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The Trellised Lane
Living the charmed life seems easy for Julia. Edgely Hall is a lovely estate, after all, but Julia wants to see beyond its gardens, to venture out and see the world for herself. She wants a life full of adventure! And so she induces her brother Fitz to accompany her on an extended visit to London, where she might discover her heart’s destiny. But romance turns out to be a complicated matter, and Julia finds herself the center of a circle of suitors, duelists, and intrigue!
146 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1975
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About the author
Fiona Hill
34 books24 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
This name is a pseudonym for Ellen Pall (also known as Ellen Jane Pall).
She chose Fiona Hill when she wrote Regency romance novels. She has since published mysteries and literary novels under her own name.
This name is a pseudonym for Ellen Pall (also known as Ellen Jane Pall).
She chose Fiona Hill when she wrote Regency romance novels. She has since published mysteries and literary novels under her own name.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 3, 2018
(Maybe 2.5 stars) Although my very favorite Fiona Hill Regency romance is The Country Gentleman, all her Regencies have that old school traditional Regency feel to them. And well they should, since most were written in the 1970s. This particular one is, I believe, her first Regency and was published in 1975.
Hill's books are comedies of manners, have very low-key romance, understated humor and a slow-moving plot. They are also relatively free of anachronistic language and behavior. They're not to every HR reader's taste, especially those younger modern readers who like more action and sex. Her books are a cross between a Jude Morgan Regency comedy of manners (e.g., A Little Folly) and a Suzanne Allain HR (e.g., Mr. Malcolm's List).
This novel from 1975 has heroine Julia set on going to London to find a husband, her nose being a bit out of joint by her widowed father's remarriage to a widow with three children of her own. Julia convinces her brother Fitz to accompany her and the story revolves around their adventures and misadventures in London. If a reader had read this at the time of its release, it would feel fresher and not so "deja-vu" in plot. As it is, much of what happens in the story has been done many times since in other books. That's been 39 years, so don't blame Hill for any overused ideas.
However, I always enjoy a Hill romance for the writing more than the plot. The wit and romance is subtle and understated and not to all tastes but it is to mine. And now I see that many of her oldies are available in e-format. I don't know that I would recommend them across the board, but I do think that almost anyone who likes a slow, traditional Regency will enjoy Hill's writing, especially THE COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, my personal favorite, and THE PRACTICAL HEART, another very amusing one.
Hill's books are comedies of manners, have very low-key romance, understated humor and a slow-moving plot. They are also relatively free of anachronistic language and behavior. They're not to every HR reader's taste, especially those younger modern readers who like more action and sex. Her books are a cross between a Jude Morgan Regency comedy of manners (e.g., A Little Folly) and a Suzanne Allain HR (e.g., Mr. Malcolm's List).
This novel from 1975 has heroine Julia set on going to London to find a husband, her nose being a bit out of joint by her widowed father's remarriage to a widow with three children of her own. Julia convinces her brother Fitz to accompany her and the story revolves around their adventures and misadventures in London. If a reader had read this at the time of its release, it would feel fresher and not so "deja-vu" in plot. As it is, much of what happens in the story has been done many times since in other books. That's been 39 years, so don't blame Hill for any overused ideas.
However, I always enjoy a Hill romance for the writing more than the plot. The wit and romance is subtle and understated and not to all tastes but it is to mine. And now I see that many of her oldies are available in e-format. I don't know that I would recommend them across the board, but I do think that almost anyone who likes a slow, traditional Regency will enjoy Hill's writing, especially THE COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, my personal favorite, and THE PRACTICAL HEART, another very amusing one.
November 25, 2017
Enjoyed
Easy to read , good story, enjoyed reading very much. I like to read books by Fiona hill because she is interesting
Easy to read , good story, enjoyed reading very much. I like to read books by Fiona hill because she is interesting
June 24, 2022
Georgette Heyer pastiche lacking both Heyer’s wit and Heyer’s plotting skills.
July 3, 2015
Clean historical English romance about two rich country titled young adults coming to London for the first time and there are lots of silly miss steps for the two naive siblings.
Miss Julia and her brother, Fitz are going to London with out the parents to find a husband for Miss Julia which does happen but in a very roundabout way. Fitz is an educated wealthy guy, but without friends and guidance which makes him make a lot of stupid innocent mistakes like a silly duel, mistaking prostitutes for ladies, etc... until he ends up (literally!) licking his wounds and going home. Julia doesn't do much better because she picks the wrong guy to get engaged to, but does pull it together in time to marry the right good guy.
I didn't want to spoil this silly little story because it was fun and weirdly historically accurate where the author does not try to clean up the dirty difficult period.
146 pages and kindle freebie
2 stars
Miss Julia and her brother, Fitz are going to London with out the parents to find a husband for Miss Julia which does happen but in a very roundabout way. Fitz is an educated wealthy guy, but without friends and guidance which makes him make a lot of stupid innocent mistakes like a silly duel, mistaking prostitutes for ladies, etc... until he ends up (literally!) licking his wounds and going home. Julia doesn't do much better because she picks the wrong guy to get engaged to, but does pull it together in time to marry the right good guy.
I didn't want to spoil this silly little story because it was fun and weirdly historically accurate where the author does not try to clean up the dirty difficult period.
146 pages and kindle freebie
2 stars
March 26, 2016
This was just very odd! I would have liked it better if it was from the start, not a romance because I really felt at the end that the two who ended up together barely spent time with each other and weren't even really fond of each other. I wouldn't have minded if she had ended up single still, because she's still young and this was a really short book. The adventures were very funny (esp with the brother:) but this was too short to be a convincing romance (or the author did not know how to make a convincing go at it in those pages, 'cause I've seen some great writers effectively make an awesome story with depth in a few pages)...
June 8, 2016
2.5 stars. An intelligent woman arranges a London season for herself, but never actually gets to have it. (Maybe I've read too much Georgette Heyer. What? No ball at Almack's?) Two attractive men dangle after the protagonist. One is clearly a baddie, the other clearly the hero. A crucial plot point hinges on the heroine making a stunningly stupid and pretty much random decision that she tells herself she has to stick to. Up to then, I really liked her and was hoping for better things.
July 31, 2019
Light and sweet, the characters might be a bit silly but the perfect antidote to a heavier book.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews