Colonel Sandhurst to the Rescue (The Poor Relation)

Bringing Regency England vibrantly to life, the fifth volume in The Poor Relation series follows the latest escapades of Colonel Sandhurst as he manages to acquire funds to save the hotel and helps a young woman avoid an unfortunate marriage.

The fifth volume of The Poor Relation series is a lively, entertaining comedy of errors set amid the grandeur of Regency England. When heiress Frederica Gray runs away from home to escape an arranged marriage, Colonel Sandhurst and his eccentric partners grant her sanctuary at their Poor Relation Hotel. Their motive is less than charitable, however, since they plan to ransom the woman back to her father, who has skipped out without paying his bill. But it is Frederica's jilted fiance, Lord Bewley, who pays her ransom and then moves into the hotel, hoping to seduce her. Frederica has another suitor at the hotel, the dashing Captain Peter Manners, who has become so obsessed with her that he plays outrageous tricks on his own fiancee to make her jilt him. While Frederica moons over Peter's betrothal to another, Lord Bewley, who has never met his intended bride, is busy romancing the maid under the misconception that she is Frederica. At the same time, the outlandish hoteliers are undertaking bizarre matchmaking schemes of their own in hopes of uniting the heiress and her captain. The prolific Chesney ( Sir Philip's Folly ) employs a delightful cast of memorable, unconventional (and fabulously named) characters--and she also does a good job of setting up volume six.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Colonel Sandhurst, the most reticent member of the Poor Relations--a group of penurious aristocrats who have banded together to run a fashionable hotel in Regency England--has his turn to play the hero when he rescues a fetching young runaway and brings her to the hotel to hide out. But Colonel Sandhurst also decides to write secretly to the girl's father and demand a ransom, for the parents owe a large debt to the hotel. Naturally, this Machiavellian scheme only gets the Poor Relations all in hot water, but the embroilment and eventual escape make for pleasant reading and, naturally, a romantic denouement. Denise Perry Donavin

This fifth in the "Poor Relation" series (e.g., Sir Philip's Folly, LJ 11/15/93) finds Frederica Gray sheltered at the hotel to avoid a marriage of convenience to the disgusting Lord Bewley. Since her father owes money to the hotel, co-owner Colonel Sandhurst hopes to extract a ransom. Of course, the plan goes awry. Bewley lodges at the hotel to win fair Frederica but falls for look-a-like chambermaid Mary Jones instead. Capt. Peter Manners, already engaged, finds Frederica alluringly charming despite her status as scullery maid. Romance also blossoms for dear Miss Tonks, and a suspicious invitation summons Lady Fortescue and Colonel Sandhurst to visit Prinny. Although Chesney's characterizations have never matched the grace and depth of Georgette Heyer's, her spritely pace, humor, and period touches continue to delight. Recommended.
M.J. Simmons, Duluth P.L., Minn.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.