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The School For Manners #5
Maria la divine
Listening length: 4 hours, 49 minutes
'If you have a Wild, Unruly, or Undisciplined Daugher, two Ladies of Genteel Birth offer to Bring Out said Daughter and Refine what may have seemed Unrefinable. We can make the Best of the Worst.'
When Amy and Effie Tribble, two charming but impoverished spinster sisters, lose out on an inheritance, they place this advertisement in The Morning Post and hire themselves out as professional chaperones. Vowing to prepare even the most difficult misses for marriage, the Tribble sisters will spend a London season on each client, educating them in their School for Manners.
Maria Kendall is seemingly a dream client - beautiful, impeccably mannered, effortlessly graceful and extremely well dowered.
In short, she doesn't seem to need the Tribbles' help at all.
But then the sisters meet her parents and realise that they do have a problem on their hands - not with the perfect Maria, but with her overweening, gauche and socially overambitious parents!
'If you have a Wild, Unruly, or Undisciplined Daugher, two Ladies of Genteel Birth offer to Bring Out said Daughter and Refine what may have seemed Unrefinable. We can make the Best of the Worst.'
When Amy and Effie Tribble, two charming but impoverished spinster sisters, lose out on an inheritance, they place this advertisement in The Morning Post and hire themselves out as professional chaperones. Vowing to prepare even the most difficult misses for marriage, the Tribble sisters will spend a London season on each client, educating them in their School for Manners.
Maria Kendall is seemingly a dream client - beautiful, impeccably mannered, effortlessly graceful and extremely well dowered.
In short, she doesn't seem to need the Tribbles' help at all.
But then the sisters meet her parents and realise that they do have a problem on their hands - not with the perfect Maria, but with her overweening, gauche and socially overambitious parents!
252 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
68 people are currently reading
352 people want to read
About the author
Marion Chesney
147 books760 followersMarion Chesney Gibbons
aka: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, M.C. Beaton, Sarah Chester.
Marion Chesney was born on 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, and started her first job as a bookseller in charge of the fiction department in John Smith & Sons Ltd. While bookselling, by chance, she got an offer from the Scottish Daily Mail to review variety shows and quickly rose to be their theatre critic. She left Smith’s to join Scottish Field magazine as a secretary in the advertising department, without any shorthand or typing, but quickly got the job of fashion editor instead. She then moved to the Scottish Daily Express where she reported mostly on crime. This was followed by a move to Fleet Street to the Daily Express where she became chief woman reporter. After marrying Harry Scott Gibbons and having a son, Charles, Marion went to the United States where Harry had been offered the job of editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian. When that didn’t work out, they went to Virginia and Marion worked as a waitress in a greasy spoon on the Jefferson Davies in Alexandria while Harry washed the dishes. Both then got jobs on Rupert Murdoch’s new tabloid, The Star, and moved to New York.
Anxious to spend more time at home with her small son, Marion, urged by her husband, started to write historical romances in 1977. After she had written over 100 of them under her maiden name, Marion Chesney, and under the pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester, she getting fed up with 1714 to 1910, she began to write detectives stories in 1985 under the pseudonym of M. C. Beaton. On a trip from the States to Sutherland on holiday, a course at a fishing school inspired the first Constable Hamish Macbeth story. They returned to Britain and bought a croft house and croft in Sutherland where Harry reared a flock of black sheep. But Charles was at school, in London so when he finished and both tired of the long commute to the north of Scotland, they moved to the Cotswolds where Agatha Raisin was created.
aka: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, M.C. Beaton, Sarah Chester.
Marion Chesney was born on 1936 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, and started her first job as a bookseller in charge of the fiction department in John Smith & Sons Ltd. While bookselling, by chance, she got an offer from the Scottish Daily Mail to review variety shows and quickly rose to be their theatre critic. She left Smith’s to join Scottish Field magazine as a secretary in the advertising department, without any shorthand or typing, but quickly got the job of fashion editor instead. She then moved to the Scottish Daily Express where she reported mostly on crime. This was followed by a move to Fleet Street to the Daily Express where she became chief woman reporter. After marrying Harry Scott Gibbons and having a son, Charles, Marion went to the United States where Harry had been offered the job of editor of the Oyster Bay Guardian. When that didn’t work out, they went to Virginia and Marion worked as a waitress in a greasy spoon on the Jefferson Davies in Alexandria while Harry washed the dishes. Both then got jobs on Rupert Murdoch’s new tabloid, The Star, and moved to New York.
Anxious to spend more time at home with her small son, Marion, urged by her husband, started to write historical romances in 1977. After she had written over 100 of them under her maiden name, Marion Chesney, and under the pseudonyms: Ann Fairfax, Jennie Tremaine, Helen Crampton, Charlotte Ward, and Sarah Chester, she getting fed up with 1714 to 1910, she began to write detectives stories in 1985 under the pseudonym of M. C. Beaton. On a trip from the States to Sutherland on holiday, a course at a fishing school inspired the first Constable Hamish Macbeth story. They returned to Britain and bought a croft house and croft in Sutherland where Harry reared a flock of black sheep. But Charles was at school, in London so when he finished and both tired of the long commute to the north of Scotland, they moved to the Cotswolds where Agatha Raisin was created.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 68 reviews
April 30, 2019
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Amy and Effy Tribble can't believe their luck. After four seasons spent molding intractable, wayward, or just plain frumpy young women into marriage material, their fifth Season in the chaperone business brings them a dream client. Maria Kendall is beautiful, impeccably mannered, effortlessly graceful, and extremely well-dowered. She is a perfect candidate for marriage, even if none of her real suitors—especially the proud and aristocratic Duke of Berham—quite live up to her dreams. But when the Duke meets Maria's vulgar and boorish parents his proposal is quickly withdrawn.
Each unique book includes a storyline that introduces you to delightful, likable, and colorful characters that enter the lives of the two eccentric older ladies, known as the Misses Amy and Effie Tribble, who advertised themselves to chaperone and sponsor 'difficult' young ladies. They each have quirky and distinct personalities.
This volume produces humor and entertainment for the reading upon the perusal of its pages. Prepare to join an adventure with the oddball spinster sisters, Maria Kendall, their charge's crude and vulgar parents, questionable sanity, a woman involved in a duel, and so much more.
The author weaves tales of the era that are able to deliver a quick and humorous experience, focusing on the essence of the era, grabbing the reader's attention, and entertains with escapades from historical London. The audible edition was provided through Hoopla.
M. C. Beaton is the pen name of bestselling novelist Marion Chesney. The author has written under various names, most notably as M. C. Beaton for her Hamish Macbeth, Agatha Raisin, and The Poor Relations series. This author weaves tales of the era that are able to deliver a quick and humorous experience, focusing on the essence of the era, grabbing the reader's attention, and entertains with escapades from historical London.
Amy and Effy Tribble can't believe their luck. After four seasons spent molding intractable, wayward, or just plain frumpy young women into marriage material, their fifth Season in the chaperone business brings them a dream client. Maria Kendall is beautiful, impeccably mannered, effortlessly graceful, and extremely well-dowered. She is a perfect candidate for marriage, even if none of her real suitors—especially the proud and aristocratic Duke of Berham—quite live up to her dreams. But when the Duke meets Maria's vulgar and boorish parents his proposal is quickly withdrawn.
Each unique book includes a storyline that introduces you to delightful, likable, and colorful characters that enter the lives of the two eccentric older ladies, known as the Misses Amy and Effie Tribble, who advertised themselves to chaperone and sponsor 'difficult' young ladies. They each have quirky and distinct personalities.
This volume produces humor and entertainment for the reading upon the perusal of its pages. Prepare to join an adventure with the oddball spinster sisters, Maria Kendall, their charge's crude and vulgar parents, questionable sanity, a woman involved in a duel, and so much more.
The author weaves tales of the era that are able to deliver a quick and humorous experience, focusing on the essence of the era, grabbing the reader's attention, and entertains with escapades from historical London. The audible edition was provided through Hoopla.
M. C. Beaton is the pen name of bestselling novelist Marion Chesney. The author has written under various names, most notably as M. C. Beaton for her Hamish Macbeth, Agatha Raisin, and The Poor Relations series. This author weaves tales of the era that are able to deliver a quick and humorous experience, focusing on the essence of the era, grabbing the reader's attention, and entertains with escapades from historical London.
March 5, 2016
No death and mayhem this time, other than some family upheaval. I'm not disappointed, I just thought that after the last two books, it was worth mentioning.
Personally, I think that the majority of the women the Tribbles have taken in have hardly been troublesome girls. Felicity, extra double major Yes. That girl needed instruction in being a lady and a spanking in the bargain. Fiona was already well-schooled in manners and the like, and all she really needed was to want to marry. She wasn't a compulsive liar, she mostly only lied so that she wouldn't have to marry. Delilah was hung up on one particular man and only needed to be taught to cut out the flirting when she didn't mean it. And while Clarissa troubled her parents by being the wrong kind of beauty, she was happy to go to the Tribbles and most of her problems were that her mother was kind of a total cow.
As for Maria Kendall... I am on the fence. Her parents are hilariously vulgar--they constantly trumpet on about their possessions and how much they cost--and they beat her, but they absolutely blasted money into her education and upbringing. Her greatest personal struggle is that she is an inveterate daydreamer. And that the real world cannot compare, nor can it deliver when she's gotten herself some pretty expectations.
As we've seen before, she meets the man she'll end up with before she even arrives at Holles Street. Bad weather traps her and her companion, the dreadful Miss Spiggs, in a posting house where the Duke of Berham takes over. He takes their room, the private parlour, and when Maria goes to complain to him, he takes offence and a kiss.
He is a taker, obviously. He has to learn to give.
Luckily, his mother is as interfering as the Tribbles like to be, and she corners him into an engagement with Maria. Most of the book is spent with everyone flip-flopping on whether they want Maria to marry him or if they are going to pay someone to end the engagement.
One of the things that contributes to the duke wanting to cry off is that he can't stand Maria's parents. They are kind of horrible. And what is the solution? Well, the Tribbles do run a sort of School for Manners. So they talk Mr and Mrs Kendall into taking instruction on their own part. This is a good idea, except for the fact that this leads them into
There's a comedy of errors sort of vibe as usual, but I think it suits this story best. Maria is not afraid of standing up for things, even if she's basically made them up, is not a bad liar, and I liked the way that the duke's character develops.
As for the Tribbles... Amy and Mr Haddon are pretty clearly in love by now, and while I hope Effy ends up with Mr Haddon's Friend (I keep forgetting his name. Randolph?) but honestly I don't care about her. Never mind all of the simpering and primping, she's just done one too many awful things to stymie her sister's hopes. Oh well. Those Tribbles. They're so eccentric. Dressing up like men and dealing with duels all the time. Oh wait that's only Amy. Hm.
Personally, I think that the majority of the women the Tribbles have taken in have hardly been troublesome girls. Felicity, extra double major Yes. That girl needed instruction in being a lady and a spanking in the bargain. Fiona was already well-schooled in manners and the like, and all she really needed was to want to marry. She wasn't a compulsive liar, she mostly only lied so that she wouldn't have to marry. Delilah was hung up on one particular man and only needed to be taught to cut out the flirting when she didn't mean it. And while Clarissa troubled her parents by being the wrong kind of beauty, she was happy to go to the Tribbles and most of her problems were that her mother was kind of a total cow.
As for Maria Kendall... I am on the fence. Her parents are hilariously vulgar--they constantly trumpet on about their possessions and how much they cost--and they beat her, but they absolutely blasted money into her education and upbringing. Her greatest personal struggle is that she is an inveterate daydreamer. And that the real world cannot compare, nor can it deliver when she's gotten herself some pretty expectations.
As we've seen before, she meets the man she'll end up with before she even arrives at Holles Street. Bad weather traps her and her companion, the dreadful Miss Spiggs, in a posting house where the Duke of Berham takes over. He takes their room, the private parlour, and when Maria goes to complain to him, he takes offence and a kiss.
He is a taker, obviously. He has to learn to give.
Luckily, his mother is as interfering as the Tribbles like to be, and she corners him into an engagement with Maria. Most of the book is spent with everyone flip-flopping on whether they want Maria to marry him or if they are going to pay someone to end the engagement.
One of the things that contributes to the duke wanting to cry off is that he can't stand Maria's parents. They are kind of horrible. And what is the solution? Well, the Tribbles do run a sort of School for Manners. So they talk Mr and Mrs Kendall into taking instruction on their own part. This is a good idea, except for the fact that this leads them into
There's a comedy of errors sort of vibe as usual, but I think it suits this story best. Maria is not afraid of standing up for things, even if she's basically made them up, is not a bad liar, and I liked the way that the duke's character develops.
As for the Tribbles... Amy and Mr Haddon are pretty clearly in love by now, and while I hope Effy ends up with Mr Haddon's Friend (I keep forgetting his name. Randolph?) but honestly I don't care about her. Never mind all of the simpering and primping, she's just done one too many awful things to stymie her sister's hopes. Oh well. Those Tribbles. They're so eccentric. Dressing up like men and dealing with duels all the time. Oh wait that's only Amy. Hm.
October 8, 2021
I agree with QNPoohBear: The Tribbles weren't as hilarious as usual but Amy has an outstanding adventure and is funny as always. I liked the romance in this book a little better than the previous ones because the hero and heroine are less driven by lust and get to know each other. This is a perfect summary of my thoughts. Berham was a splendid arrogant, proud duke - you know the type. And Maria was just a perfect wife/partner to him. Their romance had such a great potential that this time the need for exploring the romance was so big in me, that I have a small grudge against Marion Chesney because of it.
Read
December 30, 2021Basically a sitcom. Whilst some of the inaccurate clichés of Regency and general historical settings didn't seem as deliberately and cleverly used as in Blackadder III, I have to say I found it almost as much fun as an episode of that. I liked the way it also pulls in an Elizabeth Gaskell style social reform subplot from later in the 19th century. Though for all I know this might be quite common in serious examples of genre Regency romance - I don't think I could bear a genre romance novel that took itself much more seriously, and this affectionate semi-satire seems much preferable to me. (Just as I thought about Northanger Abbey and gothic novels when I first read that.)
For a romance category in a reading challenge, I had concluded, seeing I wouldn't have time for a long classic, that I would go to a library and get one of the first really short ones published before 2000 that looked halfway bearable. I was resigned to getting a Mills and Boon and hoped I would be able to tolerate it better than I can tolerate certain genres of slow slushy songs that have been known to make me walk out of shops when they are played. Then I noticed a shelf of books by MC Beaton, whose Agatha Raisin books seem fairly inescapable in UK bookshops. I could tick off an author I'd actually heard of as well ... and these sounded silly and funny compared with the M&Bs. This one sounded the most fun of the lot, and it didn't escape my notice that that may have been because the blurb is mostly about class and social comedy with the heroine's parents, rather than the romance itself.
