*Editorial Book Review*
The Husband Criteria
The Lorings, Book #3
by Catherine Kullmann
London 1817
The primary aim of every young lady embarking on the Spring frenzy that is the Season must be to make a good match. Or must it? And what is a good match? For cousins Cynthia, Chloe and Ann, well aware that the society preux chevalier may prove to be a domestic tyrant, these are vital questions. How can they discover their suitors’ true character when all their encounters must be confined to the highly ritualised round of balls, parties and drives in the park?
As they define and refine their Husband Criteria, Cynthia finds herself unwillingly attracted to aloof Rafe Marfield, heir to an earldom, while Chloe is pleased to find that Thomas Musgrave, the vicar’s son from home, is also in London. And Ann must decide what is more important to her, music or marriage.
And what of the gentlemen who consider the marriage mart to be their hunting grounds? How will they react if they realise how rigorously they are being assessed?
A light-hearted, entertaining look behind the scenes of a Season that takes a different course with unexpected consequences for all concerned.
How can they discover the private man behind the public façade?
In this novel, the third in the series exploring the lives of the Lorings and their extended circle of friends and family, we are heading to 1817 London, and the spring Season, where young singletons, and especially young ladies, are looking to make a good match. For three young women though, there’s more to it than that. Cynthia, Chloe and Ann, cousins in a wide-ranging family with plenty of steps and halves, are well aware that not every handsome gent is what he seems, and that behind the façade of perfect behaviour may well be a cad of the highest degree.
Their solution? The ‘Husband Criteria’, a list of qualities and tendencies a man should exhibit to be considered worthy of their hand in marriage. Because, as Cynthia remembers being told, “there’s more to marriage than four bare legs in a bed,” and any potential suitor must show himself to be up to their standards.
Of course, what none of them can reckon on is the fickle nature of attraction, even when you try to fight it, as Cynthia does following an initially-displeasing encounter with Rafe Marfield, the heir to an earldom. On her second season, compared to her two debutante cousins, Cynthia has a greater understanding of the world, including a realisation of what she does and does not want from her marriage. Each of the girls has seen good and bad examples of married couples, but it’s pleasing that on the whole, we see relatively happy and content pairs surrounding the three young women.
And on the topic of ‘surrounding’, one thing I definitely took from this book was the sense of being overwhelmed which must have struck so many during the Season. Whilst there is a very helpful list of key characters included within the book, there are still a lot of names to follow, including a couple of new faces, even if only introduced briefly, at each major new party the core characters attend. As I say, somehow, this adds to the feel of the book, just how busy life must have been, with the constant merry-go-round of being at home to guests, or attending the myriad events of varying scales, from intimate suppers, to the infamous Almack’s balls.
There are adventures for each of the younger women too, as they are presented to the Queen as part of their ‘coming out’, and find themselves pulled into the Ton in one way or another.
For Chloe, there’s an element of excitement when she discovers that Thomas Musgrave, a local vicar’s son, is in town, and for Ann, there is the thrill of being around the wonderful array of music and musicians the capital can offer her, especially as a gifted musician and composer herself. Seeing the two of them experience the world of high society, with its wonderful highs and frustrating lows, made an interesting counterpart to the central thread of Cynthia and Rafe’s romantic developments.
As the couple begin their path to courting, there are the usual Regency activities described: ices at Gunter’s, carriage rides through the park, and visits to the great museums and exhibitions of the day. Here, especially, is a wonderfully-described visit by a small party to the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition. This is a good example of one thing I really enjoyed about the book: the use of characters having genuine questions as a reason to explain aspects of the Regency time that aren’t necessarily obvious to those who might be more casual readers. I’ve always had an understanding that the Summer Exhibition is a major part of the art world, and that having art included was a huge thing for artists, but having Cynthia bump into one of the artists, and him then explain the process to her, gave the reader a natural means to be ‘told’ what is really challenging for any writer to ‘show’. Whilst “show, don’t tell” is, of course, good writing advice on the whole, there are times where having something explained in useful detail is genuinely helpful.
Happily, when it does happen in the story (for example having older characters explain things to their younger cousins or friends), this has been done in a clever, subtle way each time. As a result, throughout the story, yes, I was routing for the central romance to flourish, but I also feel I’ve come out of reading this novel a little more educated about the period. It is obvious that substantial research has gone into both the world-building (although, of course, it is not the first in this era by the author, so that is unsurprising) and the specific background to the story at hand. From discussions of what would go into setting up an estate for an earl’s heir, to the potential living a woman might have on various incomes from an inheritance.
In conclusion, this is an impeccably-researched, beautifully-written Regency novel, and if you’re looking for a gentle romance with an excellent balance of the light-hearted and the serious, this would be highly recommended.
Review by Jennifer C. Wilson
The Coffee Pot Book Club
Catherine Kullmann was born and educated in Dublin. Following a three-year courtship conducted mostly by letter, she moved to Germany where she lived for twenty-five years before returning to Ireland. She has worked in the Irish and New Zealand public services and in the private sector. Widowed, she has three adult sons and two grandchildren.
Catherine has always been interested in the extended Regency period, a time when the foundations of our modern world were laid. She loves writing and is particularly interested in what happens after the first happy end—how life goes on for the protagonists and sometimes catches up with them. Her books are set against a background of the offstage, Napoleonic wars and consider in particular the situation of women trapped in a patriarchal society.
She is the author of The Murmur of Masks, Perception & Illusion, A Suggestion of Scandal, The Duke’s Regret, The Potential for Love, A Comfortable Alliance and Lady Loring’s Dilemma.
Catherine also blogs about historical facts and trivia related to this era.
You can find out more about her books and read her blog (My Scrap Album) at her website. You can contact her via her Facebook page or on Twitter.
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