Books › Miss Dalrymple's Virtue
Miss Dalrymple's Virtue
219 pages
A sparkling, slightly farcical Regency romp where a scandalous bargain for literary success leads to unexpected romance.
What it feels like
Reading this classic Regency romance feels like sipping a glass of slightly fizzy, perfectly chilled champagne. It moves at a brisk, theatrical pace, driven by sharp banter and a delightfully absurd premise that leans into the comedic potential of societal scandal. The mood is sparkling and cozy, wrapping the reader in a world where desperate bargains and ruined reputations are merely stepping stones to witty repartee and inevitable affection. The prose is crisp and period-appropriate, focusing heavily on the internal panic and outward bravado of its charmingly flawed protagonists. It is a book that delights in its own lightheartedness, making it a perfect escape for readers who crave the mannered wit, theatrical hijinks, and gentle romantic tension of vintage traditional Regencies.
- Mood
- sparkling
- cozy
- mildly scandalous
- Tone
- wry
- playful
- lighthearted
- farcical
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- literary ambition · scandalous bargains · comedic desperation · unexpected affection
- The writing
- Crisp and dialogue-driven, capturing the mannered wit and breezy charm of classic traditional Regencies.
- The arc
- A frantic, slightly absurd scramble for independence that softens into a genuinely tender and witty romance.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love the sparkling banter and slightly ridiculous, high-stakes hijinks of vintage Regency romances.
Content notes
- financial desperation
- dubious romantic bargains
About the book
It was an outrageous idea! The penniless Miss Sophia Dalrymple was an authoress, and a good one, but the problem of finding a publisher seemed insurmountable. For that one needed a wealthy patron. She and her clergyman father had tried many avenues, but to no avail. — To Sophia there appeared just one solution: sell the only thing she had of value in exchange for patronage: Her Virtue.
And one day she did just that. She had not expected to be taken seriously, but to her horror the Marquis of Carrisbrooke did! Somehow she promised to become his mistress -- payment due the day her book was published. Surely, she prayed, as a man of honour he would not hold her to her bargain...
Description from Open Library.
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