A Lord for Miss Larkin

Valiant Hearts trilogy #1

by Carola Dunn

She thought all lords were like the heroes in romantic novels. Alison Larkin thought the most romantic thing in the world would be to have a lord falling at her feet and pledging eternal love. With the arrival of her recently widowed and wealthy aunt, Alison`s dream could become a reality. She was granted a Season and would be introduced to the creme of the ton. How vexing that the first eligible gentleman she was to meet was a plain Mr. Philip Trevelyan who had a way of making Alison forget that it was her dearest wish to marry a lord.

Genres: Regency, Romance, Historical Romance, Fiction, Historical, Traditional Regency, Historical Fiction

219 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Carola Dunn is the author of more than 30 Regency romances, as well as 16 mysteries (the Daisy Dalrymple mystery series is set in England in the 1920s). Ms. Dunn was born and grew up in England, where she got a B.A. in Russian and French from Manchester University. She travelled as far as Fiji before returning to settle in California. After 30 years in the US, she says she still sounds as if she arrived a month ago.

Prior to writing, Ms. Dunn’s various jobs included market research, child-care, construction--from foundation trenches to roofing--and writing definitions for a dictionary of science and technology. She wrote her first novel in 1979, a Regency which she sold to Warner Books.

Now living in Eugene, Oregon, Ms. Dunn has a son in California who has just made her a grandmother, and a large black dog named Willow who takes her for a walk by the Willamette River each morning. (www.belgravehouse.com)

Reviews

[QNPoohBear · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alison Larkin lives a shabby genteel life with her aunts and their dogs in an unfashionable part of London. Alison reads romance novels and dreams of having a lord fall at her feet, though she knows that's unlikely given her station. When her Aunt Zenobia returns from India a wealthy widow, she is determined to improve her family's living situation as well as given Alison a Season! Aunt Zenobia hires Lady Emma Grant to help Alison through her Season. Emma enlists the help of her family and friends, particularly Mr. Philip Trevelyan. Philip will do whatever Emma asks because he wishes to marry her, but he can not like associating with such a vulgar, impertinent girl. Aunt Zenobia asks her man of business, Mr. Ralph Osborne, to keep an an eye on Alison, with hopes that the two will make a match at the end of the Season. Emma kindly encourages Alison to be more friendly to Mr. Osborne, whom she highly regards, but Alison resents the intrusion. She much prefers the attentions of her dashing young suitors and Lord Fane, who seems very interested in her. Yet, it's only when she is with Philip that Alison feels like she can be herself. Philip is all that is kind and considerate, especially to her aunts and Alison isn't sure what to make of him. This is a pretty weak novel from Dunn. Alison is young and immature and has no business marrying anyone. Philip is a pale imitation of Mr. Darcy, but without any reasoning behind his behavior. The aunts and their dogs make the book worthwhile. They are not quite as zany as some of the other secondary characters in other Dunn novels, but they are sweet and funny at the same time. Dunn excels at character development and though Alison, Philip and Emma change, the characterization is a little weak and lacking in depth. The other characters are mostly unmemorable and flat. Even the villain can't be counted on to do the thing properly. This is the weakest of Dunn's novels that I have read so far.

[Anne Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and classic traditional Reg Rom with only mild melodrama

For a full review: http://www.regrom.com/2016/06/02/caro...

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

You'll love the characters from the eccentric aunts to the street urchins who help them. You will especially like how the author develops the love story between Alison and Philip.

[Pauline Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a fan of Carola Dunn’s Regencies, and although they don’t all work for me, that’s true of any author, and the writing is always superb, even if I do occasionally want to throttle the hero. But no such difficulties here. Mr Philip Trevelyan is the perfect hero, a man who makes things happen and can always be depended on, and he has almost superhuman powers of restraint, a characteristic which all Regency gentlemen should display but often don’t.

Here’s the premise: Miss Alison Larkin is living a hand-to-mouth existence in an unfashionable part of London, with a collection of gently eccentric aunts, three small dogs and one great big one (a Newfoundland, who turns out to have a starring role in the story). Another, even more eccentric, aunt returns, newly widowed, from India with her late husband’s fortune in her reticule. She’s determined to spend some of that money on Alison to give her a proper season, and a dowry to boot. None of the aunts is suited to sponsoring her in society, however, so the Nabob aunt engages Lady Emma Grant, the widow of a baron, to launch her.

At this point the story is the very conventional one of the unsophisticated debutante going through the usual rituals of buying new clothes, learning to dance, attending her first ball, hoping for vouchers from Almack’s and so forth. It’s very resonant of Georgette Heyer’s Arabella, with the beautiful young lady finding herself much sought after, and her suitors unaware of her humble background. The big difference is that Arabella is thought to be an heiress, whereas Alison actually is an heiress. The other principal difference is that Alison has set her heart on marrying a lord. I can’t remember whether any sensible reason was given for this or whether it was merely a whim, but although she understands that it’s unlikely, she is definitely leaning in that direction. Which is why she doesn’t even consider the very attractive Mr Philip Trevelyan, the first eligible man to cross her path in this new life of hers. It doesn’t help, of course, that he displays not the least interest in her, in fact, he seems rather to sneer at this upstart cit his good friend Emma has taken on. It also doesn’t help that the reader’s first sight of him is proposing to Emma (who fortunately turns him down).

