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Ladies in Love #8
The Poor Relation
Once Miss Amaryllis Duvane had been the reigning beauty of the London season, about to marry the man of her dreams and live and love happily ever after.
Then her father died. Suddenly Amaryllis was penniless and alone, forced to survive on teh charity of relatives who made her little more than a servant to their husband-hunting daughters.
Now the lord that Amaryllis had once loved - the magnificently handsome Marquess of Merechester - had come to court one of these daughters. And the only thing Amaryllis feared more than his discovering the sad state to which she had descended, was her finding out that she still wanted him so heartbreakingly much...
Then her father died. Suddenly Amaryllis was penniless and alone, forced to survive on teh charity of relatives who made her little more than a servant to their husband-hunting daughters.
Now the lord that Amaryllis had once loved - the magnificently handsome Marquess of Merechester - had come to court one of these daughters. And the only thing Amaryllis feared more than his discovering the sad state to which she had descended, was her finding out that she still wanted him so heartbreakingly much...
223 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 6, 1984
24 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
About the author
Marion Chesney
149 books763 followersMarion 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
February 24, 2019
For what it is, it’s perfection. Chesney (and her stable of other nom de plumes) is a master at formulaic story telling. I can always expect a quick diversion and an enjoyable read. The bad people are bad, the good are good. Our heroines are misunderstood, our romantic interest has powerful shoulders, muscular legs, and a lazy smile. Good for a short afternoon visit to the land of love that we hoped for when we were teenagers 😉💋
February 5, 2018
I've almost read all of Georgette Heyer's novels, at least that my library/Hoopla offers, and I've really been in the mood for regency romance lately, so when these books were recommended by the Audible Romance package, I decided to give them a try. And I quite like them! They're short and humorous and the narrators have been great so far. I think there's eight in the Ladies in Love series but this author has many, many more works under her belt, and I can't wait to check them out.
September 22, 2017
Really just OK. Amaryllis is a wimp, and her true love is bad tempered.
December 24, 2023
This might be a 3.5. This was enough to keep my interest. The villains were good because they were "respectable" so even more evil. I didn't have a lot of patience for the heroine, who was rather stupid in her way of thinking. The male protagonist was more likable but certainly could exist only in fiction, which did not take away from my enjoying the melodrama. The cruel relatives were a bit like the horrid step mother and step sisters in Cinderella, as one reviewer remarked. This was worth reading for pure escape and entertainment. However before this I had just read another Chesney regency that I liked much better: Those Endearing Young Charms, which had more humor.
December 1, 2024
Regency, Cinderella, reunion romance
Amaryllis Duvane is currently 26 years old and, John, the Marquess of Merechester, is 30. They were briefly engaged when he was 22, and she was 18. She was the belle of the season that year and was deeply in love with John. But though he asked her to marry him, he never directly admitted he loved her, and she did not realize that he was as in love with her as she was with him. Before they had a chance to marry, her father died suddenly. His estate was heavily encumbered with debt, and Amaryllis no longer had a dowry. A young woman whom she thought was her friend, but who in actuality wanted the Marquess for herself, informed Amaryllis that she should end her engagement, because her fiance's recently inherited title came with an impoverished estate, and he would resent her the rest of their lives if she saddled him with an equally impoverished wife. Without bothering to consider John's opinion about it whatsoever, Amaryllis took it upon herself to dump him for his own good. When he asked her why she was terminating their engagement, she lied and said that she didn't love him. And when he asked her what she was going to do if she didn't marry him, knowing very well how bad off she was after her father's death, she compounded her idiocy by stating with insulting flippancy that she was going to look for a rich husband. He was understandably bitter and broken-hearted by her apparently utterly callous rejection, and he has carried that resentment all the years since.
Far from having any opportunity to seek out any other marriage, Amaryllis went to live with her paternal aunt, who has treated her like an unpaid servant for the past eight years. The aunt has two beautiful daughters, who are currently 19 and 20. These cousins take vicious delight in constantly bullying Amaryllis, calling her names and ordering her around. When she was only 20 years old, Amaryllis attempted to be a governess, but was, predictably, sexually harassed by the father of the household, and she fled back to her aunt's home. She has not tried again since then to get employment as a governess.
