Lady Fortescue Steps Out

The Poor Relation, Book 1

By: M. C. Beaton

Narrated by: Davina Porter

Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Life is not easy for the poor relations of England’s upper crust, but fate and clever schemes bring them together. Lady Fortescue and Colonel Sandhurst hatch a plan: What if they were to transform her decrepit Bond Street home into a posh hotel, offering their guests the pleasure of being waited upon by nobility? With the help of other down-and-out aristocrats, they do just that, and London’s newest hotel, The Poor Relation, is born.

The establishment is an immediate hit with London’s most illustrious citizens, save the Duke of Rowcester, Lady Fortescue’s nephew. Rowcester believes that his aunt’s entry into the trade will denigrate their family name and is determined to shut the hotel down - until he meets Miss Harriett James, the lovely young woman who accepts Lady Fortescue’s offer to become The Poor Relation’s chef after the death of her parents and the loss of her fortune. Rowcester moves into The Poor Relation for the season - ostensibly to keep an eye on his aunt’s business.

©1992 Marion Chesney (P)2012 AudioGO

If you like Elizabeth Peters of Ryhs Bowen...

Try this is you are a Regency fan - much fun - the later books are much the same (as with many series) but if you are good with predictable, listen on!

First Outing With the Author Will Not Be My Last

I have wanted to read a book by MC Beaton (aka Marion Chesney, etc) for some time and finally, due to an Audible Deal of the Day, snatch up my first one. Rather than one of her mysteries, I picked up one of her light Regency Romantic Comedies and it was a gem of a story that left me not only eager for the rest of the series, but for more of her books.

Lady Fortescue Steps Out is the first book in the Poor Relations series. The series title says it all as this is the story of a group of people, starting with Lady Fortescue, who come together out of necessity. They are the poor relations of various high society families and they are sadly left to shift for themselves while their family and friends carry on. They struggle to maintain their gentility and rank with no income to support it.

At first, the story focused on the the overall series set up with the introduction of each 'Poor Relation' to the story, but then it became a dual focus of a reunion romance and how the Poor Relations open a hotel to help ends meet.

It is gently paced and the characters and setting well described so that I saw it all so well in my mind and enjoyed the company of this group. Sir Phillip persuades the others into the hotel venture and helps finances it by cunning and a relaxing of morals on his part though they all go right along with it. It was a unique set up in a Regency story and I was captivated by the hijinks going on. I enjoyed the humor throughout and the mild adventures of the Poor Relations group. The story was left open-ended for further adventures that will likely focus on each member of the group.

There is a romance that is surrounded by the greater story involving one of the Poor Relations and Lady Fortescue's ducal relation. Its a reunion romance of sorts since the pair met and danced once with neither forgetting the occasion. It becomes a class difference romance because Rachel is now in trade and her suitor is a duke, no less. Others connive to part them or put them together in a series of circumstances. I enjoyed the pair and thought their romance was handled well.

The audio narration was handled by the incomparable Davina Porter. She did well with the large cast of characters and voices. I've enjoyed her narration in other historical settings and she has a voice suited to these stories so well.

All in all, it was a splendid outing for my first book with the author. Happily my local library is well stocked. I would recommend this one to those who enjoy light and fun historical romance set in a wider story of a circle of friends.

Nice story! Fantastic narrator!

This is a cute and interesting story. I always enjoy a good historical romance. I will look for other books by this author. Davina Porter is a fantastic narrator. I have listened to other books she has narrated in the past. I was delighted to see she would be reading this book!

cute story

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting. It's a sweet story but the ending was kind "meh" and the character development a bit lacking. Not sure I would buy the sequel. Davina Porter, however, did not disappoint.

Fun read

Very much enjoyed this light-hearted book. The characters well well developed and the history interesting!

A laugh for Regency lovers

A delightful (but respectful!) send-up of the Regency romance . I adored it from start to finish.

Charming and fun!

I really enjoyed this delightful book and I’m looking forward to more of this series! The characters were all well drawn and very engaging, and the author does a wonderful job of creating a full, rich world. The romance was very sweet, too.

The narrator, Davina Porter, does an excellent job creating a diverse set of characters through her impressively varied performances and really enhances the book.

I highly recommend this one.

A light and quaint story

A lazy afternoon story with a light hearted mood. Good choice of narrator. Nicely done

Utterly delightful listen

Just goes to show that the best families are those chosen by circumstances for these are the most admirable in their care for one another despite all being 'lesser relations' who are completely unrelated!

Lovely Little story

It’s an interesting, at times humorous, read. Something lovely to read on a Saturday afternoon after a long and stressful week. A touch of romance. A touch of hope and community from a band of mismatched random folks just on the outskirts of high society. I really enjoyed it.