There is an serious amount of Regency terminology here, going well beyond what is found in the online glossaries that top search results, or what I learned from reading Austen - sometimes the frequency of its use felt like part of the satire, whether it was meant as such or not. There are moments when it seems like there is lots of attention to such detail, whilst certain parts of the bigger social-history picture are skew-wiff. Beaton's repeated misunderstanding of life expectancy stats grated a bit - but in the 80s, when she was writing these, access to and critique of historical material was far more limited than now, when everything's online. She evidently used life expectancy from birth stats, rather than the more relevant ones showing that once you reached adulthood you had a good chance of reaching middle age. It seems absurd to suggest that there were so few 50+ women in London high society that the fiftysomething matchmaker sisters who frame this series would not understand menopause symptoms as a common experience at that age. However, there *are* very few historical sources on women's experiences of that, so she still indirectly makes a good point. (But, whilst including this in a romance novel is probably refreshing for many readers, as I am, in 2021, tired of how the media can't shut up about menopause, because it makes it harder to think positively about the future as a woman in my early 40s. So I didn't like having to read about it repeatedly here. I am training myself not to click on headlines, and I have unsubscribed from a few companies' emails, but I have never been one of these people who skips pages in books, never mind ones that are under 200 pages and are as easy to read as a novel for older children.)
These days, I can't imagine the ambiguity of Mr Haddon and Mr Randolph - are they or are they not gay, and it's not even directly talked about - being in a new novel, as it's evident in articles & reviews on new romance fiction that one has to do representation clearly. On one hand, the way it is here seems more appropriate to the past, at least to the later 19th and early 20th century - but on the other, the Tribbles are worldly enough, and also grounded in more liberal 18th century mores, that it makes them, or possibly the author, look foolish that they don't consider it.
Despite this handful of quibbles, this was great fun overall, and I would consider reading another of Beaton's comedy historical romances at some point.
For a romance category in a reading challenge, I had concluded, seeing I wouldn't have time for a long classic, that I would go to a library and get one of the first really short ones published before 2000 that looked halfway bearable. I was resigned to getting a Mills and Boon and hoped I would be able to tolerate it better than I can tolerate certain genres of slow slushy songs that have been known to make me walk out of shops when they are played. Then I noticed a shelf of books by MC Beaton, whose Agatha Raisin books seem fairly inescapable in UK bookshops. I could tick off an author I'd actually heard of as well ... and these sounded silly and funny compared with the M&Bs. This one sounded the most fun of the lot, and it didn't escape my notice that that may have been because the blurb is mostly about class and social comedy with the heroine's parents, rather than the romance itself.
There is an serious amount of Regency terminology here, going well beyond what is found in the online glossaries that top search results, or what I learned from reading Austen - sometimes the frequency of its use felt like part of the satire, whether it was meant as such or not. There are moments when it seems like there is lots of attention to such detail, whilst certain parts of the bigger social-history picture are skew-wiff. Beaton's repeated misunderstanding of life expectancy stats grated a bit - but in the 80s, when she was writing these, access to and critique of historical material was far more limited than now, when everything's online. She evidently used life expectancy from birth stats, rather than the more relevant ones showing that once you reached adulthood you had a good chance of reaching middle age. It seems absurd to suggest that there were so few 50+ women in London high society that the fiftysomething matchmaker sisters who frame this series would not understand menopause symptoms as a common experience at that age. However, there *are* very few historical sources on women's experiences of that, so she still indirectly makes a good point. (But, whilst including this in a romance novel is probably refreshing for many readers, as I am, in 2021, tired of how the media can't shut up about menopause, because it makes it harder to think positively about the future as a woman in my early 40s. So I didn't like having to read about it repeatedly here. I am training myself not to click on headlines, and I have unsubscribed from a few companies' emails, but I have never been one of these people who skips pages in books, never mind ones that are under 200 pages and are as easy to read as a novel for older children.)
These days, I can't imagine the ambiguity of Mr Haddon and Mr Randolph - are they or are they not gay, and it's not even directly talked about - being in a new novel, as it's evident in articles & reviews on new romance fiction that one has to do representation clearly. On one hand, the way it is here seems more appropriate to the past, at least to the later 19th and early 20th century - but on the other, the Tribbles are worldly enough, and also grounded in more liberal 18th century mores, that it makes them, or possibly the author, look foolish that they don't consider it.
Despite this handful of quibbles, this was great fun overall, and I would consider reading another of Beaton's comedy historical romances at some point.
