My Lady’s Secrets
This is a Regency novel in that it is set in 1812, during the Regency, and it is populated by the sort of people you might find in a Jane Austen novel. However, this is no gentle satire with an undercurrent of suppressed sexuality. This is an earthy, violent, red-blooded novel, and the blood often gets spilt. Moran’s Britain simmers with rebellion while fighting a brutal war in Spain.
We jump straight into the action, into a swirl of characters, including Lord Byron, all of whom have eventful back stories which are fed to us in frequent flashbacks. I never really understood what was happening, and nor did most of the characters in the book. There are several overlapping treasonous conspiracies, most of them set up by government agents provocateurs. The central character is Lady Cressida Nightingale, daughter of an Irish rebel peer and estranged wife of a senior army officer. Her secret is revealed in the final chapter, but it is unsurprising and explains little of what has gone before.
There are chases through the glens and lochs of northern Scotland, shootouts, murder, passionate sexual encounters, beautiful scenery and fine clothes. All very extravagant and gorgeous.
