Reading: An Honourable Estate

The tenth published volume of the Comfortable Courtesan series, An Honourable Estate mainly focuses on Clorinda's continued work to improve the situation of the family of the Earl of N-. She may have persuaded him to adopt a less miserly approach to domestic expenses, but there is still the question of his eldest daughter's marriage to resolve. Meanwhile, the bad poet Mr W- Y- has gone missing and the sinister Mr R- O- is making enquiries into his whereabouts.

The series continues to be an absolute delight - perfect cosy comfort reading, where even the occasional moments of Mild Peril are quickly and happily resolved, but still with a more serious eye to the very real inequalities of early nineteenth-century society. I'm sorry that there are only two more volumes to come after this, although I'm pleased to see that the author also plans to publish The Ironmaster's Tale in the new year and hope that some of the "next generation" material that has been appearing on the blog since the main series finished may also make its way into print one day...