What do you think?
Rate this book
Miss Cresswell's London Triumph
Brainy Cassandra Cresswell employs all her gray matter to prevent handsome Ned Mainwaring from falling into the clutches of London belle Arabella Taylor
223 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
About the author
Evelyn Richardson
35 books11 followersEven before studying eighteenth-century literature in graduate school, Evelyn Richardson decided she would prefer to have lived between 1775 and 1830. Now living in Boston, she enjoys access to the primary sources that allow her to explore the specific details of the period and immerse herself in the same journals that her heroines enjoyed.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 17, 2023
The Past -
The h/H - Cassie and Ned - are childhood friends/neighbors. Others in this childhood group include her twin brother Freddie and the pretentious ow, Arabella.
Young Ned is a serious 'prosy' guy and is smitten with the pretty Arabella. While the h, Cassie may be book smart but is also a hoyden/tomboy who along with her twin is always up to some mischief.
While 5 years may not seem a lot as adults, I cannot imagine a boy and a girl (the h/H) with that age difference to be bosom buds or confidants or intellectual equals who used to discuss high-brow stuff.
Ned asks Arabella to marry him only to get laughed off. He shares his heartbreak with Cassie who consoles him while inwardly seething at the shallow Arabella.
As Freddie is off to India on his brother-in-law's bidding, Ned decides to accompany him.
The Present -
Cassie has grown into a more serious bluestocking. Her sister makes her go to London for a season.
Ned and Freddie return and Cassie sees them after all this while at a ball. She's shocked to see the new Ned - tall, broad and suave. Arabella is similarly affected.
Of course, the story progresses along expected lines. Ned is now quite the expert at flirting and dalliances. Cassie misses the old Ned while he admonishes her for becoming too serious.
Cassie is also upset as he takes up back with Arabella. He responds by saying something to the effect that the ow is good fun and knows how to have a good time. So, the two party animals flock together.
It seems he's learnt to play the game now. Although his sex life is not discussed at all but certain things hint that he did 'dally' with sophisticated women after returning.
So, the conflict is built around how both have changed and don't seem to have much common grounds or time for each other. Cassie actually misses him but spends a lot of time with her scholarly pursuits from where she acquires an admirer whom Ned sees as an even more dulling influence on her.
While I get Cassie's point - how could he take up with the very shallow and selfish Arabella who had humiliated him and made him flee in the past.
But his admonishing Cassie is bit mean and unfair. I did not quite like Ned.
Yes, we know he's never serious about Arabella but she does 'take his breath away' a few times and he realizes (again) her shallowness too late. That makes him quite stupid imo!
There's not much in way of romance here as they both realize their 'true feeling' quite late in the book.
And the polish that he seems to have acquired in India - and later strangely enough European anecdotes also get added - happened in just a Two-years-span! Wow, did he have a jet in those days to travel to all those Indian cities/courts and then to a few European ones as well.
The 'fur and feather contingent' (a dog, a cat and a duck) are more annoying than cute as they are shown as having thoughts and povs of their own.
The h/H - Cassie and Ned - are childhood friends/neighbors. Others in this childhood group include her twin brother Freddie and the pretentious ow, Arabella.
Young Ned is a serious 'prosy' guy and is smitten with the pretty Arabella. While the h, Cassie may be book smart but is also a hoyden/tomboy who along with her twin is always up to some mischief.
While 5 years may not seem a lot as adults, I cannot imagine a boy and a girl (the h/H) with that age difference to be bosom buds or confidants or intellectual equals who used to discuss high-brow stuff.
Ned asks Arabella to marry him only to get laughed off. He shares his heartbreak with Cassie who consoles him while inwardly seething at the shallow Arabella.
As Freddie is off to India on his brother-in-law's bidding, Ned decides to accompany him.
The Present -
Cassie has grown into a more serious bluestocking. Her sister makes her go to London for a season.
Ned and Freddie return and Cassie sees them after all this while at a ball. She's shocked to see the new Ned - tall, broad and suave. Arabella is similarly affected.
Of course, the story progresses along expected lines. Ned is now quite the expert at flirting and dalliances. Cassie misses the old Ned while he admonishes her for becoming too serious.
Cassie is also upset as he takes up back with Arabella. He responds by saying something to the effect that the ow is good fun and knows how to have a good time. So, the two party animals flock together.
It seems he's learnt to play the game now. Although his sex life is not discussed at all but certain things hint that he did 'dally' with sophisticated women after returning.
So, the conflict is built around how both have changed and don't seem to have much common grounds or time for each other. Cassie actually misses him but spends a lot of time with her scholarly pursuits from where she acquires an admirer whom Ned sees as an even more dulling influence on her.
While I get Cassie's point - how could he take up with the very shallow and selfish Arabella who had humiliated him and made him flee in the past.
But his admonishing Cassie is bit mean and unfair. I did not quite like Ned.
Yes, we know he's never serious about Arabella but she does 'take his breath away' a few times and he realizes (again) her shallowness too late. That makes him quite stupid imo!
There's not much in way of romance here as they both realize their 'true feeling' quite late in the book.
And the polish that he seems to have acquired in India - and later strangely enough European anecdotes also get added - happened in just a Two-years-span! Wow, did he have a jet in those days to travel to all those Indian cities/courts and then to a few European ones as well.
The 'fur and feather contingent' (a dog, a cat and a duck) are more annoying than cute as they are shown as having thoughts and povs of their own.
November 15, 2013
Lady Cassandra Cresswell, the former hoydenish little sister of Lady Frances Cresswell, is all grown up spends her days studying Ancient Greeks and playing with her impish nephew Teddy and his assortment of animal companions. Cassie seems happy, though those closest to her believe she lost much of her sparkling personality when her twin brother Freddie and best friend Ned Mainwaring went off to India. In order to help revive Cassie's spirits, a family friend invites her to London to help catalog the Parthenon friezes (known as the Elgin Marbles). Cassie enjoys her work and the scholarly discusses with her co-worker, the Honorable Horace Wilbraham. Secretly, Frances feels that Horace makes Cassie too severe and that Cassie would be better off enjoying the delights of the Season. Freddie and Ned return from success in India causing a sensation and Cassie can hardly believe how grown-up and full of finesse her old pal Ned is, nor how handsome he has become. Cassie, Freddie and Ned's former childhood playmate Arabella Taylor is the belle of the ton and determined to have Ned by her side. Ned happily plays Arabella's game, using his new found skills to flirt and charm the lady, which annoys Cassie. Cassie believes she dislikes the Season and all London Society and what it stands for. She longs for the carefree days of childhood until, like her sister, she receives help from her nearest and dearest to realize her feelings and bring her to the notice of a certain gentleman. Cassie is an admirable character and I liked her and what she stood for and happy that she was appreciated for her mind before her beauty. Frances is unfortunately too busy to appear in much of the novel and instead the reader is subjected to her rambunctious five-year-old-son who speaks with a lisp. I think the author made some mistakes in titles and inheritance which need to be overlooked in order to follow the plot.This sequel is worth a read to find out what happens next, but otherwise is slow moving and almost identical to The Education of Lady Frances.
July 30, 2016
The blurb was rather misleading - it isn't until about 90% of the way through the book that the hero and heroine realise that they love the other.
Reading this book was a bit of an endurance run... at times I felt like giving up and had to force myself to keep reading. There was very little romance - both hero and heroine were frustratingly obtuse about their feelings - and there was a lot of verbose "telling" at the expense of the dialogue.
I also don't know why you would let a duck have the run of a London townhouse - as far as I know, they're not toilet-trained.
Reading this book was a bit of an endurance run... at times I felt like giving up and had to force myself to keep reading. There was very little romance - both hero and heroine were frustratingly obtuse about their feelings - and there was a lot of verbose "telling" at the expense of the dialogue.
I also don't know why you would let a duck have the run of a London townhouse - as far as I know, they're not toilet-trained.
September 9, 2021
Cute and fun
Nice romance. Enjoyed the continued story of the Cresswell's and Cassie ,Freddie, and Ned. Caesar's story almost completely mirrors her sisters. Cute famiky, get a kick out of the pets.
Nice romance. Enjoyed the continued story of the Cresswell's and Cassie ,Freddie, and Ned. Caesar's story almost completely mirrors her sisters. Cute famiky, get a kick out of the pets.
May 3, 2011
Lots of fun. We have a vivacious and intelligent heroine who has been friends with the hero for a long time, and neither realise they are the one for the other until after various escapades and intrigues.
April 24, 2010
Bubbly and entertaining, but occasionally seemed a bit overdone.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews