The Governess by Mary Kingswood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was a pleasure to read. The reader very quickly becomes immersed in the Regency era through the authenticity of the writing, period details, and dialogue. I was strongly reminded of Jane Austen in the period correct language, attention to character development and plot details.
A gentleman gambles away the family fortune, leaving four of his five daughters in severely straitened circumstances. This trope is a familiar one and it is always interesting to see how this premise unravels and is resolved. In this case, all of the sisters opt for genteel employment. This story follows Annabelle, who makes the decision to be a governess with both stoicism and integrity.
Her charges bring a liveliness to the story and Annabelle’s character is further revealed as she handles them all very adroitly, with intelligence, empathy, and understanding. Indeed, she deals with all the interesting array of characters in the novel with a firm touch, without ever stepping outside her character or appearing to be an overly managing female.
The plot unravels at a pace that allows for the development of a natural affection and understanding between the two main characters, which is both challenged and deepened as the romance is complicated by a mystery that must be solved; was the earl’s first wife murdered and if so, by whom? As in all the best mysteries, there emerge many characters who may have had a motive for her death. The apparent gentleness with which the reader moves through the story does not lessen the realisation that very serious events are afoot but rather than descend into hyperbole and hysteria, Kingswood stays true to the tone of her situations and the nature of her lead characters.
I thought it a very clever device to use the letters to keep the close relationship of the sisters in mind, allowing their voices and something of their personalities to be revealed, and encouraging the reader to want to know more about their situations. What is not said becomes as important as what is. It is this subtlety in the writing of Kingswood that draws you in and holds your interest.
All the loose ends are neatly tied up at the end, my only very small quibble is that I felt the pace of this was at times, a little slow. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable read that any lover of traditional regencies will love, and I look forward to reading more about the sisters.
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