Brave New Earl

July 9, 2018
Ashford (The Duke Knows Best) exhibits her skill with creating complex, intriguing characterization that feels comfortably in its period while incorporating modern concepts in an endearing, optimistic story of second chances, grounded in psychological themes of grief and parental neglect. Benjamin Romilly, Earl of Furness, has spent five years too mired in his sadness over the childbed death of his wife, Alice, to pay attention to his household and son. Young Geoffrey is precocious but wild. Alice’s distant cousin Jean Saunders, alerted to the situation by Benjamin’s well-meaning uncle, arrives with the expectation of bringing Geoffrey to live with his grandparents, but ends up remaining in Benjamin’s household. He begins to imagine what a life with new love for him and a mother for his son might look like, while Jean begins to let go of her resistance to the idea of marrying and having a family. Readers who crave deep romantic passion may find this bland, but those satisfied by cute kid and kitten antics, witty prose, and a message of redemption from difficult life histories will find plenty to love here. Agent: Jennifer Weltz, Jean V. Naggar Literary.

Narrator Rosalyn Landor sets the stage for a delightfully emotional tug-of-war with especially thoughtful portrayals of a little boy who is caught in the middle in this historical romance. Jean Saunders is determined to save the Earl of Furness's son from a life of neglect, something she knows all too well. But widower Benjamin Romilly isn't about to let go of his boy, no matter how lovely or well meaning Miss Saunders may be. Together, they will learn that love heals all wounds in time--but only if they allow it. With the attention to detail that listeners love about Landor, she beautifully conveys each stage of grief and subsequent recovery in three very different characters and integrates secondary characters in a way that sounds effortless. A.L. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine