A Man of Affairs

by Anne Barbour

Resigning herself to a quiet life as a spinster on her parents' country estate, Eden finds a new chance at happiness when the adopted son of the Duke of Derwent arrives at their home, but duty, social obligations, and scandal could destroy their love. Original.

Genres: Romance, Regency, Historical Romance, Historical, Traditional Regency, Fiction

217 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1999

About the author

Anne Barbour developed an affection for the Regency period while living in England. She now lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband, a retired lieutenant colonel. She is the mother of six children, all grown, and she loves to boast of her five grandchildren.

Reviews

[Aneca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seth Lindow is the adopted son of the Duke of Derwent, he has always felt indebted to the Duke for adopting him so her works as his man of affairs. The Duke has an heir, a rake of the lowest sort who has assignations with maids, beats his servants and drinks too much. To control his wild ways the Duke asks Seth to find a bride, someone pretty and biddable who will put up with his bad temper. Seth thinks he may have found the right one when he meets Zoe Beckett, the youngest daughter of an impoverished Baronet. To better know her he decides to visit her home under pretext of buying some horses.

Seth gets to know Zoe better but also her oldest sister Eden. Eden seems the most sensible person in the family, she likes to paint and secretly plans to live alone and support herself selling her paintings. While he feels more disappointed with Zoe as he gets to know her better he feels more attracted to Eden as the time passes.

On his return to London he invites the family to a dinner party at the duke's house. There Zoe meets the Marquess of Bellhaven, the Duke's heir and unexpectedly they seem much taken with each other. And as Seth finds himself falling in love with Eden the Duke decides she is the perfect choice for Belhaven's bride leaving him thorn between his loyalty to his father and his love for Eden.

There were plenty of things to like in this story. First that we have an original hero, someone that is not a titled gentleman and who actually works, then that Eden is a dedicated painter who takes her art seriously, and then that the more they know each other the better they deal with each other, Seth helps Eden gain confidence and she makes him realise that he should live his life and not do everything the duke wants. Now, what I didn't like, I know Eden was more modern than most with her dream of living alone but each time Seth kissed her she just seemed to take it in stride, like it was "all normal, we just got carried away, let's not think about it anymore", I thought that was a bit odd but just a little detail.

There are some problems to deal with before they get their HEA, namely Bellhaven and Zoe. Barbour did find an unexpected explanation for Bellhaven's behaviour and while I wasn't very convinced I have to give her points for originality.

Grade: 4/5

[H2bourne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an engrossing read. It kept my attention from beginning to end. There was good tension, dialogue, and action to make for a well-rounded plot. The chemistry between Seth and Eden was apparent. Eden's younger sister, Zoë, though young, flighty, and somewhat selfish did have some depth of character as she genuinely loves Eden and later develops a tendre for the Marquess of Belhaven, commonly known as Bel, who has a terrible reputation within the beau monde but undergoes a change in personality which is explained by the author in a creative yet theoretically plausible manner. Of course everything is resolved by novel's end but there is suspense right until the end so nothing feels predictable. Looking forward to reading other novels by this author.

[Kim Power · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

Barbour has written an engrossing novel, exploring notions of class and gender through two love stories. For those fortunate enough not t have been completely subjugated because of their birth, Seth might appear to be rather spineless. I think Barbour explores the internal copernican revolution that allows him to reject the identity hammered into since childhood. Bel is a complicated character and I found it harder to suspend belief in the outcome of his story, but I wish it could be true. The heroine’s are a study in contrasts and very well written. As are the remaining cast of characters. I was tempted to give the book 4 stars, because of the poor proof reading of the electronic text, but the writing is so outstanding in the genre that I forgave the lapse.

[Mrs. Ann E. Griffiths · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Thoroughly enjoyable romp of a read, now on to the next Anne Barbour story,now my appetite has been whetted. Read it you will not be disappointed

[Roberta · Rating 3 out of 5]

A traditional cotton candy regency.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

You could tell this book was a reprint because it was pretty tame. I would have preferred my main characters to be more decisive

[Ilze · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable traditional Regency. I think the hero and heroine will have a long and wonderful HEA, but I am doubtful that the secondary romantic couple will, based on the man's sociopathic behaviour before his miracle cure ... (And I've never heard of bi-polar disorder causing the type of behaviour that the male in the secondary couple was notorious for.)

A cute little coincidence happened while I was reading - on page 123 the hero and heroine of this book go to an art exhibition at the Royal Gallery and admire a couple of paintings by "Rebecca Seaton" and "Kenneth Wilding". These just happen to be the names of the hero and heroine, who are artists, of Mary Jo Putney's "River of Fire", which I just finished reading. Checked the books' dates - "River of Fire" was published in 1996, this one in 1999, so Anne Barbour just put a little personal reference to Mary Jo Putney's book into this one. Cool!

[Brainorgan]

A Man of Affairs (Signet Regency Romance) by Anne Barbour (1999)