Review: More than a hint of Georgette Heyer about it
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 27, 2014
‘Beggars Can’t Be Choosier’ is a traditional, sweet regency romance with more than a hint of Georgette Heyer about it. In the opening chapters the reader is introduced to our impoverished hero, Brian, a man forced by circumstances to live frugally and cadge meals from friends to keep from starving. Next, we meet our heroine is the feisty Katherine, recently returned from foreign climes and heiress to the fortune her father made in India. He has something she craves (a title for her children) and she has something he wants (money) and so they enter into an arranged marriage. What could be simpler? Only this being fiction, nothing is ever straightforward…Part of the pleasure of this book is the in depth characterization and the gentle pace. I’m surprised no one has as yet remarked on the semblance of the ‘feel’ of this book to works by Georgette Heyer. In less skilled hands the plot has the potential to be far-fetched but marrying for money and the ensuing repercussions are handled in such a manner as to seem entirely plausible and the plot unwound cleverly.Beggars Can’t be Choosier excels in the strong believable characters and a real sense of the manners of the period. I especially liked some of the walk-on characters, such as Brian’s landlay who is basically a social snob who tolerates her impoverished tenant because of this lofty connections.A very enjoyable, immersive read.