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Summertime Splendor
A collection of romantic tales by today's romance masters. It features a tale of love at a royal birthday party, the story of a chaperone's unexpected chance at love and a story of love at Brighton.
248 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1992
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About the author
Marion Chesney
144 books753 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 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 29, 2009
I'm going to review these one story at a time
The Summer of Discontent--First Cassandra isn't the mistress of Bramfield Park, she's the youngest daughter. Now that that's out of the way, I mostly enjoyed this story. I had a little trouble coming to grips with the treatment of Cassie by her family, they genuinely had no remorse over their callous disregard for her. By the end of the story the only way Cassie managed to make them give her what she was due was by demanding it, emphatically. Miss Stevens, a spinster friend of Cassie's, was a wonderful secondary character. I'm glad in the end things worked out for those who deserved it.
Lady Fair--I didn't like this one much at all. The two in love were so completely overrun by their well meaning relatives that I had trouble feeling bad for their inability to be together. Perhaps it was because the story was so fast paced I didn't believe the two fell in love. It felt more like they both saw in each other a way out, and yes attraction, and leapt at the chance. I will admit the ending, with the two overbearing relatives, was funny at least.
A Summer's Folly--I enjoyed this story the most. I quite enjoyed Eliza and understood her predicament. I was not in the least sorry for her cousin. Thalia was a shrewish calculating fluffbrain who deserved what she got. Randall, her suitor, I liked the best of the four love interests in the book as well. I will mention that Thalia's problem is left hanging, which was unsatisfactory for me.
Tides of Love--Another story with a callously mean relative mistreating the main character. This lady however bordered on hussy the way she was so forward! I don't think I've ever met anyone so wrongly certain about how she is perceived! I half-expected murder (especially after her mean tricks) by the end of the story.
All in all it was a quick diverting regency read. The stories might have held up better with either more space to plot out and flesh out or with less happening and baggage (In Lady Fair there was at least one secondary plotline that could have been left out with little problems and given more space to development of the relationship).
The Summer of Discontent--First Cassandra isn't the mistress of Bramfield Park, she's the youngest daughter. Now that that's out of the way, I mostly enjoyed this story. I had a little trouble coming to grips with the treatment of Cassie by her family, they genuinely had no remorse over their callous disregard for her. By the end of the story the only way Cassie managed to make them give her what she was due was by demanding it, emphatically. Miss Stevens, a spinster friend of Cassie's, was a wonderful secondary character. I'm glad in the end things worked out for those who deserved it.
Lady Fair--I didn't like this one much at all. The two in love were so completely overrun by their well meaning relatives that I had trouble feeling bad for their inability to be together. Perhaps it was because the story was so fast paced I didn't believe the two fell in love. It felt more like they both saw in each other a way out, and yes attraction, and leapt at the chance. I will admit the ending, with the two overbearing relatives, was funny at least.
A Summer's Folly--I enjoyed this story the most. I quite enjoyed Eliza and understood her predicament. I was not in the least sorry for her cousin. Thalia was a shrewish calculating fluffbrain who deserved what she got. Randall, her suitor, I liked the best of the four love interests in the book as well. I will mention that Thalia's problem is left hanging, which was unsatisfactory for me.
Tides of Love--Another story with a callously mean relative mistreating the main character. This lady however bordered on hussy the way she was so forward! I don't think I've ever met anyone so wrongly certain about how she is perceived! I half-expected murder (especially after her mean tricks) by the end of the story.
All in all it was a quick diverting regency read. The stories might have held up better with either more space to plot out and flesh out or with less happening and baggage (In Lady Fair there was at least one secondary plotline that could have been left out with little problems and given more space to development of the relationship).
November 9, 2017
Brilliant reading of the audiobook version by Lindy Nettleton. Her pacing and accent were perfect for all 4 stories, and the variances between young females and elegant males well-modulated and nicely pitched. Bravo!
The Summer of Discontent - Cassie's story was fun, and kicked off the recurring themes of evil relatives, heroine/hero in disguise, and attractive redheads which thread throughout this book. Lovely drawings of summer, and a nice secondary character in poor Miss Stevens, who felt like a less fortunate version of Hannah Pym from the Traveling Matchmaker series by the same author.
Lady Fair - Again with the unkind relatives, this time for both hero AND heroine. Despite my preference for alpha-female-male pairings I really enjoyed this sweet, meek duo. The Lord Painter and the Lady Muse were a fun match, with a good resolution for both the lovers and those they leave behind. Again, beautiful renderings of rich English summertime setting and country life.
A Summer's Folly - The tale of Eliza and her physically beautiful but spiritually repulsive sister Thalia was amusing, but not very heartwarming, and I didn't spark to the romance with Randall and his cute puppies (possibly I'm not enough of a dog person for this story). Not my favourite.
Tides of Love - Of all the "evil relative" plots in this collection, none beat the sheer venom and cruelty of the lead female in this book whose passive cruelty to her own son is topped only by the active cruelty to her impoverished cousin. It pains me to see a tale where the female in pursuit is penned so mercilessly as a cruel harpy, rather than a woman in love, so I could not like the plot. The Aquaman-like description of the tall, blonde, blue-eyed hero was also not revving my motor.
As short story collections go, this was quite good, and a great selection as the year wraps itself in winter and darkness, to remind the reader that sunshine and heat and green leaves and blossoms are only a few months away. Summer days, driftin' away, but... oh those summer niiiiights!
The Summer of Discontent - Cassie's story was fun, and kicked off the recurring themes of evil relatives, heroine/hero in disguise, and attractive redheads which thread throughout this book. Lovely drawings of summer, and a nice secondary character in poor Miss Stevens, who felt like a less fortunate version of Hannah Pym from the Traveling Matchmaker series by the same author.
Lady Fair - Again with the unkind relatives, this time for both hero AND heroine. Despite my preference for alpha-female-male pairings I really enjoyed this sweet, meek duo. The Lord Painter and the Lady Muse were a fun match, with a good resolution for both the lovers and those they leave behind. Again, beautiful renderings of rich English summertime setting and country life.
A Summer's Folly - The tale of Eliza and her physically beautiful but spiritually repulsive sister Thalia was amusing, but not very heartwarming, and I didn't spark to the romance with Randall and his cute puppies (possibly I'm not enough of a dog person for this story). Not my favourite.
Tides of Love - Of all the "evil relative" plots in this collection, none beat the sheer venom and cruelty of the lead female in this book whose passive cruelty to her own son is topped only by the active cruelty to her impoverished cousin. It pains me to see a tale where the female in pursuit is penned so mercilessly as a cruel harpy, rather than a woman in love, so I could not like the plot. The Aquaman-like description of the tall, blonde, blue-eyed hero was also not revving my motor.
As short story collections go, this was quite good, and a great selection as the year wraps itself in winter and darkness, to remind the reader that sunshine and heat and green leaves and blossoms are only a few months away. Summer days, driftin' away, but... oh those summer niiiiights!
October 22, 2021
The only story worth reading was by Sarah Eagle. It was a 5, the rest were 2’s, at best.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews