Keeping the Castle

Seventeen-year-old Althea is the sole support of her entire family, and she must marry well. But there are few wealthy suitors--or suitors of any kind--in their small Yorkshire town of Lesser Hoo. Then, the young and attractive (and very rich) Lord Boring arrives, and Althea sets her plans in motion. There's only one problem; his friend and business manager Mr. Fredericks keeps getting in the way. And, as it turns out, Fredericks has his own set of plans . . . This witty take on the classic Regency--Patrice Kindl's first novel in a decade--is like literary champagne!

“If you’re a fan of I Capture the Castle you will love this sharply funny tale of courtship.  A delicious confection.”  -- Polly Shulman, author of Enthusiasm

“Take one Austenian heroine in desperate financial straits.  Put her in a crumbling castle, give her two evil stepsisters and some very unsuitable suitors.  Make it funny!  Patrice Kindl’s Keeping the Castle is an absolute charmer!”  -- Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club

• ISBN10: 0670014389
• ISBN13: 9780670014385
• Publish Date: 14 June 2012
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 24 June 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 224
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780670014385

Reviews

[ladygrey]

A part of me almost wants to give this book two stars even though it doesn't really deserve it. The characters (mostly) are perfectly fine and the pacing is decent and the plot is very typical of regency romances, only without all the balls and high society.

The thing I found so I infuriating was the main character. The whole book is filled with her assumptions and all of them turn out to be entirely misguided and I realize the whole plot hangs on her incorrect assumptions but that doesn't make them (or her) any less annoying.

I feel like that's all unduly harsh because it really wasn't that bad. But it was pretty annoying.

ETA:. I read another review that said its being satirical and I can totally see that now with the extreme assumptions that were such a cliche of the era and the genre and the exaggerated characterizations.
It wasn't the assumptions themselves that bothered me but her assumptive nature. Apparently the satire was supposed to be funny but I didn't find that to be the case.