Allreaders.com
Author Cynthia Richey booklist (click here)

Book Review By Jóhanna
The Secret Scribbler by Cynthia Richey

Clumsy Grace Penworth is an impossible young lady. She can't sing, she doesn't play the piano, and can't embroider or paint. In fact, she has none of the accomplishments required of a young Regency lady. All she can do is write critical essays, and when she is sent off to London to find a husband, she means to use the chance to meet with her publisher.

A chance collision between her carriage and a curricle belonging to the Duke of Standen brings her into close contact with the Duke, and both are affected by the meeting. Grace is invited for a visit to the Duke's estate as the guest of his grandmother, and is followed there by her publisher who proposes marriage to her. When she turns him down, he begins a smear campaign against her, that incidentally results in increased sales of her book of essays. When she is accused of treason, the Duke proposes marriage to her, to protect her. After a hasty marriage, she is arrested at their wedding breakfast, and taken to the Tower of London to await trial. It is then up to the Duke's lawyers to try to extricate her from this trouble so she can live happily ever after with her husband.


Plot & Themes
Time/era of story
Marriage/Married Yes
Marriage subplot:
Action/suspense subplot? Yes
Action:
If one lover chases another... - he chases after her

Main Male Character
Profession/status:
Age/status: - 20's-30's

Main Female Character - 20's-30's

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
City? Yes
City: - London
Misc setting - prison

Writing Style
What % of story is romance related? - 70%
Weird Victorian/Shakespearean English? Yes
Focus of story - equally on him and her
How much dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Back To Main Menu