Plain Jane

A House for the Season #2

by Marion Chesney

With each London season, an enchanting romance moves into the fashionable town house at number 67 Clarges Street. And there, below the stairs, the staff has a special mission--to arrange a match ...to hatch a scheme...to bring Love home to

A HOUSE FOR THE SEASON

"Oh to be as beautiful as Euphemia!" plain Jane Hart sighs when she joins her sister Euphemia at Number 67 Clarges Street for the season. Then Lord Tregarthan might notice her, as she had noticed him and forever lost her heart to the most eligible bachelor of the town. But Euphemia’s fate is to flirt through balls and into the arms of a marquis, while Jane’s is to stay home, amusing herself with snooping into the strange death of Miss Clara Vere-Baxton, a former tenant of Number 67 - until the downstairs staff transforms a plain Miss into the season’s sensation and sends her waltzing dangerously close to the secret of Clara’s demise and into a daring liaison with the lord of her dreams.

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

171 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

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

Marion Chesney was born on 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, and started her first job as a bookseller in charge of the fiction department in John Smith & Sons Ltd. While bookselling, by chance, she got an offer from the Scottish Daily Mail to review variety shows and quickly rose to be their theatre critic. She left Smith’s to join Scottish Field magazine as a secretary in the advertising department, without any shorthand or typing, but quickly got the job of fashion editor instead. She then moved to the Scottish Daily Express where she reported mostly on crime. This was followed by a move to Fleet Street to the Daily Express where she became chief woman reporter. After marrying Harry Scott Gibbons and having a son, Charles, Marion went to the United States where Harry had been offered the job of editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian. When that didn’t work out, they went to Virginia and Marion worked as a waitress in a greasy spoon on the Jefferson Davies in Alexandria while Harry washed the dishes. Both then got jobs on Rupert Murdoch’s new tabloid, The Star, and moved to New York.

Anxious to spend more time at home with her small son, Marion, urged by her husband, started to write historical romances in 1977. After she had written over 100 of them under her maiden name, Marion Chesney, and under the pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester, she getting fed up with 1714 to 1910, she began to write detectives stories in 1985 under the pseudonym of M. C. Beaton. On a trip from the States to Sutherland on holiday, a course at a fishing school inspired the first Constable Hamish Macbeth story. They returned to Britain and bought a croft house and croft in Sutherland where Harry reared a flock of black sheep. But Charles was at school, in London so when he finished and both tired of the long commute to the north of Scotland, they moved to the Cotswolds where Agatha Raisin was created.

Reviews

[Zain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well Deserved.

Jane Hart is traveling to London with her sister, Euphemia and her mother, Mrs. Hart.

Once there, Euphemia will have a London Season. And it appears that the beautiful Euphemia is very successful.

Although Jane is not taken about, but is instead holed up in the house, she still manages to catch the attention of Lord Tregarthan.

The house that the father has rented for The Season is reputed to be bad luck, someone has reportedly died there, so Jane and Tregarthan decides they will solve how she died, or who killed her.

This story is carrying on with the same plot of characters from the staff of the previous book from this series.

Rainbird, the butler, is still hoping to keep the staff-his family-together. The house renters have changed, but the staff is still the same. And they are still hilarious as ever.

The fact is that Marion Chesney has beautifully crafted characters that are so much fun and entertaining that they make the story seem like a good way to get pleasure. The story ends on a high note.

Five stars. 💫💫💫💫💫

[Treece · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4 stars

Frisky fun with young Lady Jane who is in the shadow of her celebrated, nasty older sister and abused by her shrewish mother. That is until she catches the eye of the most celebrated bachelor of the season.

Rainbird and crew bring up the rear and keep the antics flying throughout the book. A few loose ends from the first book are tied up and nicely.

Is the still house cursed with bad luck or is it just coincidence? Well, the only way to find out is to keep reading.

[Cheesecake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, like the title says; plain Jane and Lord Tregarthan (Rupert) the catch of the season.
An odd story. My first time reading this author and it was cute in a quirky way.
More like an episode of Coronation Street than a romance novel.

The story constantly bounces around the myriad characters which are all interesting but quite a few too many. The romance between Jane and Tregarthan is like a Cinderella story. Her mother and sister are horrid people who constantly belittle her and do their best to make her unhappy. But she pays them little mind and is of a sweet nature despite them. Not a goody two shoes, no, she has a sense of adventure. She and Tregarthan decide to solve the mystery of a girl who had been murdered in the same house a few years ago.
Tregarthan is drawn to Jane from the get go, yet doesn't think it is romantic until he his true feelings take him by surprise. I wish there had been more stage time for the MCs together, but there's so much clutter with the other characters that the romance felt stretched thin.