At the start of the story, John has not only brought back his estates to prosperity, by employing advanced farming techniques, he has been highly successful at investing on the Exchange, and he is now bringing in a steady income of £50,000 per year (this is five times the income of the very wealthy Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice). John has finally begun to think he's ready to pick someone suitable to be his wife. Not for love, because he's never gotten over Amaryllis, but merely a young woman of his class who is pretty and compliant. He has decided that he might choose one of the two young women who are Amaryllis's cousins. But in reality, he hasn't quite admitted to himself, given that he knows they are Amaryllis's cousins, that he is curious as to what has become of her and thinks he might find out if he goes to a house party at her aunt's country estate.
On the plus side, the romance is definitely the main plot of this story, which is rarely the case with Marion Chesney. Also, there is no murder mystery, which is a major focus of a huge percentage of her Regency romance novels.
On the minus side, because this is a classic Cinderella plot, which is not a favorite trope of mine, almost to the very end of the novel, Amaryllis is a beaten down, passive protagonist, totally at the mercy of her horrible aunt and cousins. And her situation is compounded by the fact that the MMC, John, is unsympathetic to her situation, demonstrating a "blame the victim" attitude toward her, declaring that it's her fault that she's being persecuted. He is abrasive and insulting toward her for over half of the novel, due to carrying almost a decade of resentment toward her for dumping him.
There are multiple plots against Amaryllis by her aunt which drag out quite a bit. Because Amaryllis is not one of the more intrepid FMCs that MC has created, it is John who keeps rushing to her rescue, rather than Amaryllis rescuing herself. She also improbably survives enormous physical challenges in freezing winter weather, which, in the real world, would require the extreme endurance of a husky, healthy, polar survivalist to avoid collapsing from exhaustion and life-threatening hypothermia.
As is typical with MC, this story is told in omniscient POV with the alternating perspective of Amaryllis, John, her aunt, and a couple of other subcharacters.
There is no overt sexual consummation on the page in this novel, though there is one scene of heavy petting between John and Amaryllis, which is quite unusual for this author.
I obtained access to this novel in audiobook format through Hoopla. The female narrator does a good job.
Amaryllis Duvane is currently 26 years old and, John, the Marquess of Merechester, is 30. They were briefly engaged when he was 22, and she was 18. She was the belle of the season that year and was deeply in love with John. But though he asked her to marry him, he never directly admitted he loved her, and she did not realize that he was as in love with her as she was with him. Before they had a chance to marry, her father died suddenly. His estate was heavily encumbered with debt, and Amaryllis no longer had a dowry. A young woman whom she thought was her friend, but who in actuality wanted the Marquess for herself, informed Amaryllis that she should end her engagement, because her fiance's recently inherited title came with an impoverished estate, and he would resent her the rest of their lives if she saddled him with an equally impoverished wife. Without bothering to consider John's opinion about it whatsoever, Amaryllis took it upon herself to dump him for his own good. When he asked her why she was terminating their engagement, she lied and said that she didn't love him. And when he asked her what she was going to do if she didn't marry him, knowing very well how bad off she was after her father's death, she compounded her idiocy by stating with insulting flippancy that she was going to look for a rich husband. He was understandably bitter and broken-hearted by her apparently utterly callous rejection, and he has carried that resentment all the years since.
Far from having any opportunity to seek out any other marriage, Amaryllis went to live with her paternal aunt, who has treated her like an unpaid servant for the past eight years. The aunt has two beautiful daughters, who are currently 19 and 20. These cousins take vicious delight in constantly bullying Amaryllis, calling her names and ordering her around. When she was only 20 years old, Amaryllis attempted to be a governess, but was, predictably, sexually harassed by the father of the household, and she fled back to her aunt's home. She has not tried again since then to get employment as a governess.
At the start of the story, John has not only brought back his estates to prosperity, by employing advanced farming techniques, he has been highly successful at investing on the Exchange, and he is now bringing in a steady income of £50,000 per year (this is five times the income of the very wealthy Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice). John has finally begun to think he's ready to pick someone suitable to be his wife. Not for love, because he's never gotten over Amaryllis, but merely a young woman of his class who is pretty and compliant. He has decided that he might choose one of the two young women who are Amaryllis's cousins. But in reality, he hasn't quite admitted to himself, given that he knows they are Amaryllis's cousins, that he is curious as to what has become of her and thinks he might find out if he goes to a house party at her aunt's country estate.
On the plus side, the romance is definitely the main plot of this story, which is rarely the case with Marion Chesney. Also, there is no murder mystery, which is a major focus of a huge percentage of her Regency romance novels.
