A Good Rogue Is Hard to Find

March 16, 2015
Bowen’s impish sense of humor is expressed by lively, entertaining characters in this wickedly witty Regency. Eleanor, Dowager Duchess of Worth, and her comely young companion, Jenna Hughes, are left to their own devices by the duchess’s son, William. They concoct a delightful, devious, and quite illegal scheme to tip the scales of social justice by swindling money from the overstuffed pockets of the wealthy and using it to pay off the nobles’ accounts with hardworking merchants. Their clever conspiracy is humming along quite nicely until William decides to put his philandering ways on temporary hold and pay attention to what the women are up to. Jenna makes a last-ditch effort to throw him off the scent via a hasty seduction; she succeeds, but William soon redoubles his efforts to uncover her secret. This is pure romantic fun in the con-game comedy vein. Agent: Stefanie Lieberman, Janklow & Nesbit Associates.