It's pretty PG, fade to black. But enough to add some passion to the romance.

I don't know if I'll revisit this author... The soap opera style isn't really my cup of tea.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun read by Marion Chesney aka M. C. Beaton.

While it's true that they can be forumlatic, they are always gentle fun.

Beaton is one of my go to bedtime reads for just that reason.

[Les · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is the second book in the series set at Number 67 Clarges Street London.

The staff are suffering in cold and low on food when they learn the house has been rented.

This years tenants are a beautiful debutante, her pushy mother, her silent father and her Plain sister Jane. Jane has been in love with Lord Tregarthan since she was 10 and saw him fight a boxing match in her home town. Because the staff loathes her mother and sister she is able to meet with him at a Rout and he is fascinated by the mystery of the murder of a previous tenant.
Soon Lord Tregarthan is head over heels for our Plain Jane, because that is how these books work. Jane learns that her silent father was a hero at the Battle of the Nile and he is longing for the sea .... and she and the staff catch the murderer. And they all live HEA

While these books are rather formulaic what I find charming are the little side stories that don't necessarily add to the plot but still entertain

[Helene Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review - The servants in the house at Clarges Street are growing on me more and more, particularly Rainbird. It is difficult to know what to think generally of the tenants of the house because by the time you've got to know them a little, the book is finished. Sometimes I think that these books could do with being a little longer and more detailed, but part of their charm is how short they are. The Regency society comes across well, the little we see of it, and the servants lives are interesting, as it is a unique way to write a book.

Genre/s - Historical / Romance

Characters? - Jane Hart / Rupert Tregarthan / Euphemia Hart / Mrs Hart / Captain Hart / Mr Nevill / John Rainbird / Marquess of Berry / John Rainbird / Lizzie / Dave / Mrs Middleton / Joseph / Angus MacGregor

Setting? - London (England)

Series? - A House for the Season #2

Recommend? - Yes

Rating - 17/20

[Tam May · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining read, no question about it. It definitely had all the elements that I think historical romance writers would love. I'm not a huge reader of historical romance, so there were some issues for me. The writing style is only so-so to my taste. The characters also started to get a bit too stereotypical for me. I really appreciated that the main character isn't a perfect beauty and that she has brains and guts, but her story started to sound a bit too much like Cinderella (the put-upon father, the evil mother and sister, etc.) Maybe that was the author's intent, though. I also felt that the story was pretty predictable and in some areas, melodramatic. I probably won't read the rest of the series, but if you like historical romance with a mystery/thriller twist, this might be up your alley.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a review of "A House for the Season":
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Caz · Rating 3 out of 5]

C+/3.5 stars

Read for the July prompt - "vintage" - in the 2022 TBR Challenge.

It was a very sobering thought to realise that most of the books I own that could be considered “vintage” – and thus contendenters for my read for that prompt for the July TBR Challenge – were written and published well within my lifetime. I ended up going with Plain Jane, book two in The House for the Season series by M.C. Beaton, written under her pen-name of Marion Chesney and originally published in 1986.

Beaton wrote a lot of Traditional Regencies under the Chesney pseudonym, and this series is unusual in that the recurring characters are the servants who live and work in the epomymous house, and because we get to spend time with them as well as with the above-stairs characters, who change from book to book.

67 Clarges Street in Mayfair is a most desirable address, but thanks to a series of misfortunes (the previous owner, a duke, killed himself there, the subsequent tenant lost all his money, the next lost their daughter) the place has a reputation for bad luck and has proven very difficult to let. The small group of servants who reside there do their best to keep the house in order in very trying circumstances; the current Duke of Pelham delegates all matters relating to the house to his agent Jonas Palmer, a liar, thief and bully who pays them a pittance because he knows that none of them can find other positions without a character (written reference), and he isn’t about to provide them. A good tenant for the house is their only hope of earning a decent wage and possibly getting such a reference – but they know full well that the chances of a tenant being found are slim.

Jane Hart first laid eyes on the handsome Lord Tregarthan when she was just ten and has dreamed of him ever since. Eight years later, he’s still her ideal, but she has never really believed she’d ever see him again – until her mother announces she’s taken a house for the season in London in order to bring out Jane’s beautiful older sister, Euphemia. It’s a complete surprise; Mrs. Hart is a penny-pincher of the first order, but a friend tells her of a house in a prime location that can be had very cheaply, and it’s too good a thing to pass up. She starts planning Euphemia’s wardrobe, where they will go, who they will meet… and doesn’t intend to even take Jane until her normally quiet and unobtrusive husband puts his foot down and insists that Jane goes, too. Mrs. Hart isn’t pleased, but reasons that as Jane will manage with Euphemia’s hand-me-downs (as she always does), it won’t merit too much extra expense – and Euphemia, vain, selfish and often spiteful, likes the idea of having her much plainer sister with her as it will show off her own loveliness to greater advantage.

Well, of course, the staff at Clarges Street take to Jane, liking her sweet nature, sunny disposition and lack of artifice, and the French lady’s maid works wonders making over Euphemia’s old gowns, dressing Jane’s hair and teaching her many of the things a well-bred young lady sould know, such as how to curtsey, use a fan and flirt a little. When Jane meets Lord Tregarthan at last, she’s a little disappointed - he seems to be all good looks and no substance – but even so, she’s still very much smitten. She’s delighted when he asks her to go driving with him the next day, and moreso when he takes her seriously when she expresses her interest in the unexplained death of Clara Vere-Braxton, the daughter of a previous tenant who was found dead in Green Park, and suggests that they should look into it. Tregarthan, of course, tells himself that his interest in Jane is not romantic, but can’t help being drawn to her good-humour, warmth and sense of adventure.

The story moves quickly, with Jane’s romance with Tregarthan being a mix of Ugly Duckling, Cinderella, and murder-mystery, and there’s a romance or two brewing below stairs, too. The trouble is that it’s a lot for such a small page count (under 200 pages) so it all feels rather superficial. I was far more interested in the servants’ stories than in the main romance to be honest – not only is it a refreshing change for these characters to have such prominent roles, they also feel more rounded and real, possibly because there is clearly more to be said about them. I liked that they’re so clearly a family unit, and that they look out for each other, despite their faults and disagreements – they deserve a decent master who will treat them well and I hope that they eventually get one! There’s no question the author knows her stuff when it comes to the period she’s writing about, whether talking about the weather or the lives of the servants or the workings of high society, and there’s plenty of wry humour and sharp observation. I’ll also point out that the book's age shows in the use of the word “gypsy” in descriptions. Jane has “tough, coarse, gypsy hair”, she’s told later that she looks like a “gypsy princess” for example. There’s a whole argument around to revise or not to revise older books; I’m not going there, and I just wanted to flag this up.

In the end, Plain Jane was a quick, fun read, but it’s a comedy of manners more than a romance. I enjoyed it, but it lacks the kind of depth and romantic development I generally look for these days.

[Dee Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audible Plus 5 hours 47 min. Narrated by Lindy Nettleton (A)

This is the second in a six part series of Regency romances that all take place in house Number 67 Clarges Street, London. Each year the house is rented out for social "Season" cheaply because it is rumored to bring bad luck to the residents. The cast of characters "upstairs" changes,,, but servants "downstairs" have become a family that have come to depend upon each other through hard times due to the deceit and theft of their salaries by an unscrupulous rental agent Mr. Palmer. "Boo, Hiss!" John Rainbird, the butler, has learned to live by wits and we'll as his skill and serves as the caring father to his adopted family who include MacGregot, the burly hot-tempered,but even more tender-hearted Scotch cook. Joseph, the snobbish and foppish footman who is so much enamored with himself that he ignores the longing adoration held by the little scullery maid Lizzy. The housekeeper Mrs.Middleton adopted her "title" when she first entered service many years ago, but now holds out hope for more than a working relationship with Rainbird. Alice and Jenny, the chambermaids,, and little Davey who was recetly rescued by Rainbird from a cruel life as a chimney sweep round out the loyal members of this odd but fiercely loyal family who get along better than the tenants for whom they serve. 3.5 stars

[Desy Icardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un romanzo delizioso, ambientato nell'Inghilterra dei primi dell'800, nel quale si sogna tanto quanto si ride!
Jane la bruttina è una protagonista indimenticabile, che vi terrà buona compagnia!

