This one got a bit complicated, but I still had a great time. The plot is going in a direction I definitely did not expect, I hope it gets back to them helping Regency ladies in need after the next book. (I hope there is more than three!)
The premise of The Ill-Mannered Ladies books is that because our two main characters, Gus and Julia, have the gift of independent wealth, and the questionable blessing of being constantly overlooked and underestimated due to their genders and ages (they are 42-year old unmarried twins), they can get a lot done under everyone’s noses in the name of progress, justice, and equality. In the first book they go through a series of almost episodic adventures, helping women and the dispossessed of Regency England.
This one, though, it really barely touched on that premise, because consequences from their previous adventures had to be dealt with, and all of sudden there’s espionage! State secrets! Agents provocateurs!
I continue to really like the way this series is portraying the dark underbelly of Regency society, though. Goodman doesn’t hold back, purposefully puncturing the more romantic depictions of the time with uglier reality (including frequent health conditions people in this time might have suffered and how they dealt with them, i.e. Julia has breast cancer, doctor’s remedies were often worse than the disease they were “treating”). I also really like the focus on actual historical events and figures that are woven very naturally into the plot. In that way it’s much more historical fiction than it is historical romance, even though there are romantic elements present.
Definitely recommend this series if you haven’t checked it out yet.
CBR BINGO: Family (the two main characters are sisters, and there are other important familial connections in the plot)
