Lady Meg's Gamble (Regency Romance)

by Martha Schroeder

'TWAS A MOST DARING RISK . . . BUT WHAT DID SHE HAVE TO LOSE? In order to save her beloved home, Hedgemere, the penniless Lady Margaret Enfield was just desperate enough to entertain the idea of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0449001369
• ISBN13: 9780449001363
• Release Date: December 1997
• Publisher: Ivy Books
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.8" x 4.5"

Customer Reviews

Touching, engaging story--highly recommended!

I had never read a book by this author before, and purchased it based on a brief description of the plot and some reviews. I was pleasantly surprised to have it turn out to be one of the best regencies I have read(and I read a lot of them--about five a week!) The heroine, Meg, marries for money to keep her estate, and the hero, James, marries to get a home and stability in his life. James has had a cold, mostly loveless life, and is afraid to care about people and doesn't give his trust easily. Meg is a warm, caring person who is unconventional--an "original." The best thing about this book was the gradual and realistic development of their love. The last half of the book takes place after they marry, and their arguments and misunderstandings ring eerily true to life. It isn't always easy being married, even to someone you love, because marriage means communication and compromise. I was impressed by the author's sensitive way of handling James' problem with allowing anyone to get close to him. As a therapist, I have often met people who, like James, leave relationships before they can get left themself, or try to make the other person leave first. The plot was based on the interplay of human emotions, rather than mystery or high drama, and it succeeded very well. I really grew to care about the characters because they seemed so real. I hope to see more books from this author!

I really liked this book

I had never read Martha Schroeder's work but I certainly will after having read this one. I really liked the practical hero and heroine. The hero was "born on the wrong side of the blanket" and though his father didn't reject him out of hand, he had anything but a happy childhood. Sent to sea as a child, the adult man is now looking for the only thing he never had--a home.Lady Meg's father's death leaves her in relatively dire circumstances. She's bankrupt and in that day and age her options are limited. After turning down the proposal of a perfectly eligible neighbor, the neighbor turns matchmaker. Though James (the hero) is uneligible the neighbor just has a felling that James and Meg will suit one another perfectly--and of course he's right.I enjoyed the way the character's dilemmas are treated in a rational manner instead of resorting to melodrama. The earthiness and pragmatism of the characters made their falling in love all the sweeter. An impressive effort on Martha Schroeder's part.

A love story that reminded me of Jane Austen

I definitely liked this book. The way the author set the story in a country manor and had the story stay there reminded me of a Jane Austen's work. For a reason I can't quite name, the hero and heroine reminded me of the characters in Austen's "Persuasion." Lady Meg is relentlessly practical so when she finds herself penniless after her father's death, she is willing to do anything (within reason) to keep her home. The hero was born on the wrong side of the blanket and all but rejected by his family. Now he wants only to find a home that he can truly call his. They are the perfect choice for one another. The characters are nicely drawn and the plot doesn't resort to pointless melodrama. Definitely worth the read.