TEST
If not for the review I had to write for this book, I would have forgotten it by the end of next week. There is nothing really wrong with Miss Timothy Perseveres, but for some reason it wouldn’t stick in my mind. There are few highs and lows, nothing to attract or repel. With so little electricity, this read was as flat as a car battery in midwinter. 
Having been her cousin Katherine’s companion, Persys Timothy is left without a home or a position when her cousin marries. The Duke of Eddington offers her a position as a companion to his mother, who has been slightly injured in an accident. As the dowager duchess’s health improves, it is decided that Persys will start a finishing school for the local misses on the Eddington estate. Eventually, she leaves the school in the capable hands of her colleagues when the duke proposes at last.
Persys has some fire and a fine mind, but when matched with the duke, they fumble around each other awkwardly and are persistently interrupted by well-meaning friends. Most of the book is told from Persys’s perspective, which leaves the duke strangely anonymous. The duke’s Christian name is Harry, but since Persys insists on calling him “the duke” and Ms. Hendrickson does the same, who am I to quibble? He, in turn, keeps calling Persys “his Persian woman” because of her name. Now, an employer addressing an employee as my woman is a bit beyond the pale. It reeks of possessiveness and doesn’t sound like an endearment that would be acceptable during the period.
Throughout the book there are stilted references to authors or composers of the time. I love a historical feel, but it can be achieved in ways other than having the main characters discussing the works of Jane Austen several times. Another minor annoyance is that Persys’s eyes are described as violet so many times I wanted to point out that they were not violet, but purple!
Overall, this book was as bland as tap water. A coherent plot was lacking, and if there was conflict anywhere, it must have sailed right past my nose. To be sure, the author tried to set up a scheme involving the duke’s obnoxious cousins, but it was so obvious I discounted it immediately. The story meanders along its predestined path and the reader strolls along until the path ends, and you can go your separate way. Not much of a recommendation, is it?
Grade: C
Book Type: Regency Romance
Sensuality: Kisses
Review Date: 02/02/99
Publication Date: 1999
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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.