Clarissa and the Poor Relations

By: Alicia Cameron

Narrated by: Heath Miller

Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

In Regency England, Mrs. Thorne's School for Young Ladies is about to close due to the death of young Clarissa's mother a year ago. This leaves 18-year-old Clarissa Thorne and her three schoolmistress friends no option but to return to the bosoms of their families as despised 'poor relations' - at everyone's beck and call for all their lives.

But Clarissa has just inherited Ashcroft, a large, crumbling estate, and she offers her companions an escape - to run away with her to a life of independence and adventure. They must put the estate to rights with little money and less experience. Can sensible Miss Micklethwaite, aging romantic Miss Appleby, and the beautiful Miss Oriana Petersham escape their fate? To keep the vivacious, impulsive Clarissa in check, they must at least try.

However, their relatives may have other plans.

Meeting the Earl of Grandiston and his companion (a devotee of the divine Oriana) on the road sets hilarious events in motion. Perhaps to adventure the ladies must add romance.

©2016 Geraldine Cameron (P)2016 Geraldine Cameron

Clarissa and the Poor Relations is a fun light read

This is a good story with acceptable performers. The very tangled plot plays out as Steampunk tale more than a Historical Romance. It does remind me of movies of the 1940’s I watched as child. The were “corny” yet humorous.

The written story was quite well written but, I feel it lacked in smoothness of flow from one scene to another.

The narrator was not consistent with the “voices “ so there was occasional confusion as to whom was talking. He did use good emphasis and did a fairly good job narrating.

The characters’ personalities were well defined and endearing. The scenes were adequately portrayed but not easily visualized. The Title and Cover were a good fit.

All in all, I offer a Three and a Half Stars rating.

Well done romance

Enjoyable. Puts me in mind of Georgette Heyer novels, but not as good in my opinion. The characters are likeable and the plot is good. There is just a little too much gong on at one time. And it all was rather rushed. There is a wonderfully unlikeable villain that I wanted to get her just deserts. This book just did not quite hit the mark for me, but it was still a good listen.

Brilliant!

I'd never heard of this author but this was such a great departure from the usual girl under male control story. Horrible brother & godawful sister in law, but Clarissa & her friends bring them to rout. With the help of a fab supporting cast of friends. Funny & great read by narrator. Please could I have a Sullivan as butler on my next estate(Dream on)!

Sweet passtime

it is an enjoyable escapist romp that is a perfect beach read or micro vacation.

A light and loverly farce.

A very exciting read, with likable and realistic characters.

The narrator helped to added even more dimension to the portrayal of each character.

The unfolding of the story was so much fun, I could not put it down until I discovered how it all ended.

fair

far too many characters. although he read well, the narrator could not differentiate between all the people, so i was confused much of the time. but the plot held me do i persevered to the end.

A Sweet and Emotionally gripping story!!

I have relistened this story 2 times and I expect I will keep this simple but laugh out loud story as part of my replay list. I feel the same enjoyment from this story that I get from reading a Georgette Heyer Story.

Channeling Jane and Georgette

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Delightful, clean, witty romance in the style of Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Clarissa and the Poor Relations?

Cornelia receiving her just rewards.

Which character – as performed by Heath Miller – was your favorite?

He did very well on both Grandiston and Elfoy

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The story made me smile. Finished in a single Saturday.

Any additional comments?

More like this from Alicia Cameron, please.

Hard to follow

I found this very hard to follow, I ended up alternating between reading what I had just listened to and back and forth to clarify. I'm not sure it was worth it.... Yet I can't really point to any specific issue that is bad. All in all okay with the potential to have been really good as the story itself was interesting, just told too fast perhaps. (Not fast like talking fast, tho a little of that too at times)

Wonderful!

A superb story with humor and several romances. Set in an English country manor house in the early 1800s, the group of friends of assorted ages and backgrounds are a pleasure. Fans of Georgette Heyer will be especially delighted. Very well-narrated.