TEST
Crossed Quills is a delightful Regency Romance – while it is light, its hero and heroine are far from the ordinary run of High London Society, in their shared interests in politics and writing. The reversal of traditional roles is also refreshing.
Wynn Selworth has unexpectedly inherited a title from a distant relative. As a political radical, he wishes to make a grand first speech in the House of Lords. But his talent for writing lies mainly in the Gothic: for years he has supported his family by writing racy novels under a pseudonym. So, Wynn consults with the political essayist Prometheus to spiff-up his maiden speech.
What he didn’t count on is that the present Prometheus is young Pippa Lisle, who took over after her father’s death. While keeping her identity in the dark, Prometheus agrees to help Wynn if he provides sisters Pippa and Kitty Lisle with a London season. However, it will be difficult to keep their respective secrets from the world and from each other. Who would care about Prometheus’ brilliant reform work if he is proven to be a woman? Who would take Wynn’s political career seriously if it were known he was the author of romances bawdy enough to cause staid matrons to blush?
In a way, Wynn and Pippa are mirror images of what is expected of Regency men and women. She is the political professional, he is the enthusiastic amateur. She writes a serious column, he writes gothic novels. While neither cares much about balls and fashion, Wynn knows that what he wears will contribute to his image when giving his speech. Beyond looking her best for Wynn, Pippa doesn’t care.
The secondary characters, are well done. I particularly enjoyed Wynn’s taciturn friend Mr. Chubb and the sensible mother figure Mrs. Lisle provided. While the intimacy level was rather low, the emotional and intellectual bond between Wynn and Pippa was unmistakable.
In a story of secrets, the revelation of what is hidden is no great surprise. But while Wynn’s secret is exposed, Pippa’s remains hidden to the end. Does this mean that the future Lady Selworth will be her husband’s secret speechwriter, and that he will collect all the public glory? From the point of view of a homebody such as Pippa, this might be acceptable. Personally, I would have preferred her to be forced to run the gauntlet, too, and still come out unscathed, but an author can only do so much within a limited space.
This is in many ways a standard Regency read, but the switch of personalities between Wynn and Pippa added something more. It is refreshing to see a bluestocking who actually accomplishes something, and a hero who can’t keep away from romantic thinking. You could easily pick a worse read than this.
Grade: B
Book Type: Regency Romance
Sensuality: Kisses
Review Date: 04/03/99
Publication Date: 1998
Related Reviews
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.