April 5, 2022
This one was very thin in terms of story. The hero and heroine were utterly boring and silly the trebble sisters were as usual their charming best ably supported by their men but the plot was very boring
February 7, 2014
The Tribbles latest charge is Maria Kendall, the beautiful daughter of vulgar "mushrooms" from Bath. Maria's problem is that she dreams too much and no amount of beating from her parents will make her accept a suitor they've chosen. On the way to London, Maria runs afoul of the Duke of Berham and she instantly vows revenge. He is cool and distant and not roused to passion at all. However, when his mother finds out about her son's encounter with Maria, she decides to take matters into her own hands and arrange a marriage between the two. Maria and the Duke cross swords, then bond over reforming slums but the course of true love ne'er did run smooth! Meanwhile, Miss Amy and Miss Effy are having problems of their own as they try to attract the attentions of two eligible gentlemen and deal with menopause. This novel has a more somber tone than the others. I felt very sad for the characters while reading it. The Tribbles weren't as hilarious as usual but Amy has an outstanding adventure and is funny as always. I liked the romance in this book a little better than the previous ones because the hero and heroine are less driven by lust and get to know each other.
August 8, 2016
This is the 5th book in a 6 book series. I really enjoy these formulaic book by Marion Chesney but they are very predictable. In this series "The School for Manners" two elderly poor ladies of good ton have turned their home into a finishing school for difficult girls. In each case the girl, often through no effort of the Tribbles have met and Earl or Duke and will make a grand marriage while Amy & Effie collect a big paycheck.
This seasons difficult deb is a Miss Maria Kendall, of Bath. While Marie is sweet, charming, beautiful and rich her parents are vulgar and in trade. She is also inclined to live in her own fantasy world... so when she meets the Duke of Berham she is less than impressed. But of course they were made from one another and bob's your uncle they are quickly, if unwillingly engaged.
What I love about these books are the insane bits of comedy that leave me laughing aloud.
This seasons difficult deb is a Miss Maria Kendall, of Bath. While Marie is sweet, charming, beautiful and rich her parents are vulgar and in trade. She is also inclined to live in her own fantasy world... so when she meets the Duke of Berham she is less than impressed. But of course they were made from one another and bob's your uncle they are quickly, if unwillingly engaged.
What I love about these books are the insane bits of comedy that leave me laughing aloud.
August 16, 2023
This is one of my favorite Chesney, Regency, romantic comedies. The Meet Cute of Maria and Rupert is hilarious, and there are a lot of other really funny moments throughout this book.
Another big plus of this novel is that there is no murder mystery dragging the comedy into melodrama, which happens far too frequently in MC's Regency novels. Instead, the secondary plots, other than the romance, involve the 50-something Tribble sisters' trying to refine the manners of Maria's humorously boorish parents, and Amy Tribble's wacky, hormone-driven adventures as she flails through the mood swings and hot flashes of what she does not realize is menopause.
All in all, this is a really fun, quick read.
Another big plus of this novel is that there is no murder mystery dragging the comedy into melodrama, which happens far too frequently in MC's Regency novels. Instead, the secondary plots, other than the romance, involve the 50-something Tribble sisters' trying to refine the manners of Maria's humorously boorish parents, and Amy Tribble's wacky, hormone-driven adventures as she flails through the mood swings and hot flashes of what she does not realize is menopause.
All in all, this is a really fun, quick read.
May 6, 2019
Maria, the Tribble sisters' latest charge, is ladylike and accomplished, if a bit dreamy. It's her wealthy but vulgar parents who really need schooling if Maria is to marry her duke.
Once again, I found the romance here not to my taste -- bullying and arrogance are not romantic traits to my mind. I did enjoy the continuing escapades of the Tribble sisters, and will read the final volume in the series for their sake, but this probably isn't a series I will revisit once this reread is through.
Once again, I found the romance here not to my taste -- bullying and arrogance are not romantic traits to my mind. I did enjoy the continuing escapades of the Tribble sisters, and will read the final volume in the series for their sake, but this probably isn't a series I will revisit once this reread is through.
June 29, 2013
#5 in the School of Manners. Miss Amy does it again - fights a duel, conks a man on the head, and receives a diamond pin. All this while schooling not just the girl Maria, but her mother and father as well. These books are the "read in an evening" type - just right for when you want a sweet little something.
October 18, 2020
PG
Another delightful Regency era novel. This is book four or five of a series, but it is a stand alone. After reading this, I’m looking forward to reading the others. I find the Tribble sisters very entertaining and funny. Their unpredictableness made up for the simple writing. This book was under the clean romance novels, so no smut or stuff to make me gag. Just a lot of fun.
Another delightful Regency era novel. This is book four or five of a series, but it is a stand alone. After reading this, I’m looking forward to reading the others. I find the Tribble sisters very entertaining and funny. Their unpredictableness made up for the simple writing. This book was under the clean romance novels, so no smut or stuff to make me gag. Just a lot of fun.
April 24, 2013
Audio Book Review
This was a cleverly plotted story full of humor and clever insets of the Regency era as the Tribble sisters groom their latest charge, Maria Kendall for marriage to a gentleman of London Society. Lindsey Nettleton narrates the story, with her pleasant voice and range of English accents that served to depict the characters with intonation and speech patterns specific to their station in life. Particularly effective and interesting was the two voices of Amy Tribble: one proper for all manner of society, the other prone to frank speech peppered with invective and characterized by a far coarser accent than would be expected from a woman of her station.
M.C. Beaton is obviously comfortable and quite skilled in the Regency era – from clothing and slang to social custom and norms, this story transports to the time, while managing to present characters that while often are extreme examples of their class, are well done and entertaining nonetheless.
Particularly intriguing and enjoyable is the author’s clear sense of humor: when Amy loses her temper and delivers a tongue lashing, the combination of epithets and insults thrown are laugh out loud funny. Maria is cleverly drawn, with a penchant for daydreams and a determination to escape her bossy and overpowering parents. At the heart, this is a romance that spends much time with the couple ignoring or denying the attraction between them before the inevitable happens with a little push from an unlikely source.
A story that will entertain and brighten a trip or an afternoon, this volume was a good introduction to The School of Manners: not being familiar with the other books in the series did not affect my enjoyment of this book, and I look forward to the other instalments in the series.
I was provided an eBook by AudioGo via the Audio Book Jukebox review program for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
This was a cleverly plotted story full of humor and clever insets of the Regency era as the Tribble sisters groom their latest charge, Maria Kendall for marriage to a gentleman of London Society. Lindsey Nettleton narrates the story, with her pleasant voice and range of English accents that served to depict the characters with intonation and speech patterns specific to their station in life. Particularly effective and interesting was the two voices of Amy Tribble: one proper for all manner of society, the other prone to frank speech peppered with invective and characterized by a far coarser accent than would be expected from a woman of her station.
M.C. Beaton is obviously comfortable and quite skilled in the Regency era – from clothing and slang to social custom and norms, this story transports to the time, while managing to present characters that while often are extreme examples of their class, are well done and entertaining nonetheless.
Particularly intriguing and enjoyable is the author’s clear sense of humor: when Amy loses her temper and delivers a tongue lashing, the combination of epithets and insults thrown are laugh out loud funny. Maria is cleverly drawn, with a penchant for daydreams and a determination to escape her bossy and overpowering parents. At the heart, this is a romance that spends much time with the couple ignoring or denying the attraction between them before the inevitable happens with a little push from an unlikely source.
A story that will entertain and brighten a trip or an afternoon, this volume was a good introduction to The School of Manners: not being familiar with the other books in the series did not affect my enjoyment of this book, and I look forward to the other instalments in the series.
I was provided an eBook by AudioGo via the Audio Book Jukebox review program for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
December 29, 2013
Mannish Amy is overcome by menopause when she and sister, fluffy Effy Tribble, school rich lovely Maria and her "mushroom" vulgar abusive Kendall parents. Amy gives lessons to the parents and the haughty Duke of Berham for his insults, challenges him to a duel as Maria's latest imaginary suitor, Captain Freemantle. Maria and the Duke bond over repairing his run-down tenements. He comforts her, disillusioned with longterm slum dwellers, steeped in generations of hopelessness.
Physical descriptions are convincing - good are pretty, bad are ugly, most in between. "Effy Tribble, who had been plain in her youth, had become a pretty, dainty woman with silver white hair, a sweet face, and a trim figure .. Amy .. had a sad, horselike face, a flat figure, large feet, and was often clumsy" p 3. Both are jealous over bachelor nabobs Haddon and Randolph from India. Maria's detestable mousy round companion Miss Spiggs last washed months ago p 7. Maria has thick chestnut hair, green eyes, perfect lips and figure p 14. The muscular Duke has "thick fair hair, almost white, large black eyes under heavy lids, a proud nose, a firm mouth, and a square chin" p 14.
Minor roles keep interest high. Married Frank, the red-haired former Tribbles' footman, returns to swindle Miss Spiggs for a sequel. The Kendalls adore unmarried dressmaker Yvette's little George, and fund her a shop. Besides menus and culture of the time, social issues creep in quietly: poverty, menopause.
Physical descriptions are convincing - good are pretty, bad are ugly, most in between. "Effy Tribble, who had been plain in her youth, had become a pretty, dainty woman with silver white hair, a sweet face, and a trim figure .. Amy .. had a sad, horselike face, a flat figure, large feet, and was often clumsy" p 3. Both are jealous over bachelor nabobs Haddon and Randolph from India. Maria's detestable mousy round companion Miss Spiggs last washed months ago p 7. Maria has thick chestnut hair, green eyes, perfect lips and figure p 14. The muscular Duke has "thick fair hair, almost white, large black eyes under heavy lids, a proud nose, a firm mouth, and a square chin" p 14.
Minor roles keep interest high. Married Frank, the red-haired former Tribbles' footman, returns to swindle Miss Spiggs for a sequel. The Kendalls adore unmarried dressmaker Yvette's little George, and fund her a shop. Besides menus and culture of the time, social issues creep in quietly: poverty, menopause.
November 21, 2019
Maria Kendall is a fantastic character who does some really outrageous things. Amy Tribble develops some outrageous and risky plans to try to bring Maria and her duke together. The duke's mother is hilariously manipulative. The scene where the Kendalls attempt to show how great they are and how excited they are to meet the duke is disastrously funny.