[Tuesdayschild · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you love Marion Chesney as an author, perhaps, don't read any further :)
This is for the audio version.
The narrator was just okay, which I think made the story that little bit harder to enjoy.
Once you've read the queen of regency, Georgette Heyer, more modern writers don't seem to quite cut it. Plain Jane has a more modern tone: more passion focused scenes, nasty self-centred beauties, a Cruella Deville type mother, premarital relationships - including one where the suitor is rejected as a spouse and then the lady in question takes him upstairs and gifts a lovemaking session with her as a 'gift' before sending him on his way. Definitely not the original, witty, Regency flavour I enjoy.
While the story was interesting enough it wasn't interesting enough that I'd recommend to my IRL reading friends.

[MissKitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 quite entertaining! It’s fluff and Ms Chesney has a formula, but its good fun.😁

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook, free on audible. Good narration. Enjoyable for what it is — a somewhat romantic and weakly plotted suspense with a large dose of heartwarming “found family” of servants. And a horrid mother and sister. Horray for their comeuppance.

Regency era London, 1808, during Napoleonic War.

A group of delightful servants working and living at an “unlucky” rental house on Clarges Street in fashionable London take on new tenants, the Hart family. The servants grow to care for Jane Hart, and she for them. Meanwhile, Jane sets out to find out what happened to a previous tenant, Miss Clara, found dead in Green Park, and another previous tenant, Fiona Sinclair, who married the Marquis of Harrington and now they are both missing. In searching for clues, Jane is helped by Lord Tregarthan.

Characters: Jane Hart, a plain young lady of 18 years, and Euphemia Hart, Jane’s prettier older sister. The malcontent Mrs Hart and her husband, unhappily retired Captain Hart.

Rupert Lord Tregarthan, aka Beau Tregarthan. Jane has mooned over him since she was ten and saw him at a prize fight in her village.

Mr Nevill, Lord Tregarthan’s friend, was a first lieutenant in the navy.

Family of Servants at Clarges Street: John Rainbird is the kind butler, house maids Lizzie and Alice, Dave the pot boy, Mrs Middleton the housekeeper, Joseph the vain footman, Angus MacGregor is the Scottish cook

Marquess of Berry is Euphemia’s suitor.

The nasty clerk Jonas Palmer works for the Duke of Pelham, who owns the rental house. Palmer cheats the servants, lies, and exploits their station. He cheats the disinterested Lord Pelham too.

[Mela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it a bit more than the previous part because there were more of those bitter-sweet scraps about the reality of life in the Regency era. I love that in Chesney's style the most. Her love stories are hardly believable (insta-love, etc.), her characters often are exaggerated (stereotyped), but I adore her wit and playing with convention.

My reviews of Marion Chesney's novels are very similar, I know it. But there is not much more to tell. It is just that some of them had more of what I like about her style, some others less.

PS This one would have been much much better as a longer novel.

[3.5-4 stars]

[Natascha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books by M.C. Beaton are always a pleasure.
This book was so funny.
It had a sweet romance, a murder, a cat (or was it....).
But the real story was of course the house and the servants.
I want to know more about them. What will happen next....

[Charmaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun comedic Regency novel that turned out to be a bit of a mystery novel as well. The author is good at writing witty dialogue and the character development is decent too. I liked this second book in the A House for a Season series much better than the first. My favorite characters in both novels are the "downstairs" staff. They are charming, kind, diverse, and memorable.

The narrator of this audio version is very good.

Clean Readers: I do not recall any foul language in this novel. There are a few adult moments but nothing explicitly described. I'd rate this one PG.

[BookLuva28 · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the first installment, I suppose this didn't exceed my expectations. Though I cannot say it was bad. Enjoyed the writing once again and also have a soft spot for mister Rainbird. I rate it at 3.5 stars and will revisit the rest in this series at a later date.

[Jan Longman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice light read

[Cassienerdgirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

regency era itch scratched.

[800£Chimneypiece · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Very pleasant!

[KRM · Rating 3 out of 5]

30yo man seduces 18yo girl while solving murder and convinces her to elope after her mother objects.

The servants were super interesting and well written and I’d love to read more about them!

[Virginia Moscatelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

La vendetta finale è stata meravigliosa!
Una storia semplice, invidia, arroganza, tirare troppo la corda
Niente di elaborato, ma molto godibile

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet, but with a murderously good mystery to balance the adorable Jane.

