Book two-fifty-three: The Rules of Gentility

The Rules of Gentility (2007)
Janet Mullany

Rating: 4.5/5

I laughed out loud at this so many times that people started to complain. Apparently, nothing could be that funny, but this really was. And quirky. And completely unlike any other Regency novel I have read since I discovered of them.

I loved it. It is funny and the characters are flawed and real.

There was one part I didn’t like towards the end, but I forgive the author completely. If for no other reason than she has the most interesting character names ever.

Regency heiress Philomena Wellesley-Clegg has rather strong opinions about men and clothing. As to the former, so far two lords, a viscount, and a mad poet have fallen far short of her expectations. But she is about to meet Inigo Linsley, an unshaven, wickedly handsome man with a scandalous secret. He's nothing she ever dreamed she'd want—why then can she not stop thinking about how he looks in his breeches?

A delightful marriage of Pride and Prejudice with Bridget Jones's Diary, Janet Mullany's The Rules of Gentility transports us to the days before designer shoes, apple martinis, and speed dating—when great bonnets, punch at Almack's, and the marriage mart were in fashion—and captivates us with a winsome heroine who learns that some rules in society are made to be broken.

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Finished: Sunday 6/1 /08