Consent and slut shaming are a real problem in this book though, from the very beginning when Maria busts into the duke's hotel room because she is angry he took her reserved room and he grabs he and kisses her. He doesn't even propose to her, he tells her she will marry him. Before he actually knows much about her, he spreads a nasty and untrue rumor that she had sex at a party that convinces a friend of his who has developed an interest in her to make sexual advances to her in an isolated place, and get angry when she refuses.
The issue of social class really bothered me too. While Chesney deals a little better with the difference between "trade" and "aristocracy" the overall attitude of the members of the aristocracy regarding the poor of London, including the duke and Maria and the Tribble sisters(who barely survived, they were so impoverished at the beginning of the series), who decide they should do something for them, is really depressing, even though it's probably historically accurate.
Four stars for Maria, Amy, and the dowager duchess... not so much for the Duke of Berham.
Consent and slut shaming are a real problem in this book though, from the very beginning when Maria busts into the duke's hotel room because she is angry he took her reserved room and he grabs he and kisses her. He doesn't even propose to her, he tells her she will marry him. Before he actually knows much about her, he spreads a nasty and untrue rumor that she had sex at a party that convinces a friend of his who has developed an interest in her to make sexual advances to her in an isolated place, and get angry when she refuses.
The issue of social class really bothered me too. While Chesney deals a little better with the difference between "trade" and "aristocracy" the overall attitude of the members of the aristocracy regarding the poor of London, including the duke and Maria and the Tribble sisters(who barely survived, they were so impoverished at the beginning of the series), who decide they should do something for them, is really depressing, even though it's probably historically accurate.
Four stars for Maria, Amy, and the dowager duchess... not so much for the Duke of Berham.
September 13, 2012
Number five in the School for Manners series sees Effy and Amy Tribble take on a quiet girl called Maria whose main problems seems to be that she is fond of daydreaming and that her father made his money from trade. But Amy and Effy have had some notable successes in the marriage mart which is the London season and they are not daunted by the drawbacks. Maria proves herself to be a likeable girl and very ladylike so they do not envisage too many problems.
Naturally nothing is as straightforward as they expect but Maria seems to have caught the eye of a unmarried, handsome and very eligible Duke so maybe she has done their job for them. This story is full of laugh out loud funny incidents with Amy putting her foot in it as usual and Maria’s parents proving to be the biggest drawback to her ultimate happiness.
I loved the characters in this story especially the older women who this author does so well. If you want a book to take your mind of the troubles of the modern world then this will do the trick. It definitely has the feel good factor and you will feel better for having read it. I am looking forward to reading number six in the series.
Naturally nothing is as straightforward as they expect but Maria seems to have caught the eye of a unmarried, handsome and very eligible Duke so maybe she has done their job for them. This story is full of laugh out loud funny incidents with Amy putting her foot in it as usual and Maria’s parents proving to be the biggest drawback to her ultimate happiness.
I loved the characters in this story especially the older women who this author does so well. If you want a book to take your mind of the troubles of the modern world then this will do the trick. It definitely has the feel good factor and you will feel better for having read it. I am looking forward to reading number six in the series.
September 13, 2021
School for Manners Series 5/6: The Tribble Twins are at it again and commence their chaperoning business: their newest client, the beautiful Maria, has a peculiar problem. Her parents are rich, but hail from the merchant class and are so vulgar that all suitors are quickly scared off. 😱 Could it be that maybe in this case the parents need the school for manners more than the daughter herself ..?
Creating "vulgar characters" can be a delicate matter and I'm pretty sure M.C. Beaton would have received some major backlash if she had written the as it was TODAY: Maria’s parents are loud, overweight and simple-minded, and I had to remind myself of the historical context a few times …
Glad to report that my mental exercise worked well enough to finish the novel quickly. 🙊 Now there’s only one left and I have mixed feelings about it: on the one side I’m keen to find out how the series ends, on the other side I shall be quite sad to part from the Tribbles’ comfy Regency London house.
Creating "vulgar characters" can be a delicate matter and I'm pretty sure M.C. Beaton would have received some major backlash if she had written the as it was TODAY: Maria’s parents are loud, overweight and simple-minded, and I had to remind myself of the historical context a few times …
Glad to report that my mental exercise worked well enough to finish the novel quickly. 🙊 Now there’s only one left and I have mixed feelings about it: on the one side I’m keen to find out how the series ends, on the other side I shall be quite sad to part from the Tribbles’ comfy Regency London house.
October 26, 2014
This is a series of six books and my review for all six of them is the same. It is an enjoyable series about two twin sisters in their 50s who are part of the poor gentry in London. To be able to survive, they start a School for Manners, in which they take young women who are not yet married and try to get them married in a successful manner. The girls have many reasons for not being married: tomboy, clumsy, unrefined, too independent, etc.
It is fun following the sisters (who long to be married themselves) as they undertake the teaching of each client. They are generally successful but often, it is in spite of themselves, rather than because of them.
