The picture of innocence, Miss Mabel Anderson, and the sister of a cleric. But many people in her port town of Salford lived in poverty, their only chance at making a decent living being the smuggling trade. Mab inadvertently found herself the leader of this group, but a government agent, Sir Stamford Wicklow, was come to town specifically to discover the leader’s identity—and imprison the villain.
Wit and humour
Talk of the Town by Joan Smith
This book reminds me (in a good way) of the classic Faro’s Daughter by Georgette Heyer.
From the book blurb:
Daphne Ingleside’s visit to her Aunt Effie in London was meant to add a little spark to her placid country life. And it did—once the two women decided to write Effie’s memoirs. For Effie, a faded divorcée, had been the beauty of London in her day, and many of the ton feared their misbehavior would be disclosed. The Duke of St. Felix, misinterpreting their project as a means of blackmailing his family, antagonized the sharp-witted, beautiful Daphne to his peril.
Dame Durden’s Daughter by Joan Smith
From the book blurb:
Dame Durden lives in the past, and she intends her daughter to follow in her footsteps. So Edith is pushed into an engagement with the Saxon-blooded minister, Dr. Thorne, who may not be all he appears. The wild and newly elevated duke, Helver Saymore, is Edith’s own choice, but there are powerful arguments against him—including his own lack of coming to the point.
The Seventh Suitor by Laura Matthews
No balls and routs here, instead the book focuses around country pastimes such as farming, riding and visiting the local ‘big’ town, Bristol.
From the book blurb:
As a prank, five young men, encouraged by her brother, proposed to Kate Montgomery. No harm done, except that it reminded some in the country neighborhood that Kate had also refused the suit of the Earl of Winterton’s brother–but then surprisingly accepted a legacy from him when he died in the Peninsula.