A Lady for All Seasons reminded me of a Shakespeare comedy – fluid genders, secret identities, couples trying to arrange themselves rather than be arranged, and at least a few fools. Be warned, Lord Byron makes multiple appearances.
We met Lady Verbena and Éttienne Charbonneau in A Gentleman’s Gentleman. When Christopher (Lord Eden) and James left the country to avoid the requirement that Christopher marry to retain his inheritance, he transferred ownership of his London house to Éttienne. Now a year later, Verbena needs a husband for financial reasons and to get out of her awful parents’s house, and Éttienne needs a wife to protect him from gossip. Verbena proposes they enter into a lavender marriage. She plots out their courtship and engagement. Everything is going well until a popular poetess, Flora Whitcomb, publishes a little poem questioning the sincerity of their attachment; Miles, intriguing but obviously poor, arrives from Scotland and entrances Éttienne; and another man, William, an author of gothic novels and the seventh son of a noble family, decides to court Verbenna as well. Obviously, the best thing would be for them all to decamp to an artist’s retreat at the Welsh seashore. When Verbenna proposed the arrangement to Éttienne, she had no romantic interest in anyone, but as she gets to know Flora and William, she develops feelings for them both. Lord Byron continues to pop up in unexpected places.
I loved A Gentleman’s Gentleman. I love A Lady for All Seasons even more. It is so funny, and tender, and queer. Flora falls in love with Verbena because she is terrifying. She is smart, organized, and once she has a goal, she does not quit. Sadly, she is trying to manage the lives and safety of multiple queer disasters, so she is frequently frustrated. I loved watching her adjust her plans as her ability to imagine a different future grew. She starts hemmed in by social expectations and in the end finds a way to build a life with all of her found family (not Lord Byron, as lovely as he is in this book).
I received this as an advance reader copy from Knopf Vintage and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.
