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A Most Romantic City
Book by Gibbs, Mary Ann
313 pages, Hardcover
First published August 12, 1977
10 people want to read
About the author
Mary Ann Gibbs
41 books3 followers1900-1985
Pseudonym for Marjorie Elizabeth Sarah Bidwell. AKA Elizabeth Ford.
Pseudonym for Marjorie Elizabeth Sarah Bidwell. AKA Elizabeth Ford.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 2, 2017
4.20 stars - pg
Victorian era, 1890's. Sweet, rather slow-moving, yet heartwarming story that steadily picks up pace and interest as respect and romance grows between mature, commonsensical heroine and brusque Hero. Some good sharp interactions between H & h who shield their true, growing feelings from each other due to pride and previous hurtful situations.
Victorian era, 1890's. Sweet, rather slow-moving, yet heartwarming story that steadily picks up pace and interest as respect and romance grows between mature, commonsensical heroine and brusque Hero. Some good sharp interactions between H & h who shield their true, growing feelings from each other due to pride and previous hurtful situations.
August 25, 2023
Blurb from Hardcover jacket:
"Cecily Floyd's life revolves only around her peevish mother and younger brother and sisters in Tilverton Crescent. Until one day she is given the chance to be a companion to the beautiful Rosalind Lavender whose parents are taking her to Europe to forget the unsuitable Barnaby Tilverton. Cecily's delight is marred only by Charles Pitborough, a rich and widowed banker. He proposes to her on the eve of her departure - but only on a business arrangement basis. When "dowdy" Cecily dares to refuse him, Charles (with Barnaby in tow) follows her to Venice where that most romantice city works its spell on them both."
This was a delightful Victorian era book. Amazon.com has a great review here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...
The star of the show is the heroine who's sensible and lovely. She takes care of her family because she knows her mother won't do it, not because she's a pushover. In fact, she has a strong and intelligent mind that shines when she's eventually confronted by Pitborough's unflattering proposal and subsequent attempts to have her accept his proposition. As for the hero, the author does a good job of endearing him to the reader even when he unintentionally offends Cecily. You can tell that he's a dedicated father, and that there's more behind his proposal than what he says. Even though Cecily has the primary perspective, the author allows inside the minds of multiple characters, which is something not used often anymore but that I enjoy tremendously, and we can see that Charles respects and admires Cecily. They slowly spend more time with each other and learn to recognize the person behind the mask. The only thing that prevented me from giving it five stars is that we spent a lot of time with a lot of other characters, and I really just wanted more Cecily and Charles interacting together. There's a tepid secondary romance and a bizarre foray into a crime that I really didn't care for. That said, this is a lovely, clean romance, and I'll definitely read more books by the author.
"Cecily Floyd's life revolves only around her peevish mother and younger brother and sisters in Tilverton Crescent. Until one day she is given the chance to be a companion to the beautiful Rosalind Lavender whose parents are taking her to Europe to forget the unsuitable Barnaby Tilverton. Cecily's delight is marred only by Charles Pitborough, a rich and widowed banker. He proposes to her on the eve of her departure - but only on a business arrangement basis. When "dowdy" Cecily dares to refuse him, Charles (with Barnaby in tow) follows her to Venice where that most romantice city works its spell on them both."
This was a delightful Victorian era book. Amazon.com has a great review here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...
The star of the show is the heroine who's sensible and lovely. She takes care of her family because she knows her mother won't do it, not because she's a pushover. In fact, she has a strong and intelligent mind that shines when she's eventually confronted by Pitborough's unflattering proposal and subsequent attempts to have her accept his proposition. As for the hero, the author does a good job of endearing him to the reader even when he unintentionally offends Cecily. You can tell that he's a dedicated father, and that there's more behind his proposal than what he says. Even though Cecily has the primary perspective, the author allows inside the minds of multiple characters, which is something not used often anymore but that I enjoy tremendously, and we can see that Charles respects and admires Cecily. They slowly spend more time with each other and learn to recognize the person behind the mask. The only thing that prevented me from giving it five stars is that we spent a lot of time with a lot of other characters, and I really just wanted more Cecily and Charles interacting together. There's a tepid secondary romance and a bizarre foray into a crime that I really didn't care for. That said, this is a lovely, clean romance, and I'll definitely read more books by the author.
June 11, 2023
8.5/10 A pleasant story. Jane's review is spot on. This author writes in an understated style, which I enjoy. The hero has a tortured past with an austere exterior concealing a kind heart. The heroine is likeable and rather put upon by her mother, yet is no doormat. There is a fair bit of jumping around of points of view, even into unknown characters with very minor parts. The start of the book is confusing with multiple names flung around but pushing through it is worthwhile.
February 17, 2014
It was boring. First book I read from her and I wasn't really pleased.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews