Description

[from 'Hutchinson's New Novels' pages at back of book] In "The Great Husband Hunt," Mrs. Barnes-Grundy introduces us to a delightful elderly and impecunious bachelor uncle who has shared his home in Devonshire with four nice and interesting orphan nieces, but who have been denied the gift of beauty. Unexpectedly inheriting a fortune, he offers a thousand pounds down to the first of the four who is engaged to be married within a prescribed time and a handsome dowry when the marriage is solemnised. How the four accept the challenge and set forth in quest of husbands makes a most amusing tale.

Notes

Mabel Barnes-Grundy is my cozy, comfort-read cup of tea (except for Dimbie and I...we shall not speak of Dimbie and I). Her writing is strong: her female MCs tend to be young and not especially gifted, but she writes them spirited, funny, observant, and self-aware. As they were with Hazel, all your sympathies are with Peronelle Perowyne, as she gets herself a job as a (un)paid companion, is (temporarily) disappointed in love, makes some bad friend choices, and loses a lot of money in Monte Carlo. The other leading characters are also well-drawn. There's the male MC -- an Irish veteran of Ypres with a bit of PTSD and survivor's guilt and a whole lot of "already taken". There's Peronelle's rival -- a wealthy American girl who nursed in France during the war and who does her country proud here, too. And, as usual, Barnes-Grundy is great at making older characters who are not just props to young love: Miss Oakwood, Peronelle's employer, at 51, is beautiful and intelligent and has her own quirks and her own life and she learns and grows through the story, too. The plot, as you may have guessed, trods well-covered ground, but that is also kind of comforting. Includes a discussion of post-war gender relations (Chapter 33) that is clearly the author's own view, and which contrasts interestingly with the one in Hazel (1906). No real flags to speak of, which is nice.

Tags

1920s, English, Europe, France, Europe, Monaco, Irish, PTSD, already taken, brave, courageous, cheerful, clever, comfort-read, companion, paid, f/m, family, older relative, delightful, female, first-person, intelligent, madcap, orphaned, principled, rags to riches, rich, romance, selfish, single, spirited, thin, vacation, veteran, young

Flags

None