On the minus side, because this is a classic Cinderella plot, which is not a favorite trope of mine, almost to the very end of the novel, Amaryllis is a beaten down, passive protagonist, totally at the mercy of her horrible aunt and cousins. And her situation is compounded by the fact that the MMC, John, is unsympathetic to her situation, demonstrating a "blame the victim" attitude toward her, declaring that it's her fault that she's being persecuted. He is abrasive and insulting toward her for over half of the novel, due to carrying almost a decade of resentment toward her for dumping him.
There are multiple plots against Amaryllis by her aunt which drag out quite a bit. Because Amaryllis is not one of the more intrepid FMCs that MC has created, it is John who keeps rushing to her rescue, rather than Amaryllis rescuing herself. She also improbably survives enormous physical challenges in freezing winter weather, which, in the real world, would require the extreme endurance of a husky, healthy, polar survivalist to avoid collapsing from exhaustion and life-threatening hypothermia.
As is typical with MC, this story is told in omniscient POV with the alternating perspective of Amaryllis, John, her aunt, and a couple of other subcharacters.
There is no overt sexual consummation on the page in this novel, though there is one scene of heavy petting between John and Amaryllis, which is quite unusual for this author.
I obtained access to this novel in audiobook format through Hoopla. The female narrator does a good job.
November 24, 2021
Quick, clean Regency romance.
August 29, 2017
.
This was an entertaining and cozy escape into historical society. I always enjoy humor and was not disappointed.
The character development of the heroine was amazing. She was a sought after debutante engaged to a fine gentleman. When she lost her father to death, she ultimately lost her fiancee, and was forced to suffer a servant status in the homes of relatives for years. However, after experiencing humilation from her former fiancee, she miraculously discovered the strength to regain her dignity and change her life.
This was an entertaining and cozy escape into historical society. I always enjoy humor and was not disappointed.
The character development of the heroine was amazing. She was a sought after debutante engaged to a fine gentleman. When she lost her father to death, she ultimately lost her fiancee, and was forced to suffer a servant status in the homes of relatives for years. However, after experiencing humilation from her former fiancee, she miraculously discovered the strength to regain her dignity and change her life.
October 25, 2014
Victorian Cinderella
very predictable. stripped and victorian
Cinderella so much of the same plot nothing is surprising at all. it is overly sweet
very predictable. stripped and victorian
Cinderella so much of the same plot nothing is surprising at all. it is overly sweet
May 2, 2017
Inconsistent, unlikeable characters, poor attention to period detail, boring story, plotholes you could drive a truck through, awkward prose. Only worth listening to if you need to be put to sleep.
June 21, 2024
THIS BOOK... holy fuck what can I say? Exactly what I was hoping for when I read that description and more. I've been reading very modern historical (2015-23) mostly so this has been one of the older ones. And despite it being one with literally no sex (bummer I really like intimate scenes) it still managed to beat out the other in terms of entertainment and how much I loved it I love the Marquess and Ammy SO BAD !!!! Their dynamic was perfection I love their bicker and pining SO MUCH like this is genuinely PEAK this is the kind of dynamic I want to write and read. The misunderstanding may be cliche and simple but it just works so bad.. two prideful idiots who think they know the other well enough to assume the other's wishes. LIKE UGH?? ALSO HIM TRYING TO GET REVENGE JSBAKJSBD this book is so damn funny every time he was an asshole I was giggling good lord and Ammy !!! I love her !! SO MUCH !!! I think she captures the quiet pining and stoic acceptance of her terrible situation perfectly I found her so relatable especially when she became angry my favorite scene has to be when she frustratedly kicks him and they start fighting god I love them... I think every scene was nearly perfect.
Also I could feel the stark difference between a modern historical and this both in style and structurue. I personally loved the way there were details about the relationships of everyone including the servants and other random people. The world building felt truly believable which I feel is lost in the modern books. And the comedy aspect was genuinely really really fun. I think I will look into more books by this author!
Also I could feel the stark difference between a modern historical and this both in style and structurue. I personally loved the way there were details about the relationships of everyone including the servants and other random people. The world building felt truly believable which I feel is lost in the modern books. And the comedy aspect was genuinely really really fun. I think I will look into more books by this author!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 4, 2022
An mildly amusing Regency romance. Not one of Chesney's best, very derivative & all a bit too silly - reads a bit like a story from someone who once read a Regency. The Warburtons & Lord Donnelly were all too awful, the Marquis of Merechester ungentlemanly & Amaryllis Duvane a doormat. Mind you, a poor relation, dependent on her awful relatives, would have had very few avenues of escape.
