Review: 1915 contemporary romance makes for a great historical romance read in 2013.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 18, 2013
Written in 1915, at that time this was a contemporary romance (romantic comedy) about life in 1914 England, just before WWI.  Now historical romance readers can enjoy it as an HR completely free of anachronisms in language and behavior and will be surprised to find how much 1914 and 2013 women actually have in common.I first discovered Berta Ruck when I happened onHis Official Fiancee, which was written in 1913 or 1914, I believe.  That was a delight and from there I went on to try a few more Ruck novels but did not enjoy them as much.  This one, however, which Ruck wrote under the name "Mrs. Oliver Onions" (and, yes, her husband was Oliver Onions, unbelievable as the surname may seem) is as enjoyable as FIANCEE.At the beginning of the story, Nellie Millions (yes, her surname is "Millions", as unbelievable as "Onions") is the maid of Beatrice Lovelace and her Aunt Anastasia, impoverished upper-class women just barely getting by financially.  Beatrice is living a lonely life since she can't afford to run with the rich crowd and her aunt refuses to allow her to have anything to do with middle-class young people.Well, Nellie Millions, the maid, inherits millions of dollars from her late rich uncle, successful sausage maker in the U.S.  Nellie has been Beatrice's only real friend and Beatrice jumps at the chance to get out from under her aunt's control by going off with Nellie. But now, of course, the tables are turned and Beatrice works as Nellie's maid.It all makes for a fun read.  So many interesting characters run crazily through the story, among them an actress with a heart of gold, a handsome Irish rake/fortune hunter, Nellie's U.S. cousin, a bank manager who lives next door to Aunt Anastasia, and so many more.It's a great look at life in England just before WWI, when, apparently, many were living in denial about anything untoward going on internationally, and living in their rather insular world of rich vs poor, upper class vs not upper.  This is funny and at the same time it's great social commentary.  I was surprised at how modern the women protagonists were at times in their behavior.  This was written almost 100 years ago and didn't feel very dated to me.  (But then I'm two thirds of a century old myself.)