read them and they keep us going so fast to find out the end result. This was a STORY. Dorcas, our main character is on a mail coach with a group of characters that become stranded at Christmas. Dorcas is a disgraced Baronet's daughter who is taking a position as a governess. The way Ms. Dean writes this story,we travel along with Dorcas. Don't get me wrong there is romance, mystery suspense but it is so much more. This is a book you read snuggled in a chair, under blanket drinking something you love. She describes the images outside of the coach, the snow, the lakes, the mountains, the Inns along the way, the people who she encounters. I loved this book and what a relaxing break from rushing through a book they way we all seem to. Well worth the read. I wish I could continue to follow Dorcas along.

[Meggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took a break from reading That Sweet Enemy by Marjorie May aka Dinah Dean to read another Dean book.

The hero and heroine are kind people, the "carriage accident forces five (eventually seven) strangers to stay in a small country inn during Christmas" plot lends the story loads of cosy vibes, and there was a fun mystery element too. (Who is the local highwayman??) The local people and Jem speak in rather indecipherable dialect, but it was overall a nice traditional Regency romance.

[Ila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clean Regency Romance with some kissing

Absolutely loved this book. It's so rich with details of the time, places and people yet not a page was boring. The 2 main characters are believable personalities with complexities shaped by their life experience. The same holds true for the large cast of side characters-the author paints each with depth. The hero's debilitating war injury is dealt with seriousness and informs quite a lot of the action making the story more lifelike, just as serious injuries restrict one's options, till healed, in today's time. The romance is subtle and gentle and thoroughly engaging.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the writing style of this new-to-me author. Even though I had do reread some sentences to understand or guess their meaning due to some characters' strange accents.


In the first chapters the h and the H are on their way to Cockermouth on a snowy day in December. I felt I was in the cold mail coach with them, watching the snow covered view outside, and listening to a Mr Trupper, pointing out Dunmail and William Wordswort's house and some other sights to the h. This happens very seldom to me. It was very well written.

From the blurb, I was expecting a destitute governess mooning after the H for the whole of the book. I couldn't be more wrong. I loved the slow romance between the MCs. Only the ending was way too slow for me. Otherwise a perfect vintage historical romance.

[Sharon Bollen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this in the 1980s borrowed from my local library, I loved it then and enjoyed it just as much on re-reading it again.
Very much in the traditional style which I prefer to more racy, modern style Regency books.
The author has obviously done her research with an excellent grasp of dress, class precedent, gender politics and period.

[Patrizia · Rating 4 out of 5]

La storia si svolge in pochi giorni, e per lo più nei confini ristretti prima di una carrozza postale, poi di una locanda isolata dalla neve. Eppure, con questi pochi elementi, Dinah Dean è riuscita a metter su un breve ma intenso romanzo. L'ambientazione storica, accuratissima, è quella delle guerre napoleoniche.
Ah, avercene ancora, di scrittrici così!

[SM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.
Characters and plot was very good.
Liked the mail and it’s passengers 👍😊
Story went as expected but was entertaining.
Though couldn’t make sense of cant spoken by Jem.

[Jodie Posen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect light romance written in 1982. I read the updated version by Cover and Page.

[Sybil Mcguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely.

[Sbuchler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Regency Romance

This is a sweet little tale of a baronet's daughter (Dorcas Minster) fallen on times hard enough to cause her to become a governess, who meets a charming military officer, who's mustering out due to injury on the Mail Coach to Cockermouth. Nearly immediately on his introduction, Sir Richard Severall proves himself to be one of the sweetest heroes ever written.

The novel isn't so much a comedy like so many of Georgette Heyer's novels - it's more real then that. But it has something of Heyer's lightness, is amazingly well researched, and has nearly as little physical contact as Heyer's stories. If you enjoy Heyer (especially her more prosaic pieces like _A Civil Contract_), this might be worth your time to look at :-D The main charm of the story lies in the interaction between Dorcas and Richard, which is very sweet and feels real to me. My only complaint is that Richard's behavior is so right and kind that he seems to have no faults at all. Luckily, Dorcas seems to deserve the attention.

[Heli - So Many Books - So Little Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful and charming

[Sybil Mcguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't give five stars often. Charming if silly