As is the way of books of this era, Alison is pretty enough and lively enough and rich enough to spark a ton of interest from society gentlemen, and several of them are lords, too. There’s attractive but impoverished Lord Kilmore, for a start. Then there’s Alison’s charming cousin, Lord Deverill. And there’s steady but dull Lord Fane. And while Alison is focused on her bevy of lords, she’s slowly coming to depend on Philip, and he’s slowly coming to appreciate all her good points. So far, so predictable, and although her lords deplore the eccentric aunts and unfashionable home address, somehow it doesn’t stop Alison becoming a runaway success and getting those oh-so-important vouchers for Almack’s.

Now, none of this is enough to set the book much above the readable but unremarkable run of the mill for Regencies of the era. But towards the end, it manages to rise above the average in a most unusual way. This is somewhat spoilerish, so skip to the last paragraph if you don’t want to know any more.

When the other lords fall by the wayside, for one reason or another, and Lord Fane is the last one left standing, Philip does something quite remarkable. He’s well aware by this time that he wants to marry Alison, but he thinks she sees him merely as an avuncular white knight who rides to her rescue when needed. He thinks, too, that she truly wants to marry a lord. And why shouldn’t she have her wish? So he sets up a house party at his estate, invites Lord Fane and Alison, and leaves them to sort things out between them. As someone says to him, he’s taking a terrible risk, and if this story were to be written nowadays, undoubtedly the hero would muscle his way between heroine and lordly suitor, and do everything in his power to prevent the match. Or he might declare himself, and thus give her the choice. But no, with the true restraint of a Regency gentleman, he stands aside.

I have to say, though, that while I am totally in awe of such authentic principles, it puts the heroine in a terrible dilemma. It’s the great conundrum of life for a Regency heroine — does she accept the offer that’s on the table, even if it’s not perfect, or does she hold out for a better (or at least more palatable) offer, which may never happen? If she misjudges, she may end up married to the wrong man, or else left on the shelf altogether. This is why I’m always in favour of giving the heroine the full choice of options, and here her sponsor in society, Lady Emma, should have been alert to the possibility. She should have been whispering in her ear that Lord Fane was not the only man with a serious interest in her. How can Alison make a rational choice without all the information?

But of course, everything comes right in the end, although not without a little gratuitous melodrama to liven things up, and give the hero the opportunity to show off his heroic tendencies. A lovely read, beautifully written and totally authentic. Highly recommended. Five stars.

[Pamela Bronson · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars might be more accurate, though I do think this is as good as most of Georgette Heyer's. I guessed who would marry whom in chapter 2 (I've read a lot of historical romances), but there were still plenty of surprises. The best part is that I really liked most of the characters. The various aunts are unique and delightful, as are the urchins. I liked that the hero recognized and appreciated the heroine's intelligence, unlike another suitor.. We get an interesting view of class distinctions. Guessing why people or animals got their names is fun, too.

[Christi · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a waste of my time! I had no idea it was a harlequin romance until I got to the last page of the book on overdrive and saw the copyright info there. I skimmed it so may have missed something earlier but the last two pages totally ruined it. Why, oh why? So disappointing. I am embarrassed to even add it to my goodreads but I don’t want to make the mistake of returning to it. I forget a lot of books and don’t want to come back to this one accidentally.😩

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable

This is one of Carola Dunn’s best novels. Glued to every word, I read it in one sitting.
Beautifully paced, with an engaging array of interesting and entertaining characters from all walks of life.
Funny and charming, this is an absolute ‘must read’.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, fun read. A delightful confection of a novel. Carola Dunn never disappoints.

[Shobhana Stoyanov · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Sweet little regency romance and a quick read. Pretty formulaic, but well written.

[Sybil Mcguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horrific cover. Great book

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed all of Carola Dunn’s regency books I have read so far. They are a nice, quick, easy read and they have a Jane Austen feel to them. Each book is different enough from the others to feel fresh and her enjoyable writing style is consistent.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 5 out of 5]

ReRd. Regency? London. Funny. Sweet.
Cheery Alison larks about, dreams her duster a magic wand. Unique exotic Aunt Zenobia Winkle brings color, heat, rupees from India to scrimping sisters. Bored Phil is won over by elf.
Typo 3.3 riot not 6.21 he her 18.4 band hand

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than most of the OOP Regencies I read ... but they all fall apart at the end. Why is that?

[☆Ruth☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rags to riches, beautiful people, lords and ladies, balls, soirées and a touch of intrigue.... what more could you want from a sweet regency romance?

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very reminiscent of Georgette Heyer though not quite as good. Very enjoyable though.

[Mandi Ellsworth]

There was at least once in this story that I was tempted to throttle Miss Larkin, but that didn't last long and the ending made the considered throttling worth it. Ms. Dunn is so much fun to read.