The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies

I enjoyed this book SO MUCH. It was a rare adult recommendation from my kid-lit book group, but Suzanne and I share very similar taste so I knew it would be a winner. Despite being born in Melbourne and practically exactly the same age as me, AND writing YA, I weirdly haven't come across Alison Goodman before -- but I will definitely be seeking out more from her now. 

It's not quite accurate to call The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies a romp, because it does deal with some quite dark material -- husbands imprisoning and trying to poison their wives, child sex trafficking, and rape and torture in madhouses -- but Lady Augusta Colebrook is a splendid heroine, at 42 a lively and indomitable spinster, independently wealthy, highly intelligent, courageous and daring. Her twin Julia is slightly less bold, but also brave and resourceful, and Gus meets a man worthy of her in Lord Evan Belford. Unfortunately he's an escaped convict and in dire peril of the gallows, but hey, he's really hot and surely he was unjustly convicted (a problem for the next book).

Goodman says she fell in love with Regency settings after reading Georgette Heyer as a child, and she is clearly in command of her historical material. The little details of daily life are fascinating -- like the way posh people would put tea in the pot themselves, to avoid being cheated by their servants -- but they never weigh down an action-packed, exciting plot which turns on the horrendous treatment of women in early nineteenth century  England.

Hanging out for more books in this series, and I will also check out Goodman's earlier books, The Dark Days Club trilogy.