Audiobook Review: Lady Fortescue Steps Out by M. C. Beaton

Lady Fortescue Steps Out

Author: M. C. Beaton
Narrator: Davina Porter
Series: The Poor Relations Series (Book 1)
Publication: Blackstone Audio, Inc. (May 1, 2012)
Length: 4 hours and 45 minutes

Description: An impoverished widow opens a hotel serving the society she has fallen from in this regency romance featuring characters who “leap off the pages” (Publishers Weekly).

After her husband’s death, Lady Fortescue knows she must work, even though the thought will appal her society relatives. So she decides to transform her once-grand Bond Street home into a hotel, the Poor Relation, offering society guests the pleasure of being waited upon by nobility.

With the help of other down-and-out aristocrats, London’s newest, most fashionable hotel is born. And it is the perfect venue for Lady Fortescue to play with the love lives of her guests and staff, starting with her nephew, the dashing Duke of Rowcester. Lady Fortescue has it on good authority that the duke once shared a dance with darling Harriet James, the hotel cook. When the duke comes to London, Lady Fortescue orchestrates a reunion that is sure to scandalize the ton.

New York Times bestseller M.C. Beaton, the pen name for regency author Marian Chesney, “expertly sets the scene, recapturing the bawdiness and color of a long-ago time.... Hilarious and tragic; larceny, attempted murder, a satisfactory love affair and unlikely alliances make the hotel the liveliest spot in London” (Publishers Weekly).

My Thoughts: This Regency romance stars some unlikely heroes and heroines. It is all about a group of poor relations who get together to open a fashionable hotel in London.

Lady Fortescue is a widow fallen on hard times despite being related to the wealthy Dule of Rowcester. She gets so desperate for food and heat that she steals a couple of candlesticks on one of her visits. Found out and kicked out, she doesn't know what to do.

While spending time in a park, she comes across an elderly Colonel who faints at her feet. He's used up his allowance and has no funds when an expected invitation to a relative doesn't appear. They decide to band together in Lady Fortescue's large but nearly empty house. They also decide to look for some other poor relations to become part of their household.

They invite a widow with bill collectors at her door after her husband's death left her deeply in debt. And also bring home Miss Tonks who is given a very inadequate allowance by her wealthy sister. And Miss Harriet James who is living in a rented room after the death of her parents. 

Their final invitation goes to Sir Philip who is something of a shady character. He's used to dropping in on the most distant of relatives and helping himself to small, expensive baubles and the contents of pantries when his visit is over. 

While they are all better off by pooling their resources and they aren't lonely anymore with so many others of like degree, they need to do something else to secure their futures. The Colonel suggests that they open a hotel for members of the ton who don't want the expense of hiring lodgings while attending the events of the Season. But they need a stake to help them fund the conversion of the mansion into a hotel. 

Sir Philip has a very tenuous connection to the Duke of Rowcester and steals small stuff on his first visit while casing the joint for something larger that he can steal to fund the renovations. He goes to one of his illicit connections and has a paste necklace made to replace one that belongs to the Duke. He doesn't mention where he got the funds, and the renovations go on. 

Once the Duke learns that the hotel is open, he rushes to London to convince his aunt that it is demeaning to be seen to be in trade. He doesn't expect to learn that the new cook is the same Miss Harriet James he once danced with at a ball and fell in love with. Their romance hits all sorts of snags from jealous lovers to popular opinion and Harriet's past as a cook and waitress. It doesn't help that his first proposal to Miss James is that she become his mistress!

I liked this romance because it doesn't sugar coat actual conditions in Regency England. It includes such things as hangings as social events and the grinding poverty amid all the splendors. The narrator did a nice job making each voice distinct.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.