Lady of a Thousand Treasures (Victorian Ladies)
In Victorian London, Eleanor Sheffield tries to singlehandedly save her family’s antiques business while nursing a broken heart. When Lord Lydney, one of her father’s most prominent clients, dies, he leaves Eleanor with a dilemma: Eleanor must decide whether the baron’s extensive personal collection should be donated to a museum or left to his wayward son, Harry, the man who broke Eleanor’s heart. Donating the treasures might win Eleanor’s family firm much-needed business, and yet Eleanor isn’t sure Harry is guilty of the charges the baron laid at his door. Eleanor wishes to uncover information to definitively prove whether or not Harry is deserving of the inheritance, but her recent experience complicates things, especially when Harry returns with a young Italian woman in tow.
This is an agreeable but predictable narrative about a young woman whose determination and faith propel her towards a worthy ending, somewhat reminiscent of Jane Austen. Providing Eleanor with the ability to disinherit her former paramour is an intriguing conflict, so it’s disappointing to see that question answered abruptly, without much struggle and with nearly 200 pages remaining. This one is sweet but lacks the satisfying struggle every heroine deserves to overcome.
