Review: A Modest Independence by Mimi Matthews (2019)

A strange contrast with the first book in the series. That was riveting, with a fascinating premise and intriguing characters, an absolute page turner from the start. This was… well, just a little bit boring.

Here’s the premise: poor relation and companion Jenny Holloway has been given the modest independence of the title, five thousand pounds which will allow her to travel and see the world. Initially, she wants to travel to India to see if she can’t find out what really happened to the Earl of Castleton. Is he really dead? If not, whatever became of him? Solicitor Tom Finchley helps her by releasing her money and making travel arrangements. And at the last minute, he decides he can’t let her go all that way with only servants, so he goes with her himself.

And if that were all, this book would be half its length (and probably all the better for it). But Tom likes Jenny rather more than he should, and proposes that they become affectionate companions. It’s not a courtship, since neither of them wants to marry, merely an acknowledgement of an attraction between them. This is where I take issue with him, because what on earth does he expect to happen if they get close and affectionate on a long journey involving boats and trains and who knows what else? The pair fall ever deeper in love, that’s what happens, all the while knowing that there’s no prospect of marriage. Jenny plans to stay abroad indefinitely and Tom will go back to London to take up his life as a solicitor, so they have no future as a couple, and I can’t quite forgive him for behaviour that can only lead both of them to deep unhappiness.

Nevertheless, that is what he does, so the first half, at least, of the book consists of the two of them kissing and touching and getting ever closer, while angsting continuously about it. The travel itself, while obviously well researched, is not particularly interesting and the endless introspection is, frankly, dull. Things liven up a bit when they get to Delhi and start asking about Lord Castleton. The mystery part of the story unfurls pretty much as you’d expect. And then the adventure is over, Jenny and Tom leave India and head back to Egypt where Jenny is going to stay for their final separation. And finally, finally Tom does the truly heroic thing – he respects Jenny’s wishes and leaves her there to begin her new life without him, even though it breaks his heart.

I want to have a grumble here about the whole missing earl thing. The 6th Earl has been declared dead on the say so of one eye-witness in the middle of an intense battle, although his body was never found. That is apparently enough for the powers that be in London to accept, so the will is executed and the 7th Earl steps forward. Then Jenny goes off to India to (possibly) find the missing earl. And no one, at any time, ever considers the ramifications if he should happen to be alive. The new earl displaced. The dispositions of the will to be untangled. In practice, of course, no one would have accepted the earl was dead without a great deal more evidence, and a body, at the very least. So whether the earl is ever found or not, the potential ramifications should have been very much in everyone’s mind. It may seem a small point, but I can’t quite forgive it.

My other big grumble is the way the two principals behave and their endless agonising over it. I’m not not a big fan of angsty books, and this one is practically wall-to-wall angst. In every other respect the book is beautifully written, and I’m sure the research is spot on, so if you like travelogues and/or angst, you’ll love this book. For me though it was only a three star read, and a disappointment after the sharpness of the first book.