REVIEW: An Independent Woman by Sophia Holloway
The newly widowed Lady Louisa Dembleby is immensely thankful to be released from an awful marriage and vows that she will never marry again. A quiet life of contented freedom with her cherished daughter lies ahead, but her resolution falters when she meets Major Benfield Barkby, recovering from serious wounds sustained fighting in Spain.
Against the backdrop of the social season in Bath, gossip, grandmamas and a climatic duel look set to complicate any chance of a happy ever after.
CW/TW – war wounds, sick child, discussion of war atrocities
Dear Ms. Holloway,
Several years ago I read and enjoyed “Kingscastle” and have meant to try another of your books. I liked the idea of “an independent woman” in an age when women weren’t allowed much of it. Overall I like it a bit better than “Kingscastle” and was delighted with an unexpected second romance.
Lady Louisa loathed her husband almost from the moment they married. He had said all the pretty words to woo her but thinking back, she realized that her feelings were more of relief when her second Season ended with a proposal rather than thinking herself in love. The marriage was ghastly, her husband treated her as an idiot whom he ruled, and her mother in law is a vile harpy. At his death, Louisa gladly left the house along with her young daughter, determined never to marry again.
An unexpected inheritance has now given Louisa the chance to be truly independent as mistress of her own household. There she meets the injured son of a neighboring estate who is immediately taken with her. Major Benfield Barkby doesn’t rush his fences as from what she says, he sees that Louisa was in a marriage but not in love. He also worries about his visible war wounds though he soon realizes that they mean nothing to Louisa beyond concern for how they impact his life. Barkby also falls for three year old Emily though before this he’d never given much thought to setting up his nursery.
But the poisonous lies that The Harpy is spreading reach her new neighbors and Louisa moves her household to Bath where more relationships get tangled before The Harpy tries one last thing that might tear Louisa from the man for whom she might be willing to set aside her vow.
I love the manners, dress, and period sounding actions of this book. There are quite a few other things besides this main romance in the book which actually do help propel it along as well as adding that secondary romance. As the book starts, Louisa is shocked to learn that her despised husband deliberately made no provisions for his (despised) daughter and from the venomous glares and snide comments of The Harpy, it’s also clear that there is no love lost between the two women. So yeah I can see that Louisa would be reluctant to marry again but she actually astounds her parents when she insists that she Will Not Marry. Mama has palpitations while papa quietly counsels his daughter to not make that too public due to how Society will view it.
Louisa is having none of it as she tells an elderly neighbor, General Crowley, with whom she plays chess. I wished that this gentleman was more in the book but he’s a darling, along with an older lady who lives near Louisa’s new house. In the face of a handsome young man who is competent, well mannered, and obviously cares for her, I did wonder at Louisa’s – at times – convoluted thinking as she suspected Barkby of all manner of behavior in trying to win her trust and lure her back into dreaded marriage. It’s not until a bit later that she admits something that shows how truly bad her married life was. Nope, Louisa has that rare thing in Regency England – her youth and money enough for independence and she isn’t giving this up.
When she lands in Bath, things both heat up and also slow down. There are plenty of gentlemen needing money who try to court the rich widow and lots of scenes in the Pump Room and in stores. Louisa’s dear friend, who is thought to be on the shelf, arrives and they discover Henry Gilmorton, a friend of Barkby, is there along with his formidable grandmother. A villain arrives who sets another subplot into motion involving a Sweet Young Thing. One thing that did bother me a bit is that SYT is plainly presented as Not That Bright – something the other characters talk about. They do protect her at some inconvenience to themselves but I wish she had been more than just pretty and vapid.
As the main plot of the book is watching Louisa change her mind about one particular man and this particular man trying to win her favor, the rather placid pace of the book, packed with events that will bring them together and show each of them the truth of the other’s character, makes sense. The pace does slow to that of a chair being carried through Bath at times. But yay that we also get to see Caroline and Henry’s lovely subdued growing romance.
The finale of the story kicks into higher gear and allows us to see another wonderful older character in the person of the Dowager Duchess – aka Henry’s granny. Do not mess with this woman who is old enough to know a lot of stuff and ready to fire a broadside when this is needed. She is not the person to make your enemy.
I enjoyed this story of two wounded people finding each other as well as Barkby falling in love – as a father – with Emily. The secondary romance is wonderful between two people who weren’t looking for it. The pace is deliberate but shows off Regency manners, dress, house renovation (yes), and two lovely romances. B
~Jayne
AmazonBNKoboBook DepositoryGoogle
I recently watched this YT video by Bernadette Banner in which she and a dress historian explored the scandalous thing that Regency women were reported to do.
Did Regency Women ACTUALLY Wear Wet Dresses??
@Jayne: I’d not really thought about the practicality of dampened gowns, but the video shows that they would have been totally impractical. Not even mentioned in the video is that you couldn’t sit down if your gown was wet because then the chair would be wet. You couldn’t dance because your partner’s clothing would get wet and you might leave a trail of water on the dance floor. And the ostensible reason – to make the dress more transparent and clingy so sexier – wouldn’t work if you had on all the layers of underclothing. So, another myth bites the dust.
@Susan/DC: Imagine leaving damp butt cheek prints on the upholstery and a snail slime trail behind you on the floor. ☺
@Jayne: My imagination refuses to go there. No wonder that it’s never the heroine who reputedly dampens her skirts.
Couldn’t find AN INDEPENDENT WOMAN in the DC library system, either in print or through Libby. I did find KINGSCASTLE and read it based on your review. Totally agree about Eleanor, as I wanted to shake some sense into her when she mistrusts William, the new Lord Athelney, and thinks he has shifted his affection to another. William is more sympathetic as he tries to understand why Eleanor is suddenly so cold to him. The book did have them falling in love after very few actual interactions, but it was a low key but sweet romance, and I agree that the secondary (and hinted at third) romances were sweet as well.
I’ve certainly read a number of books where the hero unexpectedly inherits a title, and one of the things I liked about KINGSCASTLE was it showed and not just told how William, a man of action, throw himself into his new life as aristocrat and literal lord of the manor. He’d led an active life in the Navy, and he was much happier doing something than doing nothing, although he realizes that his new role is often strategy and delegation and not doing everything himself. His awful aunt constantly criticized him for actually doing things, but that is exactly who he was and it is exactly what the estate needed.
@Susan/DC: I do like reading about capable people. Does the DC library have this one? “Home is the Sailor” also has an unexpected inheritance and competence porn.
https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/overall-a-reviews/a-minus-reviews/review-home-is-the-sailor-by-lilian-marek/
@Jayne: The DC library doesn’t have the Marek. Interesting that both the Holloway and the Marek are about Navy men. I’m trying to reduce the number of books I buy as I still have an embarrassing number of TBR sitting on the shelves, but I may just have to buy these. And it should be noted that both have beautiful covers.
@Susan/DC: I guess authors are going to men who are used to “ship shape and Bristol fashion.” I agree, both covers are lovely.