[QNPoohBear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poor Jane Hart has the misfortune to be the younger sister of the stunningly beautiful Euphemia who their pushy mother feels will be sure to take the ton by storm during the Season. Jane doesn't mind not having a come out as long as she holds hope of seeing her hero, Lord Tregarthan again. The servants at 67 Clarges street must learn to deal with the tightfisted and bossy Mrs. Hart and get to know her French lady's maid. Jane befriends the servants with her kindness and mild mannered nature and learns the gossip about the house's curse. Soon she becomes involved with solving the murder of the young and beautiful Clara, a previous tenant assisted by Lord Tregarthan, whom Jane is in love with despite his appearance as a fribble. Things aren't always what they seem but Jane is determined to solve the murder and win her love's hand in marriage. The mystery part of the story was a true mystery to me; I didn't figure it out before the plot was revealed. The rest of the story didn't interest me too much. Jane was too sweet and innocent and kind to be interesting and Lord Tregarthan cam across as an empty-headed fashion plate. Jane's family members were awful and her mother and father kind of reminded me of the Bennets in Pride and Prejudice. I will read the rest of the series but it's not as fun as School for Manners.

[Roberta · Rating 3 out of 5]

La combriccola dei domestici di 67 Clarges Street resta l'unico elemento simpatico di questo secondo libro. Rainbird e Lizzie su tutti, sono adorabili... Jane e Tregarthan li ho trovati di una piattezza mortale, mentre il villain infilato nella storia è alquanto assurdo, così come il suo agire.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Booktubathon book #1 - book older than me

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second of M.C. Beaton's (Marion Chesney's) House for the Season. I read the whole set of six years ago and thought i would try them again but I found both this and the previous volume (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) very disappointing - I will not be reading the other four titles in the series

This book mixes a sort of Cinderella type tale (Jane is plain and is passed over by her mother in favour of her beautiful sister) with a murder mystery, the death of the daughter of a family who had previously lived in the house. Jane and an apparently foppish Lord join forces find the solution and obviously in the end Jane is not plain, the Lord is alarmingly masculine (he appears to first notice Jane when it becomes apparent she has a very nice bosom, which is frankly creepy) and off they go to get married. Sadly, the male MC is so uninteresting and cardboardy that I can't remember his name.

Mixed in with all this is the ongoing adventures of the servants at 67 Clarges Street. I wish I could say they were more interesting; sadly they are not. They are a very artificially 'mixed bunch' and their problems are of no real interest, any more than their efforts to help the various tenants of the house are.

There is nothing wrong with this book if you just want a quick easy shot of Regency. However, given that they were originally published in the 1980s, I think my own impression reading them now is that there is something quite unpleasant underlying the whole series. I don't feeel happy and relaxed after reading one, I feel slightly...unclean

[Nae · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars

Genres, settings, categories, themes: historical romance (M/F), Regency London, mystery

Series/Sequencing Style: 2nd in an anthology series, can be read as standalone, no cliffhanger
understanding series types: dynamic, static, anthology - source 1, source 2

Overall ratings
Heat level: wholesome/clean (from Susanna Carr's categorizations – wholesome/clean, sweet, sensual, sexy, erotic)
Plot 1/5
Romantic connection 1/5 extremely underdeveloped & lackluster
Mystery/suspense 1/5
Writing 5/5

Review/Notes
Started out promising...it's clear the author knows how to write. Unfortunately, it was too old-fashioned for me, and ultimately a bit boring, despite having a mystery & some danger. Multiple characters were quite idiotic and/or naive. I liked the idea of the servants all being a big family, but their parts ended up being boring, and they seemed to all just have unrequited love issues, while being unaware of each other.
Aside from the writing, the rest was fairly lame, although I can see someone who likes more old-fashioned, tame, clean stories liking it more than I did.

[Deb Whittam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will be completely honest ad say I was a bit disappointed in this book but that was to be expected when the first book in the series was such a standout. This book followed more the traditional lines of the historical regency romance in the fact that Plain Jane Hart was perhaps typical of what young ladies being introduced to society were like.

She was young, immature and quite adept at doing all the wrong things at the wrong time and while this was a bit tedious, Marion Chesney did eventually get around to giving her character through her obsession of one of the deaths connected to the ill-fated property.

Once this took off the book was quite a good read, though I must admit I got a bit more interested in the subplot which revolved around her father, sea captain John Hart and the French Maid, Felicity, who was a great character and probably one of the highlights of the book.

On the positive side, since the series is built around the house and its servants, we did see a bit of action and this was quite endearing but in my opinion it wasn’t the standout that the first book had been.