I probably would have thrown the book at the wall & not finished but as I was listening instead, I continued with it & enjoyed Caroline Langrishe's narration, for the most part. I didn't know until today that M.C. Beaton & Marion Chesney are one & the same. Originally released by Signet Regency in 1984 as The Poor Relation by Marion Chesney, re-released in 2015 as Amaryllis by M.C. Beaton.
Bolinda audio, isbn: 9781489350633, MP3 220MB 5h 14m
I probably would have thrown the book at the wall & not finished but as I was listening instead, I continued with it & enjoyed Caroline Langrishe's narration, for the most part. I didn't know until today that M.C. Beaton & Marion Chesney are one & the same. Originally released by Signet Regency in 1984 as The Poor Relation by Marion Chesney, re-released in 2015 as Amaryllis by M.C. Beaton.
Bolinda audio, isbn: 9781489350633, MP3 220MB 5h 14m
September 7, 2025
4.5 stars. I really liked this story. it's like a more lighthearted version of Persuasion. Years ago, the FMC broke off her engagement to marquis MMC because her father lost her dowry and mmc needed to marry a wealthy bride to save his estates. Many years later she is a mistreated poor relation in her aunt's home, drudge to her 2 pretty young cousins. MMC turns up to court one of her young cousins, and he is shocked at how to FMC "has let herself go" and thinks she brought her downtrodden fate upon herself. secretly though maybe he begins to realise he still has feelings he doesn't want to admit to himself and csnt bear to see her suffer... This is nicely written, fast paced, with a dash of angst and a pinch of humour. the author delivers a well executed story that is never dull. I enjoyed it every bit as much as I thought I would.
December 10, 2021
I'm going to be a really horrible critic of this novel. Mainly because this kind of fluff is exactly my taste when it comes to romance novels. Cliche, pure, goodness.
There's also something about the lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers trope that I've always found so entertaining. That bitterness, whether it be from a misunderstanding or not, always makes the end result so much sweeter. The novel was also so littered with other tropes that it's laughably adorable. I know the whole 'two people begrudgingly having to share overnight accommodations' is super overused. But I love it every single time.
I think Winter 2022 might be the season of Chesney for me, if this book has anything to say about it.
And it most definitely does.
There's also something about the lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers trope that I've always found so entertaining. That bitterness, whether it be from a misunderstanding or not, always makes the end result so much sweeter. The novel was also so littered with other tropes that it's laughably adorable. I know the whole 'two people begrudgingly having to share overnight accommodations' is super overused. But I love it every single time.
I think Winter 2022 might be the season of Chesney for me, if this book has anything to say about it.
And it most definitely does.
October 6, 2019
This was a perfect book to listen to. It was well-paced and I quite enjoyed they story line of Amaryllis in a Cinderella-like story. I appreciated a heroine who used her head when it was called for. However, that doesn't mean that things go smoothly.
October 13, 2025
Amaryllis was exhausting… Apart from being a total wimp with zero personality, she deliberately sabotaged her own happiness to become a drudge and a poor relation. I understand it was meant as a plot device, and sometimes it works well but this time, it just didn’t.
June 3, 2017
3 stars!
A fun, light-hearted read.
A fun, light-hearted read.
November 23, 2018
Entertaining enough but very VERY contrived.
February 21, 2019
Better the fourth time around
Beaton is clever, funny, and endlessly creative. Her books are hard to put down. I have read all of her regency romances.
Beaton is clever, funny, and endlessly creative. Her books are hard to put down. I have read all of her regency romances.
September 6, 2020
Highly enjoyable, light escapist fare that doesn't insult your intelligence.
November 29, 2020
Nice and easy and fluffy and relaxing...
Just what I expect from this author...
And just what I needed right now..
Just what I expect from this author...
And just what I needed right now..
November 29, 2020
I enjoyed this audiobook so much that I listened to it all day it I had finished it.
August 28, 2021
Very good.
October 7, 2021
classic! I LOVE all Beaton's historical /Regeny books. So fun!
December 7, 2021
Love this series
March 24, 2022
Like Bridgerton and Sense and Sensibility
January 21, 2025
Too much of the same in almost every chapter but I do like a happy ending.
May 18, 2025
if i could give this book a -2 for the annoying mcs, i would !
April 14, 2017
Perfect for falling asleep to, which is fortunately exactly what I wanted it for!
May 25, 2025
This book is titled both Amaryllis and The Poor Relation (not part of the Poor Relations series by the same author).
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews