A Regency Christmas

My copy of A Regency Christmas

          The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”  Dr. Seuss
         
          While I was browsing through my school's annual book sale last February, I came upon a little worn paperback that had the word "Regency" in the title. My immediate thought was "Hey, I love everything from the Regency Period [early 1800s England], so this book must be perfect for me." Thus, I paid a whopping $1 to take the little paperback home with me and it has sat on my shelf ever since.  
          Fast forward to December. In a spur of the moment decision, I pulled A Regency Christmas off my shelf and started to read it (gasp!) just in time for Christmas.
          The book is a collection of five short stories set in the Regency England all of which are written by different authors. The first story is "Three Good Deeds" written by Barbara Metzger. It follows three young boys who must make restitution for breaking a church window by doing three good deeds in their local village. The story is humorous and endearing because the boys end up plotting "good deeds" that greatly affects the lives of the adults around them (especially that of their attractive widowed mother).
          "Felicity's Forfeit" by Elisabeth Fairchild is the second story in the collection and it centers around a money strapped man with a title (I forget what kind of title) who must find wealthy spouses either for himself or his two sisters. Of course, he ends up falling for an American southern belle, Felicity (who drawls out her deep Georgian accent throughout the entire story), and his plans come perilously close to being ruined.
          The third story, "Second Chance" by Allison Lane, is about a governess with a secretive past who takes a job looking after her relative's children. The job becomes complicated when a family reunion during Christmas blurs the line between herself as an employee and the extended family that she played with as a child. An old love also enters the scene to complicate matters until she becomes terrified that all of her secrets will come bursting out. Naturally this story has a happy ending after the main character finally releases herself from her past and finally opens herself up to old love.
          The fourth entry to the collection is one of my favorites. "The Christmas Ornament" by Carla Kelly follows the matchmaking efforts of two families, one with a daughter who is too smart for her own good and the other with an academic son who has had no luck in romance. The narrative mostly follows the son and his bungled efforts to win the fair maiden. Finally, after lots of advice from wise fathers and several doses humility, the romance finally blossoms in such a way that left a huge smile on my face.
          The fifth and final story is "The Hounds of Heaven" by Edith Layton. This story was unique in the fact that I had absolutely no hope for the leading man. In short, he was a cad and philanderer. The story begins with this "prize" bachelor giving a marriage proposal to a sweet but strong woman, which she promptly rejects because he refuses to give a promise of absolute commitment to her. They both sink into melancholy (she really did love him) and the man is only rescued from his plunge into an alcohol ridden stupor by a puppy who happens to save his life. The puppy becomes very attached to the man and he to her, which eventually teaches him the true meaning of love and commitment. He is able to redeem himself in the eyes of the woman and she accepts his second proposal at the end of the story.
          I would like to note that, even though the stories are set in Regency England, they do not resemble Jane Austen's stories or writing style (sorry, I will always equate Regency with Miss Austen). However, this book is a good choice if you are wanting something light and humorous to cuddle up with on a rainy day. There is some language in a couple of the stories, but it wasn't bad enough for me to put the book down (which I have done before with other books). All in all, I would give A Regency Christmas 3 out of 5 stars; 1 star for humor, 1 star for enjoyable dialogue, and 1 star for giving me the warm fuzzies. 

Fairchild, Elisabeth, et al. A Regency Christmas. New York: Penguin Putnam, 1998. Print.