There is humor, great lessons for living and just plain fun. Easy but enjoyable reads.
It is fun following the sisters (who long to be married themselves) as they undertake the teaching of each client. They are generally successful but often, it is in spite of themselves, rather than because of them.
There is humor, great lessons for living and just plain fun. Easy but enjoyable reads.
October 22, 2012
The fifth in the series with a girl whose default is daydreaming to escpae her dreadful parents. This one was really interesting as Miss AMy faced a duel, is madly in love and gets herself dressed as a man for variuos purposes. The hero is dashing as usual and compassionate: he gets alive once Maria gets a hold on him and rebukes him, he who never suffered form any of that!
I liked the end as once more Miss Amy and Miss Effy face once agai adversity, they're both as much in love with their nabobs as ever, but I'm quite sure something woll come up in the last volume as Maria dreams of a happy ending and asked her duke to do something. All is not yet lost.
I liked the end as once more Miss Amy and Miss Effy face once agai adversity, they're both as much in love with their nabobs as ever, but I'm quite sure something woll come up in the last volume as Maria dreams of a happy ending and asked her duke to do something. All is not yet lost.
May 16, 2016
I liked this installment in the series far better than I expected. I'd thought the initial description of Maria as dreamy and not-all-there sounded a little dull, but she turned out to be much more fun and down-to-earth than I expected. In fact, Amy Tribble's interpretations of her dreams were far more out there than the dreams themselves (though still not quite as hilarious as Clarissa!). My real complaint about this book was the fact that the Tribbles don't really have a part in the book until nearly 20% into it, and then there are a few times when they seem a little uncharacteristically callous. Otherwise, it was nice to see them again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2015
This book is actually written by MC Beaton and is a “rollicking romp” through the morals and mores of early 18th century England livened up with some truly memorable characters in the Tribble sisters. It's filled with period detail and is an enjoyable read, as much for the authentic language as the plot, though it would have been helpful to have a glossary of the phrases that have fallen out of usage or have an entirely different meaning in the modern world. Now I've finished I'm going to have to go and find another book in the series.
September 28, 2015
This, the fifth in this series, was a little better than some of the others. Maria herself is an imminently practical young woman; her beau, though a stuffed shirt of the first water, has some redeeming qualities, not least of which is a sensible mother who wants him married and to do the right thing.
And the sisters are marginally (only marginally, alas) less annoying. Amy in particular seems to be coming around. But that Effy....
And the sisters are marginally (only marginally, alas) less annoying. Amy in particular seems to be coming around. But that Effy....
November 10, 2015
This whole series of six books (The School for Manners) is hilarious! Like a Regency set Sit-Com/Farce. I adore the Tribble twins, mannish Amy and fluffy Effy, what a delight they both are! It's been a while since I've read 'laugh out loud' novels and these really did it for me, often laughing until I actually cried. My favourites of all M. C. Beaton's Regency sets. Averaging 195 pages per book (recent 'Canvas' PB editions) my only wish is that each book was a little longer lasting :-)
May 27, 2016
I love Effy and Amy. They are so vulgar and argumentative, and yet their tender hearts are the perfect balm for girls needing to be launched onto the turbulent sees of marriage. Maria's parents have been horrid to her, so horrid in fact that she's hidden behind the vague manner she cannot shake off. Her fantasy world is rudely shattered by the pangs of love.
January 9, 2013
Not sure what I missed here...
The first half of the book tells how selfish and unpleasant the hero is, and then half way through, he suddenly starts caring about everyone and everything!!! Now don't get me wrong, I'm glad he changed... but it was so quick it felt like I was reading about a different man for the last half of the book.
The first half of the book tells how selfish and unpleasant the hero is, and then half way through, he suddenly starts caring about everyone and everything!!! Now don't get me wrong, I'm glad he changed... but it was so quick it felt like I was reading about a different man for the last half of the book.
March 3, 2019
Another light hearted romp around Regency London with the Tribble sisters. This novel like it's predecessors is another quick to read, funny look at matchmaking. Beaton begins to conclude the major story arcs that run throughout the series, let's hope the last book has all loose ends tied up.
February 15, 2018
Fun. Wonderful series.
June 7, 2018
fun escape from reality - witty characters!
May 20, 2024
Regency romance à son meilleur. On a tous les éléments qui font de ce type de romance une petite pépite de comédie. Les personnages emprisonnés dans leurs maniérisme empirique, les situations de non-communication qui créent le vaudeville, les situations grotesques... tout ça avec une cup of tea of course! Dans ce tome, le problème semble être les adultes : autant les parents que les vieilles chouettes de soeurs. Le personnage masculin est une combinaison entre Mr Rochester et Mr Darci, un grand incompris quoi. Les situations avec les soeurs valent la lecture à elle seule. Bref, un petit roman à lire pour sourire.
September 6, 2017
My least favorite it was like the story line was totally different from the others they write. The girl was always in lala land and her parents pains in the ass the duke sounded dreamy. Plus my last book I read when I left Maui
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